Mercedes Mone is still shining as AEW’s TBS Champion after her win at Forbidden Door, but her fiery locker room comments have sparked backlash from none other than Jim Cornette.
During a recent interview on Marking Out, Mone didn’t hold back when asked about her expectations for the AEW roster. “If you don’t love it, if you don’t want to even try or grow or be the best, get the f*** out,” she said.
That no-nonsense approach may have motivated some, but it also landed squarely in Cornette’s crosshairs. The legendary wrestling manager responded with trademark venom, ripping into both her in-ring style and her presentation.
“She’s a rotten actress. She’s physically unimpressive. She’s bleh to me in the ring because she misses as much as she hits, or she’s trying to hold her wig on top,” Cornette said on Episode 406 of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru. “But she loves what she’s doing. We can’t deny that. She’s just not really very good at any of the parts of it. And did I mention those rotten promos? But she’s got dedication.”
Cornette didn’t stop there, adding that Mone’s current spot in AEW might actually be the best place for her: “I think she’s more than better off where she is right now than going back to WWE, where she’s got him wrapped around her teeny tiny little finger and he’s paying her from what we understand quite a pretty penny.”
Despite the criticism, Mone continues to rack up wins. At Forbidden Door, she defended her TBS Championship in a fatal four-way against Persephone, Bozilla, and Alex Windsor. Though Bozilla’s power nearly overwhelmed her, Mone sealed the victory with a quick roll-up on Persephone.
Since joining AEW in 2024, Mone has dropped only one match—a Women’s World Championship bout with Toni Storm at All In: Mexico. Her departure from WWE in 2022 after walking out of Raw still looms large, but her AEW run shows she’s carving out a new legacy—even if Cornette isn’t impressed.