Is Mercedes Mone the greatest women’s wrestler in American history?

When Dave Meltzer speaks, Cagesiders tend to chuckle. However, he’s going “All In” on a proclamation he made recently. Is the man who gives the Tokyo Dome five stars for its existence accurate? Be careful of the water, because I’m taking a deep dive…

After a successful 2026 edition of All Elite Wrestling’s signature All In pay per view, controversial veteran wrestling scribe Dave Meltzer proclaimed Mercedes Moné as the “greatest women’s wrestler America has ever produced.” While it can be argued that she’s been the best female free agent Tony Khan has signed with WWE roots, it’s a subjective statement that probably suffers from recency bias more than a statement based on actual fact. Truth be told, she may not even be the best American female wrestler currently in her own company, if you were to ask Athena’s opinion.

Okay, seriously. Let’s remove Dave from the equation, and recognize the fact that’s more an indictment on the attitudes in America towards how women’s wrestling was presented (outside of the AWA) as a sideshow until really, this century and begin there.

I’m pretty sure no one here has seen Mildred Burke, women’s champion for twenty years. She was as talented as she was attractive, and her real life rivalry with Cora Livingston over the NWA championship sold tens of thousands of tickets throughout the 1940s and 50s in an era where it was much harder for women to be taken seriously, much less wrestling.

Women’s wrestling during the first half of the 20th century was viewed more as a sexual diversion than an actual sporting event, not unlike how the Diva’s era was providing more titillation than competition. Burke was a feared competitor, and she was on a mission to command respect, both for her profession and her gender. This was also a time where wrestlers didn’t necessarily do what they were told, either. So, Burke would have to shoot almost as often as she would work to protect her title reign. You don’t stay champion into your middle age without being able to handle yourself, in and out of the ring.

I’m going to purposely skip over the Fabulous Moolah era, who ran the booking for women’s wrestling for a generation as their champion and point out two particular women who were global American standouts during the later part of her powers in Sherri Martel and Medusa Miceli. The former really had no one to work with but the latter, so she transitioned into an iconic manager, while Miceli worked Japan regularly and was considered the standard for what a great wrestler was, regardless of sex.

Although Luna Vachon has some famous Canadian roots, she actually was born in Atlanta, thus she claimed dual citizenship. Anybody who ever saw Luna in her prime couldn’t deny she was pretty damned good, too. Her surname carried weight in Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida, and when she went from the pretty blonde teenager to shaving off her locks and becoming one of Kevin Sullivan’s evil disciples, she set the Panhandle ablaze. Years ahead of her time, she carried that gimmick throughout her career that took her all over the world. Because of how poorly the WWF (Vince) treated the female talent, she never really got the run some of the more conventional (read: attractive) women received in the company.

Now, bringing Unca Dave back into the chat, he can simply gloss over the fact that Moolah trained and booked all women’s wrestlers for nearly thirty years and basically trafficked them at the same time meant none of them would actually turn out to be any good. Only Mae Young came out of that farm as a worthy name, because she was her best friend. Others like the talented Lelani Kai and Princess Victoria were sacrificed for Moolah’s glory until injuries ended their careers prematurely. So, while Japan, Canada and Mexico were raising their own talent, Moolah was effectively aborting it to maintain her monopoly on the American female wrestling scene.

Whether it was Wendi Richter, Bambi, Baby Doll, GLOW or the aforementioned Medusa, Luna and Sherri, they inspired the real beginnings of the modern women’s wrestling movement in America. (Show some love for the Jumping Bomb Angels, while you’re at it! I know, they were joshis!) Unlike the other countries, Vince didn’t treat them as anything more than cosplay sexual fantasies, and Eric Bischoff really never had more than a handful to work with. Yet, you still had the legendary Jazz tearing up Texas, who would be the first woman to hold a male title in America, years before Chyna and Tessa Blanchard would do the same (personality aside, she’s still only 31 and is also really good, too).

Since we touched on unlikeable talent, we never really got the best of Ronda Rousey in pro wrestling. Athena/Ember Moon has finally stayed healthy for an extended period of time for the first time in her career, and has been on a magical run as ROH champion. Awesome Kong is another one who’s career was cut short due to illnesses and then, motherhood, but at her peak was a spectacle; holding her own worldwide.

Like Luna, Victoria was ten years too early to really show what she was capable of, along with Ivory (who was in the original iteration of GLOW, and yet still became one of the best bell to bell workers of her day during the Divas era). Lita wasn’t afraid of anything, and Mona/Molly Holly was perhaps the most underrated of all during her short career.

Bianca Belair’s career is nowhere near over, and has arguably been as influential on the next generation as anyone over the last ten years. Like Charlotte Flair, she’s suffered from push fatigue in the older fan’s eyes, but you can’t deny either of their skill sets or importance.

When this conversation gets revisited in a decade, where will a Roxanne Perez or a Kendall Grey be on this list? How will we quantify a Kelani Jordan, Sol Ruca (provided she figures it out) or Liv Morgan?

