Mercedes Moné is still the TBS Champion, but she had to dig deep into her bag of tricks and resort to underhanded tactics to keep her title against a relentless Riho at AEW All Out in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
The challenger, who holds the distinction of being the first-ever AEW Women’s World Champion, brought the fight to Moné from the opening bell. Riho unleashed a barrage of offense that resulted in numerous near falls, using everything from a La Magistral cradle to a crucifix pin in an attempt to put the champion away. At one point, Riho even locked Moné in her own signature submission, the Statement Maker, demonstrating a clear upper hand for much of the contest.
Moné was far from out of the fight, however, showing her resilience with a series of high-impact maneuvers on the outside, including a meteora off the broadcast table. Back inside the ring, the champion paid tribute to a legend with the Three Amigos suplex combination but still struggled to keep Riho down for the count.
As the sixteen-minute bout reached its climax, Moné’s desperation became clear. After being caught in another submission, she grabbed the referee, spinning him around to obscure his vision. The distraction allowed her to gouge Riho’s eyes, immediately followed by a lung blower and her finisher, the Moneymaker, to finally secure the pinfall.
The hard-fought victory allows the CEO to continue her publicly stated quest to break Ultimo Dragon’s record for holding the most championships in professional wrestling history.