Mercedes Moné: ‘I turn down to nobody’; will face anyone

Mercedes Mone is one of the biggest names in professional wrestling and she’s looking forward to taking on all comers.

Last month, Mercedes Moné made her in-ring debut for NJPW and won the IWGP Women’s Championship. Since then, she has announced that she’s a free agent and “I can go to New Japan, Impact, Mexico, Germany, Europe. The potential matchups are endless.”

In an interview with TMZ Sports, the champ says “I’m taking this title global, not just Japan. (…) I’m going to see what little promotions I can pop up to.”

Her next match will be against AZM at NJPW’s Sakura Genesis on April 8. Moné said she’s interested to see who else will step up and that “I turn down to nobody.”

Moné will reportedly face Mayu Iwatani on April 23. Beyond that, no other matches have been confirmed.

Since “The CEO” is in demand and a free agent, here are some potential opponents for her.

Mickie James

After the online buzz from fans about wanting this match-up, Moné posted photos of herself and Mickie James to her Instastory.

James addressed the possibility of “Busted Open” and said, “I’m always ready to step in the ring with Mercedes Moné.” She is “honored” that Moné would mention her and acknowledged that the match is more possible now than ever before.

James won her “Last Rodeo” match against Jordynne Grace to become the IMPACT Knockouts Champion at Hard to Kill. She successfully defended her title at No Surrender against Masha Slamovich. Fans have called for the dream match to happen at IMPACT’s “Multiverse United: Only the STRONG Survive” show on March 30. They could potentially have a champion vs. champion match.

Trish Adora

Another match that has been proposed is Moné vs. Trish Adora. The Black Guy Wrestling Podcast tweeted photos of both women with their respective titles with the caption “this is the match we should be pushing for.”

Adora quoted the tweet with “I’ll have a very firm handshake waiting.”

Maria Kanellis-Bennett quote tweeted it as well stating that the match would be incredible and that she “always wanted to have Pure matches in Ring of Honor.”

That’s one place where the match could happen. However given that Moné isn’t interested in a long-term deal right now, Tony Khan might have to either agree to a one-off deal or a very limited deal.

Adora has been the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora champion for over 1100 days. She has defended the title in multiple promotions. Besides defending her title, she has also wrestled in companies like TJPW and PROGRESS. A number of independent promotions could host the match, including F1ght Club Pro.

Kenny Omega

I know what you’re thinking. Mercedes Moné vs. Kenny Omega? It is more likely than you think. The match just wouldn’t be a singles match. It would very likely be a mixed match.

Recently, Moné tweeted a clip of her meeting Omega again at Wrestle Kingdom 17 and said “until our paths meet again.” He quote tweeted it by teasing fans “our work with NJPW isn’t quite done yet, so I’m sure they will! I hear they sometimes do mix matches now too…”

https://twitter.com/KennyOmegamanX/status/1628801707839815686?s=20

Moné is free to work Forbidden Door 2. A match could potentially take place on that card. But would Omega be her partner or her opponent?

The team of Moné and Kazuchika Okada seems very likely since the pair ended Battle in the Valley together. Fans have been asking for a dream mixed tag match for them against Omega and Hikaru Shida.

Could you imagine? In 2023, it’s more possible than ever.

One thing we know is that  Mercedes Moné loves professional wrestling. She doesn’t want to be bound by long contracts in place for the foreseeable future. She has trained with the likes of Juventud Guerrera in Mexico and Katsuyori Shibata at NJPW’s LA Dojo. She is immersing herself in multiple styles so that she can compete with the best around the world. Moné can have as many dream matches as she wants for as long as she wants. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.