Willow Nightingale’s AEW Women’s World Championship win at AEW Redemption wasn’t a last-minute decision or a surprise change of plans. According to a new backstage update, AEW had been building toward this moment for months—and the real endgame has always been Mercedes Moné.
This was revealed during Fightful’s post-AEW Redemption show, where Sean Ross Sapp noted AEW had long decided that Willow would become Women’s World Champion because the company had one destination in mind all along: Mercedes Moné at All In.
“Willow has been planned for the World Title scene—and specifically a World Title win—for months, I’m told. It was always going to be her and Mercedes at All In.”
This explains one of the biggest moments of Redemption. Before Willow and Thekla even locked up, cameras cut to Mercedes sitting high above the ring in a luxury suite, carefully watching the championship match go down. At the time, it felt like AEW was teasing what could come next.
Willow eventually survived a bruising battle with Thekla, overcoming Skye Blue’s interference before catching the champion with a roll-up to reclaim the AEW Women’s World Championship. The Bell Centre erupted, but the title win may have been only half the story. So if the backstage plans haven’t changed, Sunday’s victory wasn’t the destination. It was the launchpad.
With Mercedes already watching from the stands and Willow now holding the championship, the pieces appear to be exactly where AEW wanted them for an incredible match at All In.
What do you think of AEW planning Willow’s title win months in advance? Do you like the idea of Willow vs. Mercedes Moné at All In? Let us know in the comments below.
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