Mercedes Mone Calls Out ‘Old Man’ Jonathan Coachman After Promo Skills Criticism

Mercedes Mone’s arrival in AEW has significantly reshaped the promotion’s landscape. As the TBS Champion as well as the NJPW Women’s Strong Champion, she brings a lot of value to the company. With that said, Jonathan Coachman didn’t have anything good to say about her recently and now Mone has called him out for his criticism.

Mercedes Mone even claimed that she has creative control in AEW, but further added that she still works together with Tony Khan. However, her statement did raise quite a few eyebrows.

While speaking on the “Refin’ It Up” podcast, former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman took aim at Mercedes Mone, questioning whether she lived up to her self-proclaimed arrogance during her WWE career. Coachman suggested that Moné’s claims about perks in AEW—such as using a private jet and having creative control—might be overstated.

Coachman argued that if AEW’s Tony Khan did grant these privileges, it would reflect poorly on his judgment. He also critiqued Mone’s promo skills, noting that she struggles on the mic compared to other wrestlers like Britt Baker. According to Coachman, Moné’s inability to support her confidence with strong performances is a major factor in her lack of success in WWE, and he believes she is now being exposed in AEW due to her poorly received mic segments.

”I saw Mercedes (Moné) do an interview and by the way, I don’t really wanna insult her too much but AEW people already hate me anyway and she said that they gave her creative control. She said, ‘When I’m on the movie set, when I want the private jet, Tony lets me use it whenever I want.’ Well no wonder she didn’t last in the WWE. Why would she ever get a private jet to use? Which I don’t believe to be true but if he is that stupid, then that’s on Tony Khan. But to say she’s the biggest signing they’ve ever had and she’s the best diva or whatever, she’s terrible on the microphone.

It takes two seconds to listen to her cut a promo and the other day, Britt Baker just ran circles around her in their promo segment when Britt came back. Looked amazing by the way. That’s what a star looks like. You gotta be able to back it up with the arrogance and Mercedes has never been able to do that in the WWE. I don’t know why Tony Khan, but hey, she made all the money, but now she’s getting exposed because they’re giving her-her own mic segments every week and it’s not good and that’s why the crowd the other day told her to shut up. The crowd knows you gotta be able to talk and work and she can’t talk and that’s why sometimes she comes on, I turn it off.”

Mercedes Mone clearly saw what Jonathan Coachman had to say and decided to respond to his criticism in her newsletter. She noted that while she doesn’t follow Wrestle Press, she does see it pop up on her social media. Although she didn’t read the entire article, she saw the headline quote. Mone, who has been dealing with such criticism for over a decade, is used to it but feels frustrated by the continued negativity from older figures in wrestling.

Mone believes these comments are made to attract attention because her name generates clicks. Mone suggests that her high earning power might be contributing to the criticism and that it’s likely difficult for these individuals to see her succeed and earn more than they do. She concludes that whether the discussion about her is positive or negative, it signifies that she is making an impact.

“I don’t read Wrestle Press, but Wrestle Press, that centers on me, pops up in my social media feed. I didn’t read the article. I just read the quote in the headline. I’ve been dealing with this kind of stuff for over a decade, so I’m used to it. But I am kind of annoyed with all these dumb old dudes in wrestling coming at me. I know the only reason that they’re doing it is because my name makes people click on their links. My name makes news. Oh yeah, and pretty sure making news makes Moné. Maybe that’s why I get paid what I do? Maybe? Lol. Plus, I’m sure it’s hard to see a young woman know and receive her value – and, not to mention, make a lot more than they do. But hey, either way, they can keep talking about me, whether negatively or positively. It reminds me that I must be doing something right.”

Mercedes Mone is also advocating for the AEW Women’s Division behind closed doors. Regardless, there is no doubt Mercedes Mone does bring value to AEW and that’s all that matters to her.

What do you think of what Mercedes Mone had to say in response to Jonathan Coachman’s critics? Sound off in the comments section below!!