When we bring the conversation back around to Mercedes, there’s no denying the talent. To her credit, she put in the work for years before she got her break, and never used her famous relatives as an angle to get signed by WWE.

In addition, with regards to Moné’s famous NXT Takeover: Brooklyn main event battle with Bayley, she credits the generosity of her opponent for the success of that match more than she credits herself. Her acknowledgement of Pam Martinez helping put over Mercedes Varnado is important to note, because it reminds us that you made your opponent in wrestling, not yourself. Those that do it the other way are often not long for this business, because nobody will want to work with you, much less make you look good.

So, with all things being equal, I put this to the ultimate test; I ask my wife, Rae.

I show her a picture of the lady in question. “Who is this?” I ask.

Her response? “Sasha Banks.”

In fairness, the question/statement wasn’t who was the bigger star, it was better wrestler. Unquestionably, in American popular culture, the bigger brand is “Sasha Banks.” Unless WWE falls off the face of the earth, AEW will never create popular culture stars like their competition does.

Since AEW is 99% wrestling, it seems a little safer to judge actual wrestling skills there as opposed to marketability. As a result, fewer people outside of the built-in fan base will actually witness said skills, unless they were to go out of their way to seek it out. Obviously, over 40,000 punters queued up to see All In, especially when one of the UK’s favorite sons is at the top of the marquis in the main event competing for the brand’s biggest prize.

There’s no doubt that the Elite brand has a collection of exquisite performers that come from all over the globe, yet their American base doesn’t get as juiced up for as much as other parts of the world. I often find that certain talented groups or individuals that should deserve more attention in America and don’t get it tend to do very well in Europe, Canada and/or Japan. The American audience tends to lean towards the sizzle more than the steak, so to speak. The other cultures appreciate the artistry better, but it generally doesn’t pay off financially for the artists unless they break through in the States.

Therein lies the conundrum when judging AEW talent against WWE talent, when they have a track record with both, yet are effectively different performers. Sasha Banks and Mercedes Moné are the same person, and basically the same character. But, are they the same wrestler? Are you judging them against themselves, or their competition? Do they work better with bigger spotlights, or does their talent shine better in a smaller environment, where their nuances are able to be featured more than the spectacle?

After negotiations with WWE about a potential return didn’t result in an agreement, Mercedes utilized her name recognition from her time there and parlayed that into a very lucrative deal with Tony Khan and AEW. She was able bring in her own writers and given enough creative leeway to formulate her own vision, where she would effectively be able to call her own shots, answering directly to the other “boss.”

What has been painted as a risk was actually a pretty calculated safe bet. So long as there was still an AEW, she would always be presented as a big deal with a hefty compensation. In an effort to not upset the apple cart, she would defer from the top women’s title programs and focus on the secondary titles and outside promotions. This allowed her to build her brand as Mercedes Moné away from her parent company, and like Kenny Omega before her, collect a series of more than a dozen championships away from AEW, thus building her stature as someone who would take on all comers. Then, as she would slowly drop all of these belts, it would provide her heelish character with a sense of humility, and thus begin a form of a redemption story, culminating in her championship victory after a lengthy battle at All In.

The plus side is that Mercedes was able to show off different skill sets in her various matches. Mercedes is a gifted storyteller, but I feel like if the whole point of this arc was to build up Willow Nightingale to her level, then she didn’t accomplish her mission by beating her on such a big stage. Yes, Willow has wins over Moné, but that one could have elevated her towards the tippy top of the industry, a place that only Toni Storm had reached as a female under the AEW banner.

I don’t necessarily blame Moné for that decision, but I also don’t think that was one of her better high profile matches, either. There were storytelling details that were used that didn’t make as much sense as they could have (the cast, the exposed turnbuckle) that seemed more like an attempt at shock value than storytelling. For someone of her caliber, on that big a stage, it was a big miss.

To be considered the best, there’s a certain quality control that is expected. There’s a certain rose-colored glasses that are used towards particular talents, and if we are to compare and contrast them all to determine the “best,” then coming through when the lights are brightest has to be taken into account.

Admittedly, the pickings are slim when it comes to the total body of work surrounding great American women’s wrestlers. Whether she’s Sasha Banks or Mercedes Moné, she’s towards the top currently as one of the most decorated. But, for American born female wrestlers, is she the greatest?

I pray for her health in the future, because I think she’s still got some work to do to catch up to Mildred Burke, Medusa Miceli, Sherri Martel, Charlotte Flair, and maybe her BFF.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Mercedes Varnado, in whatever iteration she portrays. She is as much a reason for the women being taken seriously as pro wrestlers today as anyone, regardless of their nationality. She is an amazing performer, and I happen to know a few nieces and friends whose daughters idolize her. She’s a huge star, and will do very well for herself beyond her wrestling career. A first ballot Hall of Famer, who is still one of most important people in the industry.

The greatest American female wrestler? I respectfully disagree.