Mercedes Moné is reportedly sticking with NJPW for the long run.
This past Sunday at NJPW Resurgence, Willow Nightingale was crowned the inaugural NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion after defeating both Momo Kohgo and Mercedes Moné in a one-night tournament that also involved Stephanie Vaquer. The main event result was seemingly unplanned, however, as Moné was reportedly the planned winner of the tournament before sustaining an injury during her bout with Willow.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has now provided an update on Moné’s contract status with New Japan Pro Wrestling following Resurgence, revealing that the former IWGP Women’s Champion agreed to a long-term deal following her previous agreement expiring on April 27th.
“Mone had agreed to a longer-term deal with New Japan when her original deal expired on 4/27. We were told that the New Japan Strong championship and belt were created when she agreed to the longer term deal and both were created for her, after she showed strong drawing power for the San Jose show which sold out the Civic Auditorium.”
– Dave Meltzer
As noted in the report, NJPW are believed to have created the STRONG Women’s Championship for Moné specifically, and thus she’ll likely look to gain a rematch with Willow Nightingale when she’s eventually able to return to the ring.
NJPW confirmed yesterday that Moné has suffered an injury to her right ankle, with her current timetable for return still yet to be revealed. As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Mercedes Moné’s contract and injury status as soon as we hear more, and we wish her all the best in her recovery.
