Mercedes Martinez will forever be a household name from the indie scene. As a 25 plus year veteran, Martinez has been extremely popular from her times with SHIMMER, SHINE, WSU, and many other promotions. However, when it comes to mainstream wrestling organizations such as WWE and AEW, Martinez was not utilized to her veteran worth.
While speaking with A2theKWrestling, Martinez had the following to say:
“I’m blessed for the opportunity that Tony [Khan] gave me for the last four years. But it felt like the last year and a half, almost two years, I just sat on the shelf not doing anything for the company,” she said.
Martinez continues trying to make sense of her time in AEW, and the lack of use.
“And it kind of messes with your mind a lot. It kind of just makes you think, ’Am I worth it? Does he really want to utilize my talent and my expertise?’ I know my style is not like a TV style. It’s very just raw. It’s very rugged. It’s very old school in the sense of very power and strong style. And maybe the girls didn’t want to wrestle somebody like me with that style because it’s very raw. But I also look at Eddie Kingston and be like, ‘Well, if he can do it, I know I can do it. You need a female like that.’”
“It’s kind of one of those things where I’m just like, ‘Man, I’m hitting that age group. I’m 45, and can I still go with the new generation?’ Maybe that’s their thing. Maybe they didn’t want to put me into creative storylines or anything like that I’ve pitched,” she continued. “So it’s just one of those things where I’m like, maybe if we don’t renew the contract, which I already knew wasn’t going to happen, that I’m gonna go out the way I want to go out.“
Martinez did win the ROH Women’s World Title will under the AEW umbrella. Since dropping the title to Athena at the end of 2022, Martinez wasn’t a focus for the company. She has announced that 2026 will be her last year, and she will go out on her own terms on the indies.