Mercedes Mone is out of action after suffering an ankle injury at NJPW Resurgence, and a new report sheds light on how severe her injury is believed to be.
The former Sasha Banks made waves when she returned to the world of wrestling back in January, confronting then-IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Mone went on to defeat KAIRI for the title in February before losing it to Mayu Iwatani in April.
The star next set her sights on becoming the inaugural NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion at Resurgence, defeating Stephanie Vaquer in the first round of a tournament. However, disaster struck during her tournament final match against Willow Nightingale as she landed awkwardly on her ankle following a fall off the top turnbuckle. Despite Mone being scheduled to win the match, an audible was called, and Nightingale was crowned champion instead.
Mone was helped to the back following the match, clearly in a great deal of pain. New Japan Pro Wrestling issued a statement following the bout, confirming that the star had suffered an ankle injury, but the statement made no mention of the ankle being broken as was originally reported.
Now, an update from Fightful Select provides more insight into the injury, stating that sources close to Mone believe her ankle is definitely sprained with fear that it could be broken. The report notes that there was too much swelling in the ankle to know the severity of the injury for sure, and that they’re hoping for a clearer indication of what’s going on when the swelling has subsided.
According to the report, Mone was in a great deal of pain after the match, and was helped to the back by current WWE star Tamina among others.
Mercedes Mone Made The Call To Lose To Willow Nightingale At NJPW Resurgence
The report from Fightful Select also notes that it was Mercedes herself who made the call to lose to Willow Nightingale when she realized something was wrong with her ankle after she fell. The STRONG Women’s Championship was reportedly created with Mone in mind, so Nightingale’s win is a major change to creative plans within the company.
Writing in a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer revealed that Mone had extended her deal with New Japan, leading to the creation of the new title. Meltzer wrote:
“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.”