Mercedes Martinez Says This Year Is Her Last As A Full-Time Wrestler

Mercedes Martinez will close out her era as a full-time wrestler this year, making the announcement on New Year’s Day. Martinez posted to Twitter on Thursday to reveal the news that 2026 is her last year as a “full-time active professional wrestler.”

Martinez is best known for her time in SHIMMER and ROH, the latter of which saw her reign as the ROH Women’s World Championship from May until December of 2022. Her in-ring career began in 2001. She was signed with WWE for a couple of stints, most notably from 2020 to 2021, and also competed for TNA (then Impact Wrestling) in 2021 and 2022.

Martinez wrote:

2026.
Different mindset. Different fire. This is my last year as a full-time ACTIVE
professional wrestler.
No contracts.
No agents.
No creative. Just me – and everything I’ve earned over
25 damn years in this business.
Wrestling gave me everything.
It broke me.
Built me.
Tested me.
Somehow still made me fall in love with it again.
2025 wasn’t about being showcased. It was about going back to the indies, back to the grind, back to the reason I started -and remembering exactly who the hell I am.

Giving back.
Teaching.
Helping the next generation. Passing on what was given to me the hard way.
That part means everything. So 20z6 gets one more year of my body, my heart, and my fight. One more year of scars, sweat, pain, and pride. One more year of showing up and giving everything I’ve got because that’s the only way I’ve ever done this.
The last few years flew by.
I don’t know what’s next. All I’ve ever known is wrestling, grinding, and hustling.
And for one more year…that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I trust the universe to meet me where I’m at – like it always has.
Goodbye 2025.
One last run.

Goodbye 2025.
One last run. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/2PYWIbGQsd

— Mercedes Martinez 🏳️‍🌈🇵🇷 (@RealMMartinez) January 1, 2026