Mariah May, the AEW Women’s World Champion, recently featured on the “Figure 4” podcast, where she unveiled her ambitions for the year 2025.
May revealed her interest in competing against TBS Champion Mercedes Mone, a face-off she regretfully hasn’t had the chance to experience yet. This match is a possibility she is seriously contemplating for the coming year.
She said, “I’m still going to be the Women’s World Champion. I’m all about moments and looking for that next big rival and creating a star just to kill a star. That’s really my focus for next year. I haven’t had to challenge for the TBS Championship. I haven’t stepped in the ring with Mercedes, or she’s never stepped to me. That’s something I’m looking at.”
In the recent AEW Battle of the Belts XII, May saw action but endured a defeat in a Title Eliminator Match against contender Anna Jay, who is set to go toe-to-toe with her for the championship title at AEW Collision in Philadelphia on November 2nd.
Elsewhere, during another AEW-related chat on the “AEW Unrestricted” podcast, Lio Rush expressed regret over his initial time with AEW during 2021, describing it as unsuccessful. However, he doesn’t blame anyone for this initial outcome. Rush has recently rejoined AEW after his brief stint.
Rush admitted, “I think last time, I had a lot of fear. I think I was going into it scared. It almost felt like I was getting another opportunity at being Lio Rush on television, but it almost didn’t feel fair that I had to do it in this way. I was still so young. I was going through so much during that time, that was during the pandemic so everything outside of what AEW was was obviously going on and it was kind of just a disaster off the jump. It was nobody’s fault, I think it just was not the right time. I don’t think it was the right time for me, I don’t think it was the right time for AEW to have me right there in the mental state that I was in. It wasn’t fair for both parties. I’m in a space where I feel confident, I feel a lot wiser, I feel a lot more prepared than I was before and I know what I can bring to the table and I want to offer that. I want to be a part of what AEW is doing and I want to be a part of the people that make AEW what it is. I’m just going into it with a much different mindset, and I think that’s the biggest difference.”