Mercedes Martinez Discusses Her AEW Exit, Reveals Her Pitches to Tony Khan

During a recent interview with Fightful’s In the Weeds, former AEW wrestler and ROH Women’s World Champion Mercedes Martinez commented on her run in AEW and ROH fizzling out, with her not appearing on TV for nearly two years. Below are some highlights from Fightful:

Mercedes Martinez on Her AEW Exit

“I don’t want to talk bad about a company at all. Tony (Khan) gave me an opportunity when I first got there and ran with the popularity, and it just fizzled out a little bit. Sometimes, when you have a bloated roster, so many talented female wrestlers just go down the totem pole. That’s what I felt. I pitched idea after idea, and creative didn’t take to it for whatever reason. Was I frustrated with them? Not really. My thing was, if you don’t have anything for me that is going to elevate my career, that’s cool. I’m still going to pitch the ideas and do what I can. The last two years were a little bit homebound. I pitched the idea for me and Diamante to team. That went well for about six months, and then it kind of fizzled out for whatever reason. The time stuff for female wrestlers in any promotion tends to be small, and I think that was the problem. They had this phenomenal roster of talented female wrestlers, and they didn’t know where everybody was going to fit. I didn’t have to be on TV. I didn’t want to be on Dynamite or Collision. I was happy with Ring of Honor because that’s where you’re seeing a lot of up-and-coming wrestlers, which is what I wanted to do.”

On Telling AEW She Wanted To Spend Her Last Year on the Indies

“(I want to help) level up their game and teach them, but the cards weren’t there for me. I just stayed home. When they were ready to have me, I was ready to go. I made sure I got my reps on the indies so the rust wasn’t there. It’s one of those things where you can’t figure out because I have no idea why I wasn’t on TV or Ring of Honor for two years. I made a decision before my contract expired to kind of give them a way out. I said, ‘This is going to be my last year, and personally, I would rather do it on the indies and do it my way with my style of wrestling with no chains and the creative freedom on my own.’ I give all the props to Tony and thank him for the opportunity. I’m blessed for the opportunity he gave me. Maybe my style was too rough. Rugged and thugged [laughs].”

Martinez last wrestled for ROH in April, teaming with Diamante and Taya Valkyrie in a winning effort against Abadon, Lady Frost, and Leyla Hirsch. As noted, the wrestler recently announced that 2026 will be her last year as an active competitor.