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Speculation continues to swirl regarding Mercedes Mone, but as of now, all signs point to the top free agent joining AEW next month. The 32-year-old was recently spotted training for her in-ring comeback, and a few familiar faces were seen with her, including former WWE and All Elite star Shawn Spears.
Spears (known as Tye Dillinger in WWE) was a foundational talent for All Elite Wrestling. After departing WWE in early 2019, he debuted for the Jacksonville-based promotion at its inaugural pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, that same year. After an up-and-down tenure, he left the young company following the expiration of his contract at the end of 2023.
Spears co-owns the Flatbacks Wrestling School with fellow former WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze. The school has been building a name for itself in recent years, having trained the likes of AEW's Colten Gunn and WWE's Xia Li and Kiana James.
Ahead of her potential debut at AEW Dynamite: Big Business on March 13, Mercedes Mone headed down to Apopka – a suburb of Orlando, FL – for some training at Flatbacks. She uploaded several pictures of the training session to her Instagram Stories and thanked Shawn Spears for his time:
"Always learning Thank you @theshawnspears @flatbackstraining," wrote Mone.
Mone's Instagram Stories also featured several images of her training with Tyler Breeze at the school.
Mercedes Mone sent a tease to Bayley ahead of her reported AEW debut
Mercedes Mone was involved with the Women's Tag Team Championship several times throughout her tenure in WWE and even held the titles alongside Naomi when she walked out of the company in May 2022.
WWE recently sent out a celebratory message regarding its Women's Tag Team Titles, which top superstar Bayley responded to wistfully.
Bayley shared a picture of herself and Mercedes, who were the inaugural holders of the belts, along with a heartfelt message about how much they had gone through together. The former Boss replied to her friend's message with a tease of things to come:
"Wait till you see what I’m fighting for next," wrote Mone.
Tony Khan recently announced that AEW is coming to Boston, MA, on March 13 for a special episode of Dynamite labeled Big Business. The company has since made several overt hints that Mercedes Mone will make her debut at the show.
Do you think AEW will introduce a Women's Tag Team Championship? Or do you think Mone is hinting that she will go after Toni Storm's title? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
