Mercedes Moné walked away from AEW Full Gear on November 14 2026 still holding the AEW Women’s World Championship, but her victory over Marina Shafir didn’t go exactly as planned. The finish was supposed to involve Moné cheating to steal the win, only for a botched rope-assisted pin to throw things off at the worst possible moment.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio on November 15, Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the championship match and what happened during the final moments. Alvarez explained that Moné and Shafir spent much of the match trading submission attempts before the champion finally found a way to escape the Brutalizer and steal the victory.
“So the end there, we had Marina going back and forth. Obviously, Mercedes keeps trying the statement maker and Marina Brutalizer. And finally Mercedes rolls through a Brutalizer crossface attempt and puts her feet on the ropes and gets the cheap win.”
That’s where things got a little messy. Meltzer pointed out that Moné was supposed to use the ropes for extra leverage during the pin, but her feet slipped off before the referee could finish counting. According to Meltzer, the referee then had to count quickly despite Moné’s feet no longer being on the ropes.
“Yeah, well, her, her feet fell off the ropes. I mean, so the, the only negative thing I would say about the match was the finish in the sense that it, you know, she was supposed to win with her feet on the ropes, but her feet fell off the ropes, so. And the ref had to count really quick seeing those feet off the ropes because I think that. So the actual finishing pin was not done well, but, man, everything else was.”
Despite the awkward finish, Meltzer had plenty of praise for the match itself. He felt Moné delivered another strong performance while Shafir showed how much she has improved inside the ring, particularly considering the match lasted approximately 17 minutes.
The finish was especially interesting considering what happened just days earlier. During the November 11 episode of AEW Dynamite and Collision, Shafir actually forced Moné to tap out to the Brutalizer during their mixed tag team match involving Jon Moxley and Jay White. That victory gave Shafir momentum heading into Full Gear and made her a legitimate threat to Moné’s championship reign.
As Ringside News previously covered, Tony Khan also praised Shafir ahead of the pay-per-view and credited Moxley with helping her develop as a performer. Khan made it clear that Shafir had earned her opportunity against Moné, and the two ultimately delivered a competitive championship match despite the finishing mishap.
In the end, Moné kept her championship, and the botched finish didn’t change the outcome of the match. Still, it’s one of those little mistakes that becomes a lot more noticeable when the entire point of the finish is supposed to be the champion cheating. Moné got away with the victory, but the execution wasn’t quite what AEW had in mind.
What did you think about Mercedes Moné’s finish against Marina Shafir at AEW Full Gear, and did the botched rope-assisted pin take anything away from the match? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
