After hinting at a special Mercedes Mone-related QR code on AEW Dynamite earlier in the day, Tony Khan released the first hint into this new project at the bottom of the show's first hour, a pseudo commercial on the podcast asking fans to scan the code to follow the “CEO” along on her journey.
Did you miss the QR code when it aired? Well, you're in luck, as it sent fans to a YouTube short on a Fooji site that features Mone explaining her new project to her faithful “Mone Makers.”
“Hey, you are here on Week 1, which tells me you know how to hustle. That is real CEO material. You are one of the real ones, and I want you with me every step of the way,” Mercedes Mone told the fans who chose to play along. “So click the link below and head over to X to tell me why you are here with #FollowTheMoné. Because I'm looking to reward my ‘Mone Makers.' Last thing before I end this meeting, this week's secret password is ‘Hired.'”
Interesting stuff, right? Well, wait, it gets even as Fooji included some additional information on the campaign, which included a link to the required social media hashtags needed to take part in the experience.
What kind of prizes and surprises could Mone have in mind for her faithful fans? Only time will tell, but considering how cryptic AEW's competition has been with QR codes as of late, it's refreshing to see the medium used for something so fun and straightforward.
Mercedes Mone believes signing with AEW saved her life.
Speaking of Mercedes Mone's journey through the AEW Galaxy and her unlikely return to the ring after a year on the shelf following a near-career-ending injury at NJPW Resurgence, the “CEO” stopped by the media scrum after her TBS Championship-winning match at Double or Nothing and revealed how signing with Tony Khan's company and making her in-ring return helped to save her life.
“How did it finally feel after a year of being away from something that I've loved since I was a little girl? Wrestling has not only changed my life but saved my life. Coming here to AEW has saved my life. It's given me new hopes, new dreams, new chances, new opportunities. Tonight, being here at AEW, celebrating five years of AEW, being here with Willow, who is legit one of the greatest women I've ever stepped in the ring with, and I've been doing this for 14 years. She is legit one of the best. Amazing. It feels so incredible. I've been waiting for this moment, really ever since I got signed to AEW, but really for the past two years of not knowing of where I was going to be or what was going to happen after leaving WWE,” Mercedes Mone told reporters via Fightful.
“What was going to be next for me? A lot of times in wrestling, people think WWE is the only place. Tonight, we showed the wrestling world that it is not the only place. AEW is where the best wrestle and we had the greatest show tonight, celebrating five years of this incredible company where we cannot be denied. We are going to show wrestling fans around the world that this is the place to celebrate wrestling because this is the best place to be.”
After making her first appearance in AEW at All In 2023 and then debuting officially as a full-time member of the roster at Big Business in Bo$$ton, Mone took part in one of Double or Nothing‘s three main events in Las Vegas and was a certified show-stealer, working a showing match against Willow Nightingale that reminded fans and haters alike why she is widely considered one of the best in-ring wrestlers in the world today. Factor in this new multi-media campaign and a potential match against Stephanie Vasquez at Forbidden Door that could see the “CEO” become a double or even triple champion, and who knows, maybe she will truly transcend the division and become the breakout female star that AEW has been desperate to find since it began five years ago. Considering the pre-existing star power Mone brings to the table, if she can find the right storyline, the sky truly is the limit.