AEW Women’s World Champion Willow Nightingale will defend her title against Mercedes Moné at AEW All In: London on Sunday, August 30th, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, marking another chapter in their rivalry. Although a title match was always part of the long-term plan, the original storyline was intended to unfold differently, according to Bryan Alvarez on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Alvarez explained that the match between Moné and Nightingale was always scheduled for All In: London. However, AEW President Tony Khan initially planned for Moné to enter Wembley Stadium as the champion rather than Nightingale. Alvarez noted that various challenges nearly derailed Khan’s plans, prompting him to adjust the storyline to ensure the match he envisioned remained intact.
Earlier this year, Nightingale suffered a shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament and vacate the TBS Championship. This injury necessitated significant changes to AEW’s tournament plans, and Alvarez suggested that Nightingale was likely the intended winner rather than Moné.
Meanwhile, it is presumed that Moné would have won the Women’s World Title before the tournament and faced Nightingale after securing a title shot through her tournament success. Ultimately, Moné won the Owen Hart Tournament for the second consecutive year and will now challenge Nightingale for the championship.
