Mercedes Martinez has opened up about feeling underutilized during the final stretch of her time in All Elite Wrestling, revealing that a lengthy absence from television took a significant mental toll.
Speaking to A2theKWrestling, Martinez reflected on her time in AEW with both gratitude and honesty about her frustrations. “I’m blessed for the opportunity that Tony gave me for the last four years,” Martinez said. “But it felt like the last year and a half, almost two years, I just sat on the shelf not doing anything for the company.”
She explained that the inactivity began to affect her mindset beyond just professional disappointment. “It kind of messes with your mind a lot,” Martinez said. “It kind of just makes you think, am I worth it? Does he really want to utilize my talent and my expertise? I know my style is not like a TV style. It’s very just raw. It’s very rugged. It’s very old school in the sense of very power and strong style. And maybe the girls didn’t want to wrestle somebody like me with that style because it’s very raw.”
Martinez pointed to Eddie Kingston as an example of how her style could still fit within the company. “I also look at Eddie Kingston and be like, well, if he can do it, I know I can do it,” she said. “You need a female like that.”
She also addressed the impact of age and how it factored into her thinking during that period. “I’m hitting that age group. I’m 45, and can I still go with the new generation?” Martinez said. “Maybe that’s their thing. Maybe they didn’t want to put me into creative storylines or anything like that I’ve pitched. So it’s just one of those things where I’m like, maybe if we don’t renew the contract, which I already knew wasn’t going to happen, that I’m gonna go out the way I want to go out.”
With a career dating back to 2001 and experience across multiple major promotions, Martinez indicated earlier in 2026 that she is now focused on what she sees as a final run, aiming to finish her career on her own terms following her AEW departure.
