Vince McMahon Lawsuit Delays AEW's Mercedes Moné Announcement

All Elite Wrestling decided to scrap major plans on the January 27 edition of AEW Collision due to the Vince McMahon sex trafficking lawsuit.

Former WWE employee Janel Grant accused Vince McMahon of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and physical and emotional abuse in a lawsuit filed on Thursday, January 25. John Laurinaitis was also accused of sexual assault and WWE were accused of trying to cover up the allegations against McMahon. 

McMahon announced his resignation as TKO Executive Chairman on Friday night after sponsors began to pull out of working with WWE. 

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW were going to announce the signing of Mercedes Moné on the January 27 episode of Collision but they decided against it because Vince McMahon's resignation was all anyone would be talking about. 

"(Kazuchika Okada) and Mercedes Moné, it's coming down to the wire. AEW has thought that they have had Mercedes for a while. They (AEW) were originally going to make the announcement on Saturday, and then they realised that was probably not the best day to make the announcement, because with the Vince (McMahon) stuff, It was like, no one's gonna be talking about this. So it's better to do the announcement at a time when people will be talking about the announcement rather than it get lost in the sleaziness of the Vince McMahon story that's all over everywhere," Meltzer said.

Moné has been rumoured to be AEW-bound since the start of 2024, with talks having restarted after they initially collapsed in late 2023. WWE seemingly confirmed Moné's AEW signing ahead of the Royal Rumble as a WWE source poured cold water on Moné being involved at the Rumble, telling Fightful Select: "Well, we're not really interested in contract tampering with her, so I doubt it."

H/T WrestleTalk