Mercedes Moné returned to AEW on the June 3 episode of Dynamite, but Jonathan Coachman thinks the company completely missed the mark with how they brought her back.
Moné was revealed as the wild card entry in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament and defeated Alex Windsor in her first AEW match of 2026. She forced Windsor to tap out with the Statement Maker, advancing in the tournament and immediately getting back in the mix.
However, while speaking on 2 Count Tuesday, Jonathan Coachman called out AEW for not treating Moné’s return like a major moment. Coachman argued that AEW should have brought her back at Double or Nothing instead of quietly placing her into a tournament match on Dynamite.
“Mercedes came back on Dynamite on Wednesday. I think everybody expected her to be in the tournaments when Willow went down with injury… Why didn’t you do it at Double or Nothing in front of 14,000 people at what is now being critically acclaimed as the best wrestling show of the entire year?… Not only did you ruin Mercedes’ comeback and return, but you made the tournament basically irrelevant because we all know who’s going to win the tournament.”
Jonathan Coachman then questioned what happened between Mercedes Moné and Tony Khan, pointing out that AEW kept one of its biggest female stars off television until June.
“There is no substitute in pro wrestling for star power. I was finally bought in to CEO. When she came in, it was everything Mercedes. What has happened? What happened between her and Tony Khan? Because as much as I respect a lot of what Tony Khan is doing and I learned a lot more about him in our sit-down with him, but it feels like sometimes because he loves wrestling so much that if something happens that there is a division between him and a certain talent and you can’t just completely bury them. You keep them off TV now until the month of June. We haven’t seen her in 2026 until June. And you bring her back in this aspect. What are you really trying to tell her or to tell us?”
Coachman also said AEW failed to explain Moné’s character direction. He noted that the last time fans saw her, she was dealing with losing the TBS Championship to Willow Nightingale, but her return did not explain where she had been or why fans should react to her differently.
“I don’t know why you bring her back with no fanfare. You bring her back with no vignettes, no here’s Mercedes coming soon or something cryptically. The last time we saw her, she was talking to herself in the mirror about losing her TBS Championship to Willow. So the thing is, when she comes back to television, she’s getting these babyface reactions. I didn’t want to cheer Mercedes when she was a heel. Now you want me to cheer her because the absence makes the heart grow fonder. Like, what’s the character? Where is she going? Who is she? Why do I have to cheer her now? Tell me why. They didn’t.”
Coachman stated that AEW needs stronger storytelling around major stars, especially someone like Moné. He said her return needed more build and more explanation instead of simply placing her back on television.
“That’s why he needs a writing team. But you can’t just throw it out there and say, ‘Throw them back in.’ And we told him that. You’ve got to give me depth. You got to give me layers. Tell me why. Where have you been for six months? Just walk out and all of a sudden you have a match when you’re the biggest female star in the company. It’s a miss. It’s called promotion for a reason. Tony, let us help you.”
Mercedes Moné still picked up a strong win in her AEW return, but Coachman clearly believes the company failed to turn that comeback into the kind of major moment it should have been. With Moné now moving forward in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament, AEW will have another chance to define her direction and show fans what this chapter is supposed to be.
What do you think about Jonathan Coachman’s criticism of AEW’s handling of Mercedes Moné’s return? Do you agree that AEW should have made it feel bigger? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.
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