By Andrew Ravens

Copyright newsweek

A recently released WWE star has teased a potential debut in AEW. The star has her sights set on a major championship opportunity.

AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone is set to defend her title in an open challenge on next week’s episode of Dynamite. On the October 1 sixth-anniversary edition of the show, Mone announced that any wrestler from Florida was welcome to challenge her.

Former WWE star Shotzi has now responded to the challenge, teasing that she may be the one to answer the call. The interaction took place on the social media platform X.

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In response to a post from Mercedes Mone about the open challenge, Shotzi replied with a series of “eyes wide open” emojis. This indicated her interest in the championship match.

👀👀👀👀👀— Shotzi (@ShotziTCB) October 2, 2025

Mone’s original post read, “Any local Floridians want to wrestle me next week?” After Shotzi’s emoji response, the TBS Champion simply replied, “Oh”.

This exchange has generated significant speculation, as Shotzi is a Florida resident and a prominent free agent in professional wrestling. She was released by WWE earlier this year and has since been active on the independent circuit.

This photo shows AEW owner Tony Khan on April 20, 2022, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Khan spoke with Newsweek recently about the company coming to New York City for a large event.

Since her WWE departure, Shotzi has competed for several independent promotions, including a run in Game Changer Wrestling where she captured the GCW Championship. Her activity and success outside of WWE make her a credible and exciting potential challenger for Moné.

Mone has been a dominant TBS Champion since winning the title at the All In pay-per-view. Her open challenge presents a major opportunity for any competitor looking to make a name for themselves in AEW.

While Shotzi’s tease has created significant buzz, she is not the only potential challenger based in Florida. Other notable free agents in the region, such as the recently released Dakota Kai, also fit the criteria, creating a sense of unpredictability for the October 8 episode of Dynamite as fans wait to see who will step up.

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