Mercedes Martinez returned to the AEW scene in devastating fashion when she directly cost Thunder Rosa her Semi-Final match in the TBS Title Tournament. In the moment, given that it was Jade Cargill who benefited from the attack, the logical assumption was that “Smart” Mark Sterling orchestrated the entire thing to benefit his client, and given the source, their pleads of ignorance were not the most credible.
Well, there is a reason there’s an old joke about what happens when you assume…
Turns out, as confessed by the Good Doctor herself, AEW Women’s World Champion Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D was the one responsible for Mercedes sudden return to All Elite Wrestling. As if the presence of Jamie Hayter and Rebel weren’t enough to insulate the champion, she also felt the need to bring Mercedes into the fold, which as evidenced on Rampage, hasn’t exactly sat well with Hayter.
At this point, given the extremely impressive win-streak Rosa racked up prior to the Cargill match that should have netted her a World Championship bid, the Lights Out victory she holds over Baker, and now the inclusion of Mercedes, it is quite evident that Britt has been running scared from Thunder Rosa for almost a year. That TBS Title tournament, that was Rosa’s chance to finally get something she’d earned, and Britt spitefully took it away via Martinez.
So now this Wednesday night, as a result of the DQ ending to their first meeting, Thunder Rosa will get her chance to take her own spite out on Mercedes in a No Disqualification contest! Britt Baker created this situation, but just like so many other instances in her AEW career, someone else will have to deal with the consequences. The Good Doctor should feel blessed the the woman batting clean-up for her this time is one of the most intimidating figures in professional wrestling, and someone who will relish bringing the fight to Thunder.
We have all seen what Rosa is capable of when the rules are not restraining her, the kind of viciousness she is capable of, but what AEW has not yet seen are the depths Mercedes will go to under the auspices of a No DQ match. It is going to be painful, both women will leave this match hurting, and regardless of who gets their hand raised, each will know they went through a war to get there!