One of the biggest honors I’ve had recently was attending the 2026 Forbes Power Women’s Summit in New York City. To be invited into a room filled with some of the most influential women in business, sports, and entertainment was an incredible feeling. And I wasn’t walking into that room just as Mercedes Moné. I was walking in as the AEW Women’s World Champion, representing an industry that has given me so much and a division of women who deserve to be recognized on this level.
I brought my championship with me because I wanted people to see what women’s professional wrestling represents. The dedication it takes to become a world champion, the business we’ve built, the audiences we reach, and the impact we’re making around the world. That championship carries so much more than my name.
And here’s the funny part. I was still recovering from All In, so I walked into this beautiful event with a cast on my broken nose and the AEW Women’s World Championship over my shoulder. You can imagine how many heads turned! I had just fought through one of the toughest matches of my career at Wembley, and now I was standing among some of the most powerful women in the world. I loved every second of it.
Being at Forbes was a reminder of just how far women’s wrestling has come, but it also made me think about how much further we can go.
For years, women in professional wrestling fought to be taken seriously within our own industry. We fought for more time, bigger opportunities, and the chance to prove we could headline the biggest shows. Now we’re doing those things. We’re drawing audiences around the world, building brands, creating businesses, and inspiring young girls who see themselves in us.
So why shouldn’t we be in these rooms too?
I had the opportunity to speak with Haley Sacks, also known as Mrs. Dow Jones, about negotiating, being the CEO, and becoming AEW Women’s World Champion. I loved having those conversations because they allowed me to share the businesswoman behind the wrestler. Every decision I’ve made in my career has been about knowing my worth, believing in my vision, and understanding the value of what I bring to the table.
And that’s something I saw reflected in so many of the women around me at Forbes. We may come from different industries, but we understand what it means to work for opportunities that weren’t always available to us.
What I want for women’s wrestling doesn’t exist yet. But holding this championship gives me the power to help create it.
I want women’s wrestling to be recognized beyond the ring. I want our champions invited to the biggest business summits, our stories featured alongside the world’s most influential women, and our accomplishments celebrated for the impact they have on sports and entertainment. I want the next generation of women in wrestling to walk into these rooms knowing they belong there.
That’s why this invitation meant so much to me. It wasn’t just an exciting event on my calendar. It was an opportunity to bring women’s wrestling into a conversation about power, leadership, and the future.
I walked into the Forbes Power Women’s Summit with a broken nose, a world championship, and so much pride in what the women of professional wrestling have accomplished.
And I walked out even more excited about where we’re going.
Because women’s wrestling belongs on the world’s biggest stages, and those stages don’t always have a wrestling ring.
