The new number one contender for Mercedes Mone’s AEW Women’s Championship was determined at All Out 2026 this weekend. Her opponent, who will challenge her at WrestleDream 2026, will be none other than Thekla.
This past July at Redemption 2026, Willow Nightingale dethroned Thekla to capture the AEW Women’s World Championship. The Babe with the Power proceeded to defend the belt against 2026 Women’s Owen Hart Cup winner Mercedes Mone last month at All In: London. Unfortunately for the fan-favorite, she was unseated by the CEO at Wembley Stadium, despite her valiant effort against the challenger.
Although Willow competed at All In 2026 with an injured hand, she nonetheless managed to break Mercedes’ nose during their bout. Furthermore, the erstwhile Sasha Banks found herself in Thekla’s crosshairs while celebrating her Women’s Title win in London. The Toxic Spider and “Big D” Mone also found themselves on the same page in their shared hatred for Nightingale, who returned at AEW Dynamite: Rebel Heart to confront both women.
All Elite Wrestling later announced that Mercedes will not be cleared to defend her belt at All Out 2026. Furthermore, it was revealed that Willow and Thekla would square off in Chicago for a future shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship at WrestleDream 2026. The two stars started off their showdown at a quick and aggressive pace in the Now Arena this Saturday, with the Idol Killer focusing her offense on her opponent’s injured hand.
Nightingale would not go down easy, however, fighting back against the Austrian tooth and nail to get her rematch against Mercedes Mone. Towards the end of the bout, Thekla’s stable-mates Julia Hart and Skye Blue arrived to run interference on her behalf. Their strategy almost backfired, however, when Hart accidentally struck her Triangle of Madness teammate with their Stardom trios title belt. Willow tried to capitalize on this with her signature powerbomb, but her hand unfortunately prevented her from landing it.
Thekla immediately exploited Nightingale’s injury by stomping on her hand once more, afterwards planting the latter with a curbstomp for the victory.
Post-match, Thekla’s celebration was interrupted by Mercedes Mone herself, who stared down her new number one contender from the entrance stage.
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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee
