Welcome to the AEW All In 2024 PPVPreview presented by GrapPro.com
We will be previewing all matches from the pay per view this week. On the day of the show I will do an all encompassing predictions as I have done in the past.
AEW TBS Championship
Britt Baker vs Mercedes Moné (c)
When Mercedes Moné first showed up at Wembley Stadium for All In 2023, a match against Britt Baker certainly felt like one of the top matches the company could do against Mercedes which would feel fresh and unique to the company.
Britt Baker is one of the original stars of the women’s division, with her roots starting at All In 2018 in Chicago where she competed against Tessa Blanchard, Chelsea Green, and Madison Rayne in a four way match. It was only a month after competing in the Mae Young Classic for WWE in a dark match. A month after All In she would lose to Shayna Bazler in a squash on NXT TV, with WWE Director of Talent Development Canyon Ceman saying he wouldn’t sign her because he wanted her to finish dental schooling first.
Baker would complete schooling and become a dentist, refusing to drop the dream of being a pro wrestler or a dentist. Keeping both open meant it would be hard to commit to somewhere like WWE, which is what made the creation of All Elite Wrestling perfect for her.
Britt would first be pushed as a babyface but it wasn’t working. Her heel turn would be one of the company’s first success stories in 2020, helping propel Baker as one of the centrepieces of the division. Even through injuries much attention was paid to her, allowing her to carry the entertainment side of the women’s division while Hikaru Shida held down the wrestling side as champion. Shida would eventually fall to Britt Baker at Double or Nothing 2021 for the AEW Women’s World Championship.
Baker would be champion for the rest of 2021, dropping the championship to Thunder Rosa in March of 2022. At Double or Nothing 2022 Baker won the first annual Owen Hart Foundation Tournament for the women’s division. One week prior to this, Mercedes Moné would be taking the attention of the wrestling world by walking out of WWE.
Asked by Forbes about it, Baker said, “Since it’s a pretty hot topic right now, I’m going to say Sasha Banks.…I think she is one of the top draws in all of WWE. She’s such a superstar, she’s such a good wrestler. She’s definitely somebody that I would love to wrestle.”
Baker would take a step back from being the top of the division by supporting Jamie Hayter on her rise to the AEW Women’s World Championship. Unfortunately both would begin dealing with injuries and Baker would disappear after losing to Kris Statlander on AEW Collision in September 2023.
Mercedes Moné would also deal with a serious ankle injury at New Japan Pro Westling Resurgence against Willow Nightingale. Her appearance at All In 2023 was following that injury. In March 2024 at AEW Dynamite Big Bu$iness Mercedes Moné would officially debut in AEW. In her first match in AEW she would get revenge against Willow and win the AEW TBS Championship at Double or Nothing 2024, and soon it was clear that Moné was not coming in as a woman of the people.
Britt Baker would make her own return from injury at Forbidden Door a month later, setting the stage for these two to finally have the encounter that Britt Baker was anticipating two years prior.
This match has had its bumps along the way (Baker was allegedly suspended for a few weeks due to an altercation with MJF, which Moné was essentially able to cover as a suspension from Britt Baker’s actions towards her) but the reactions from AEW has been loud. I think a big part of it is the alignments are correct. Unlike The Elite which are AEW originals insisting on the crowds to boo them over newer competitors, this is an AEW Original going up against an outsider stealing all the glory. Even if someone prefers Moné’s glamour, spectacle, and wrestling ability? An AEW Original fan will support their day one talent.
Mercedes hasn’t been a world changer for AEW in terms of boosting ratings to new heights but she’s unquestionably the major star the company has needed for the women’s division to ensure it gets better attention and consistency. It started earlier with Timeless Toni Storm, but Mercedes entry into AEW has ensured an extremely strong AEW Women’s Division with multiple stories and a higher platform for competitors. Mercedes Moné has ensured The New Standard in AEW.
I forgot to mention the addition of Brickhouse Kamille. It’s likely she has a part in the finish to keep the title on Moné, but you have to think All In Wembley Stadium, surely Jamie Hayter must be coming to even the odds, even if only for one night?
I think this should be a good match, and unlike a lot of other programs, I don’t think it will be the final match between them. This could go all year if they play it correct.
