In a definitive statement, AEW President Tony Khan has publicly refuted persistent rumors that top star Mercedes Moné possesses creative control over her character and storylines. The speculation, which has followed the TBS Champion for over a year, was directly addressed and dismissed by Khan during the AEW All In media call on Tuesday afternoon.
Khan asserted his position as the sole figure with final say on creative matters within the company, a role he says he has held since the promotion’s first day.
“That’s definitely not true at all, so I would love to talk about that,” Khan stated when asked about the claim by Sean Ross Sapp. “I’m the only person with creative control over the show. I’ve had the final say since day one of AEW. I’ve had the final creative control since the beginning of the company.”
While shutting down the rumor, Khan praised Moné as an “incredible talent” and a “great person to work with.” He explained that while he values talent input and listens to ideas, he will not move forward with them unless he is fully supportive. He also credited writer Jen Pepperman and RJ City for their contributions to the creative process involving Moné and Toni Storm.
“When you have somebody of that stature, you’d want to feature them, you’d want to push them strongly,” Khan added, explaining Moné’s prominent role on television is a result of her value to the company, not a contractual power.
The narrative that Moné had creative control largely originated from an interview she gave to TMZ Sports on June 29, 2024. In that interview, she claimed to have creative control while working closely with Khan. However, reports from as early as May 2025 suggested that sources within both AEW and NJPW had never heard of her contractually having such power, indicating her comments were likely made in character to support her “CEO” persona.