Bully Ray Suggests Creative Plans For Mercedes Mone For Tonight's AEW Dynamite

Only 11 days remain before Mercedes Mone makes her AEW in-ring debut, challenging Willow Nightingale for the AEW TBS Championship at AEW Double or Nothing. The match will be Mone's first since she lost to Nightingale in a bout for the New Japan Strong Women's Championship one year ago, with Mone suffering an injury that she later admitted almost ended her career.

Despite the comeback, Mone has had to battle for fan support in her rivalry with the popular Nightingale, with some even wondering if Mone could possibly turn heel. Whether or not that is the plan, that's exactly what Bully Ray would do, with the two-time Hall of Famer suggesting on "Busted Open Radio" that AEW pull the trigger on the turn tonight on "Dynamite," where Mone and Nightingale will have a contract signing for their Double or Nothing match.

"I'd turn Mercedes heel tonight in front of a live 'Dynamite' crowd," Bully said. "I'd have her...I don't know what physicality she's capable, but I'd have her smack Willow in the face. I'd do whatever you had to do to impose your will tonight and go into this pay-per-view with 'I'm the heel. I'm the bad guy...' 

"I would love hear from someone who would say 'No Bully, Mercedes is the babyface in my eyes because of this.' You can't say 'Mercedes is a babyface in my eyes because she left the WWE.' I get it, you're an AEW fan and a WWE talent left to come over here. But what has she done here to make you love her more?"

Continuing his fantasy booking, Bully stated he would have Mone defeat Nightingale to win the TBS Championship at Double or Nothing, and would then move her into a feud with top AEW star Britt Baker. The former AEW Women's World Champion has been absent from TV since September, reportedly recovering from an injury, and Bully believes the layoff will allow Baker to return as a huge babyface, and the antithesis for Mone's potential heel persona.

"When she [Britt] comes back, that AEW fanbase is going to love her. And if Mercedes Mone takes the route of 'Yeah, I said I was going back to the WWE in about three years. And I stand behind it. You're all a bunch of suckers, and the biggest sucker is Tony Khan, because he gave me every single dime I asked for.' I would lean into this s**t so much that when Britt Baker came back, they would be down on their hands and knees praying for Britt to take that championship off of Mercedes Mone."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription