Mercedes Moné is no longer the IWGP Women’s Champion, but that doesn’t mean she’s leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling right away.
That’s significant because for some time, the thought was that Moné was only going to stick around NJPW for a short time, and that dropping the title would be a sign she’d be moving on. She did the first part over the weekend at Stardom All Star Grand Queendom, where she was defeated by Mayu Iwatani in the show’s penultimate match.
But afterward, Moné said she wanted to get the title back at some point and declared that the next stop on her “world tour” would be the NJPW Strong Resurgence show on May 21 in Long Beach.
NJPW is already promoting her for that event, which would be the second card she will work for the company in the U.S. following Battle in the Valley in San Jose in February — where Moné won the IWGP Women’s Championship by defeating Kairi.
Moné’s contract with NJPW and Stardom parent company Bushiroad was said to originally expire after this weekend’s event, but Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that both sides agreed to an extension several days ago. The question now is how long that extension will be, and if it runs through the summer.
If it does, that could put Moné in play for Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall on June 4. An even more tantalizing prospect would be if she’s available for Forbidden Door, the dual-branded show with AEW which is slated for Toronto on June 25.
Wrestling fans have wondered for some time if the former Sasha Banks might show up in AEW at some point, and Forbidden Door would allow her to do that without actually signing with the company — particularly if the build is like last year’s, where some New Japan talent appeared on AEW Dynamite and Rampage in the weeks leading up to the event.
For now, anyway, Moné will be working for NJPW at least one more time in a place she knows well.