Mercedes Mone Beats Thekla to Retain AEW Women's World Title at WrestleDream 2026

Mercedes Moné defeated Thekla to retain the AEW Women's World Championship at WrestleDream on Saturday.

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Near the end of the match, Moné used her mask to attack Thekla.

She then tried to land the Mone Maker, but Thekla countered and rolled up Moné for a pin attempt.

However, Moné couldn't be held back for long. She evaded Thekla's attempt to hit Blackout and countered with the Moné Maker for the win.

After falling short in multiple attempts previously, Moné finally became AEW women's world champion for the first time in August at All In when she beat Willow Nightingale.

The CEO suffered a broken nose during that physical bout, which kept her out of action for the next month.

With Mercedes not cleared to compete at All Out last month, Thekla and Nightingale faced off in a No. 1 contender's match for the right to challenge for the AEW women's world title at WrestleDream.

Thekla was victorious, and she gained retribution in the process, as Willow was the one who ended her 165-day reign as AEW women's champ.

Moné returned to action on the Sept. 30 episode of Dynamite, which paid tribute to Pac, losing to Marina Shafir, Thunder Rosa and Hyan in a six-woman tag team match.

Mercedes bounced back in her next outing, though, beating Queen Aminata to retain the AEW women's world title on the Oct. 6 Grand Slam France edition of Dynamite.

With that, Moné locked in her spot on the WrestleDream card and cemented a highly anticipated clash with Thekla.

Since Thekla had a lengthy title reign with All In approaching, many assumed she would face Mercedes then, but Willow's title win threw a wrench into those plans.

Fans had to wait a bit longer than anticipated for Moné vs. Thekla, but they delivered, and The CEO prevailed.