There are moments when, as a pro wrestling fan, I see nuggets of storylines evolve into something bigger and better and broader. A one-note character with limited microphone skills and limited in-ring abilities slowly morphs into a capable squared circle tactician who can spit fire with promo time.
And such is the case with AEW’s newest white-hot talent, Harley Cameron.
And to think, two years ago I dismissed Harley Cameron as a cookie-cutter blonde accessory to a level-Z wrestling faction called QTV (a parody of the gossip site TMZ, led by workhorse wrestler QT Marshall).
In fact, at the time Harley Cameron’s biggest claim to fame was her trying to seduce The Acclaimed’s Anthony Bowens, which … shall we say … was a wasted effort on her part. But not for serious lack of trying. I mean, the chants of “Who Are You?” from the crowd are like nails on a blackboard.
That was two years ago. Since then, both the Acclaimed and QTV have broken up; while Harley Cameron joined another faction, “The Outsiders,” a group of ex-WWE women’s wrestlers who tried to take over the AEW Women’s Division. And while Saraya and Ruby Soho were talented grapplers in their own right … Harley Cameron brought a wacky vibe to that faction that worked completely in her favor.
Take, for example, Harley’s sly reference to a classic Simpsons joke. While appearing in a backstage sketch with Saraya, Ruby Soho and interviewer Renee Paquette, Harley threatened to stab Ruby Soho with a knife … only to display a plastic ladle instead. I’ll just let you watch this for yourself.
And from there … Harley Cameron started receiving more and more TV time. She would wrestle the occasional match on AEW’s Saturday show Collision, where she came up short against the talents of stronger wrestlers like Mina Shirakawa and Mariah May.
But if you want to wrestle for titles, you have to earn wins. And after a long battle, Harley Cameron got her first televised AEW prime time victory … defeating veteran Taya Valkyrie.
So what do you do when you finally get a win? You try to challenge a title holder for their championship. And that’s what she tried to do with one of the top stars in the AEW’s women’s division, Mercedes Mone. I should note that Mercedes currently holds FOUR championship belts from three different companies, her collective belts actually weigh more than she does. And one victory does not guarantee you’ll get a title shot anywhere.
But Harley has a way to get under Mercedes Mone’s skin.
Enter another one of Harley Cameron’s talents. Ventriloquism. Oh, and Harley’s new sidekick … Puppet Mercedes Mone.
How Ranee Paquette can keep from laughing her ass off during these interviews is a feat in and unto itself.
Undaunted, Harley Cameron kept up the taunts and the teasing, and Puppet Mercedes came along for the ride. This keeps getting better. And better.
You know you want to see where this goes, don’t you? Yep. Last week, we witnessed the “Harley Halftime” concert, and the fans that two years ago shouted “Who Are You?” at Harley Cameron, were now singing along with her. And the ratings for that episode of AEW Collision spiked upward during this routine.
So now we have a match on the next AEW broadcast, which is tomorrow in Brisbane, Australia, as part of AEW’s big “Grand Slam” show Down Under. And although the card will feature a main event of Mariah May versus Toni Storm in what can only be a much-anticipated capper to their well-received “Three Faces of Eve” storyline, this feud between Harley Cameron and Mercedes Mone has the potential to blow the roof off the building.
Especially when every time Harley Cameron appears on TV, she demonstrates another talent. She can rap, she can throw her voice … she speaks fluent Mandarin??
Ho lee shit. In two years, Harley Cameron went from cookie-cutter eye candy to “put the damn TBS belt on her make a tiny little TBS replica belt for Puppet Mercedes” in nothing flat. And she’s part of a growing and thriving AEW Women’s Division – her, Mercedes Mone, Mariah May, Toni Storm, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, Megan Bayne, Julia Hart, Deonna Purrazzo, Thunder Rosa, Penelope Ford, Nyla Rose, Anna Jay – that have not only main-evented AEW’s television shows, but now have an opportunity to main-event a major show – and eventually, to main event an AEW pay-per-view.
Now could Harley Cameron win the TBS title this weekend? She could. And she’s got an incredible opponent in Mercedes Mone, who can wrestle in nearly every possible situation from joshi puroresu to luchadora, from strong style to slow burn. In technical terms, they can work together in the ring, which is what you want. Harley could get that incredible “underdog” rub and win the TBS title. Or she could come up just a bit short, but not lose her momentum.
Yeah, this is good. The future looks bright for Harley Cameron.
Definitely.
Chuck The Writer 
Harley, along with fellow Aussie Toni Storm, will get a hero’s welcome at Grand Slam Australia. The singing I knew about. She had cut, with WWE’s Shotzi & Scarlett, a cover of “I Put a Spell On You” a year or two back, which is when WWE should’ve signed her. She keeps this up, we might see her vs. Toni for the women’s World title down the road.
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I would argue that Harley is one of the “organic” talents AEW has cultivated – her, the Outrunners tag team, that luchadors Hologram and The Beast Mortos, for example.
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I saw someone on Reddit suggest that Harley suit up as Harleygram to hook up with Hologram. Wouldn’t mind seeing that as a comedy skit.
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