Mercedes Moné Wins Stephanie Vaquer's Strong Women's Title at AEW Forbidden Door 2024

Mercedes Moné defeated Stephanie Vaquer in a champion vs. champion match at Forbidden Door on Sunday night to retain the AEW TBS Championship and win the NJPW Strong Women's Championship.

Vaquer dominated for much of the match, but the tide eventually turned Moné's way before she submitted her opponent with the Bank Statement.

Moné couldn't celebrate for long, though, as Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D made her return.

The former AEW Women's World champion hasn't wrestled since Sept. 16, 2023, when she unsuccessfully challenged Kris Statlander for the AEW TBS Championship. She has dealt with back and neck injuries during that absence. Now Baker has eyes on that belt again despite Moné now possessing it.

Moné competed in her first AEW match since signing with the company at Double or Nothing in May, and she made an instant impact by beating Willow Nightingale for the TBS title.

On the first episode of Dynamite after Double or Nothing, Mercedes successfully defended the title against Skye Blue, but she couldn't celebrate for long.

Immediately after Mercedes' win, Vaquer made her surprise debut on AEW programming and stared Moné down from the ramp.

At that point, most assumed that Moné vs. Vaquer was on tap for Forbidden Door, and it was made official the following week.

Moné has long been one of the best-known and most-popular women's wrestlers in the world dating back to her long and successful tenure in WWE as Sasha Banks.

During her decade-long run in WWE, Mercedes was a six time women's champion and three-time women's tag team champion, and she rightfully gained a reputation for being one of the best women's wrestlers in the world from an in-ring perspective.

Vaquer is primarily only known by hardcore wrestling fans rather than being a household name like Moné, but it can be argued that she is one of the best-kept secrets in wrestling.

The Chilean star, who goes by the nickname "La Primera," entered Forbidden Door as both the NJPW Strong women's champion and CMLL world women's champion, which speaks to her status as a respected wrestler across the world.

While Vaquer is a rising star who is likely to be a full-time performer for a bigger promotion like AEW or WWE at some point, Forbidden Door belonged to Mercedes, who is now a double champion across AEW and NJPW Strong.

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