Tony Khan made a big mistake with Mercedes Moné in AEW, WWE veteran says (Exclusive)

Mercedes Moné recently confirmed to TMZ Sports that AEW President Tony Khan has given her creative control. Vince Russo, a WCW writer when Hulk Hogan had the power to change his storylines, thinks Khan made a mistake with Moné's contract.

Moné made her name as Sasha Banks in WWE between 2012 and 2022. The 32-year-old debuted in AEW in March and has already captured the AEW TBS Championship and the NJPW Strong Women's Championship.

Russo appeared on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws with host Dr. Chris Featherstone. The former TNA, WCW, and WWE writer said Khan should have given Moné more money rather than allow her to alter storylines:

"You can never give creative control," Russo said. "I swear to you, I would tell Tony, 'Yeah, bro, pay her 10 million dollars before you give her creative control.'" [5:18 – 5:27]

Russo added that actors would never demand creative control when they sign up to star in a movie. Similarly, he thinks the days of wrestlers dictating what they do on television should be a thing of the past:

"This is entertainment," Russo said. "It's a television show. Can you imagine an actor like [Robert] De Niro, 'Okay, bro, yeah, yeah, Martin [Scorsese], I'll sign on to The Godfather, but I've got creative control.' Can you imagine an actor pulling that in a movie or a television show where every time they get the script, they now [influence the story]?" [3:26 – 3:48]

Watch the video above to hear more from Russo about his negative experiences with wrestlers who wrote their own storylines.

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Why Vince Russo thinks Mercedes Moné should not have creative control

In 2000, Vince Russo famously clashed with wrestling legend Hulk Hogan over the booking of WCW Bash at the Beach. Russo was tasked with writing the show, while Hogan was the top star and wanted to change the script.

More than two decades on, Russo cannot understand why Tony Khan is allowing Mercedes Moné to have a say in her storyline direction:

"Bro, it's horrible. I don't care, it's got nothing to do with where you are on the card. It is horrible. Why, bro? Because your creative control is going to affect other people. That's why. You're not doing an angle by yourself, bro. You're involved with other people, so now if you have creative control, that is involving other people on the roster. It's horrible, bro." [3:48 – 4:17]

Mercedes Moné has defeated Skye Blue, Stephanie Vaquer, Willow Nightingale, and Zeuxis since joining AEW. Moving forward, she looks set to feud with Britt Baker in the coming weeks.

What are your thoughts on Tony Khan giving Mercedes Moné creative control? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.

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Vince Russo thinks Tony Khan does not care about AEW's TV ratings. You can check out his full comments in the exclusive video below.