Mercedes Mone is set to wrestle in RevPro in 2025, but how on earth can Andy Quildan afford to pay her massive contract?
That is a question many fans will be asking after all the recent news regarding AEW’s highest-paid female star.
Mercedes Mone recently became the Undisputed British Women’s Champion, albeit during a match in Japan. She beat former champion Mina Shirakawa at Wrestle Dynasty, pinning her as she achieved her dream of wrestling at the Tokyo Dome for NJPW.
The former WWE Women’s Champion reportedly signed an “eight-figure deal” with All Elite Wrestling in 2024, with WWE offering her a similar deal.
This is said to make her the highest-paid female wrestler today, although we don’t have the true numbers to compare to the likes of Becky Lynch in that regard.
Whatever the true answer, one thing is for certain – Mercedes Mone is expensive. Getting her to wrestle an indie match will cost an arm and a leg, not even counting travel and hotel and god knows wherever other expenses she might need.
She is absolutely worth every penny, but how on earth can RevPro afford to book her as their top champion?
RevPro Are Excited To Book Mercedes Mone To Wrestle For Them
Despite how much she is being paid by AEW, RevPro and others from the UK scene are very happy that Mercedes Mone is the new Undisputed British Women’s Champion.
According to a report from Fightful Select, the decision to have her beat Mina Shirakawa was received “overwhelmingly positive” from figures in the industry.
They confirmed that Mercedes Mone will wrestle in the UK to defend her title, with higher-ups like Andy Quildan very excited to start booking her against all the top RevPro talent.
Other promoters want to get in on the action and are looking to get her on a good deal while she is in the UK. However, her price will likely price them out of getting her on the smaller indies.
Matches against the likes of Dani Luna, Kanji and The Cut Throat Collective would be huge not just for RevPro but the UK women’s indie scene as a whole. Giving them the exposure and experience of wrestling such a huge star would put the spotlight on them and push these women to the next level in defeat.
However, the question still begs; how will RevPro pay for her to wrestle?
In all likelihood, they won’t.
Just like it was very unlikely that they paid for MJF, Chris Jericho or Orange Cassidy to wrestle for them in 2024. They have a good relationship with AEW and getting AEW stars to get them exposure only helps both companies to progress.
However, making her the champion is a different story but one that makes even more sense, if anything.
It is something that has happened a lot in history. A larger company will typically allow their talent to win titles all over the world, giving more exposure to the talent and the smaller company.
However, this comes with a trade-off.
Look at CMLL with Mistico in 2007. They had their biggest star winning titles all over, collecting belts to grow his stardom throughout the world.
They paid his bumper fee and allowed him to work for free. In return, they made him even more popular while the smaller company lost the chance to have a consistent champion turning up each week.
The trade-off for Mercedes Mone working in RevPro, likely for free or even a smaller than usual fee, will mean that RevPro will once again be without a women’s champion for the foreseeable future.
While the CTC, Kanji, Zoe Lucas and company will continue to wrestle on their weekly shows (you can check out RevPro’s 2025 schedule here), the absence of a champion will be felt in the division.
The same happened when Mina Shirakawa was the champion. She only defended the belt twice in the six months she had it and lost it on a New Japan show. She didn’t do much for most of the woman but did draw eyes on the product.
Mercedes Mone will likely be even less available given her AEW commitments but the upsides are even greater. She is a much bigger star worldwide and will sell tickets just off her name value alone.
The move to make Mercedes Mone the British Women’s Champion is an overwhelmingly positive one for the following reasons:
- Her fee will be lower/free for RevPro
- She will put on fantastic matches with British wrestlers
- Mercedes Mone’s starpower will bring eyes to RevPro and sell more tickets
However, the effect of an absent champion cannot be ignored. It could be better in the long run if it makes the other RevPro women’s roster bigger stars in the process, but time will tell on that one.
Mina Shirakawa did very little for them, so lets hope Mercedes Mone can do one better as the CEO of the UK women’s division.
*Does funny CEO dance*
