Mercedes Martinez is turning to the wrestling community for help after the injury that brought her 25-year in-ring career to an unexpected end. With surgery still ahead of her and no health insurance to cover it, Martinez has launched a GoFundMe with a $25,000 goal to help get her through the next chapter.
On September 7, Martinez explained why she decided to start the fundraiser after tearing the ACL in her right knee during her August 15 match against Allie Katch. It’s certainly not how she expected her Last Run Tour to finish.
“Definitely not the way I envisioned ending my in-ring wrestling career. But… such is life.”
Martinez had already planned to make 2026 her final year as a full-time wrestler, but she hoped to finish the tour before occasionally stepping back into the ring for special matches. Instead, the torn ACL ended those plans immediately and left her dealing with an entirely different problem. Martinez explained that she spent most of her wrestling career balancing the business with other jobs before finally becoming a full-time professional wrestler six years ago. Signing with WWE in 2020 and AEW in 2021 also gave her something she didn’t take for granted: access to money for health benefits.
“Those contracts also meant something I had never taken for granted: money for health benefits.”
That changed once her AEW contract expired. Martinez returned to the independent scene, her income dropped considerably and she began paying for her healthcare herself.
“When my AEW contract expired, those benefits went away too. And because I returned to being an independent wrestler, my income dropped significantly. Since then, I’ve been paying for my healthcare completely out of pocket.”
Now that she needs ACL surgery, that situation has become considerably more difficult. Martinez says she is considered a self-pay patient because she doesn’t have health insurance, meaning she has to pay for the operation before doctors will even schedule it.
“I need surgery on my right ACL, followed by rehabilitation. Because I currently don’t have health insurance, I am considered self-pay, which means the surgery has to be paid for outright before it can be scheduled.”
The expenses won’t stop once the operation is over either. Martinez says every rehabilitation session will also have to be paid for when she attends it, all while she’s unable to make her normal income from wrestling.
“The same goes for rehab. Each session has to be paid for at the time of the appointment. On top of the medical costs, I still have everyday bills to pay while I’m unable to work.”
Martinez admitted she never expected to suddenly find herself without income through the end of December. What was supposed to be the final stretch of her wrestling career has instead become months of surgery, rehabilitation and financial uncertainty.
“I honestly didn’t expect to have no income through the end of December. This injury completely threw a massive curveball into my plans for the next year.”
The $25,000 fundraiser is intended to help cover her ACL surgery, medication, other medical expenses, physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well as her normal bills while she can’t work. Martinez hopes that will allow her to recover without putting herself into medical debt.
“My hope is to get through this without putting myself into medical debt—or debt in general—while giving myself the opportunity to properly heal.”
Fans had already been helping Martinez by purchasing her merchandise and wrestling gear after she initially revealed the injury. She made it clear that support has already helped with some of the medical expenses she’s accumulated, but she still needs more assistance to get through surgery and recovery.
“I cannot tell you how much that support has meant to me. But I still need some help.”
Having spent nearly 26 years wrestling, Martinez acknowledged how fortunate she was to make it this far without suffering many major injuries. She previously underwent two shoulder surgeries, but unlike her current situation, she had health insurance to help cover those procedures.
“I gave almost 26 years of my life to this business. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have made it through nearly all of those years relatively unscathed besides 2 shoulder surgeries that I HAD health insurance to cover for.”
Martinez still isn’t ready to disappear from professional wrestling once she recovers. Her in-ring career may have ended before she wanted it to, but she hopes there will eventually be another role waiting for her outside the ropes.
“My goal is to get this surgery, get through rehab, heal properly, and then figure out what the next chapter looks like.”
“I hope that once I’m healed, I can continue to be part of this business in a non-in-ring capacity.”
“Because I’m not ready to walk away from wrestling completely.”
Martinez wanted her Last Run Tour to be the final chapter inside the ring. That choice was taken away from her, and now her immediate priority isn’t figuring out one last opponent but finding a way to pay for the surgery and rehabilitation she needs to move forward.
What are your favorite memories from Mercedes Martinez’s nearly 26 years in professional wrestling? Let us know in the comments.
