Mercedes Mone sends a message to real-life boyfriend after stepping away from AEW

Mercedes Mone recently confirmed that she’s stepping away from AEW. Following that declaration, the CEO found time to send a message to her real-life boyfriend, the Beast Mortos.

Mercedes Mone has endured a turbulent period in AEW over the past couple of months. At one point toward the end of 2025, the CEO held 13 championships, was ranked as PWI’s No. 1 women’s wrestler of 2025, and surpassed Jade Cargill to become the longest-reigning TBS champion. While those records still stand, the erstwhile Sasha Banks entered 2026 having lost three of her titles, including the TBS title to Willow Nightingale on the New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite. Moreover, the CEO was brutally embarrassed at last week’s Dynamite during Nightingale’s TBS championship victory celebration segment.

At Collision last night, AEW aired a video package in which a distraught Mone revealed she would be taking a break from the promotion, and that the company would feel her absence. Meanwhile, the CEO also posted a heartfelt message on her Instagram stories for her real-life boyfriend, The Beast Mortos, who officially became a lawyer today.

“Congratulations @the_beast_mortos, Official Lawyer. I’m so proud of you,” Mone wrote on Instagram

Check out her IG story below:

Reports suggest Mercedes Mone will not leave AEW despite stepping away

Following the airing of Mone’s video package on Collision, speculation about the CEO’s future in the Jacksonville-based promotion began to grow. A significant portion of her fanbase even suggested that the erstwhile Sasha Banks should return to WWE. That said, a recent report indicates that the former AEW TBS champion will not leave the promotion.

During a recent Fightful Select Q&A session, wrestling insider Sean Ross Sapp confirmed that Mercedes Mone will remain in Tony Khan’s promotion because of the creative freedom she enjoys and the schedule All Elite Wrestling offers her. Sapp also noted that she may have one more year left on her contract with the company.