AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone has performed in some of the world's most famous venues, fromWembley Stadium, to Madison Square Garden, and has filled up venues in her hometown of Boston, Massachusetts more than most professional wrestlers. However, Mone got to live out a lifelong dream by performing at the Tokyo Dome on January 5 at the Wrestle Dynasty event, when she faced Mina Shirakawa.
In the latest edition of her "Mone Mag"newsletter, the AEW star detailed her trip to Japan, including having a panic attack the morning of her match.
"One of the lines Advocate Kev says to Team-Mon on our various trips is: 'We're gonna make history...AGAIN!' Though I have nerves and butterflies for all my big matches, my match at the Tokyo Dome against Mina was somehow different. From the moment I landed in Japan, where I actually bawled my eyes out with both disbelief and gratitude, to the morning of the event, where I had an actual panic attack, making history was the last thing on my mind. Kev could see my condition on the bus ride and asked: 'Are you nervous or just excited?' I replied, 'Both.' Truly, it was my lifelong dream to have a match at this level at the Tokyo Dome, so I was beyond excited," she said.
Mone defeated Shirakawa to not only retain her NJPW STRONG Women's Championship, but also became the new RevPro Undisputed British Women's Champion, and is now a champion for three companies based in three different countries on three different continents.
Wrestle Dynasty wasn't the first time Mone had stepped foot in the Tokyo Dome as she originally made her first wrestling-related appearance after her WWE departure at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 17 in 2023, confronting current WWE Superstar Kairi Sane.
However, Mone's match with Shirakawa was her first match in the iconic venue. In a country that feels like home to her, the AEW star explained that she only felt as nervous as she did because she didn't want to let anyone down.
"Along with the rich wrestling history, I feel as though, in some strange way, Japan, like Mexico, is another home. Yet, for all my joy, I was likewise petrified. I didn't want to let the promoters down. I didn't want to let the fans down. I didn't want to let Mina down. I especially, and as always, didn't want to let the women wrestlers of today AND tomorrow down. I want New Japan, and all promotions, globally, for that matter, to know that we female athletes deserve prominent recognition and a prominent place on the card," she said.
Mone's next appearance in any of the companies she currently holds championships for has yet to be confirmed, but given that she is now walking around with three championships (and four belts altogether due to RevPro's title merging with a now defunct UK promotion), she will likely be nervous as there are women all over the world who will now want a piece of "The CEO."
