It remains uncertain when or if Mercedes Mone will make a return to NJPW.
After shocking the wrestling world in January by appearing at Wrestle Kingdom 17, Mone went on to defeat KAIRI and capture the IWGP Women’s Championship in her debut match for the promotion. After losing the title to Mayu Iwatani, Mone entered a tournament to crown the first-ever NJPW Strong Women’s Champion. Advancing to the final, Mone lost to Willow Nightingale after suffering an injury and forcing an audible to be called mid-match.
Still yet to make an appearance for New Japan either in-person or via video, it is unknown when or if the former IWGP Champion will return.
Rocky Romero, who serves as an ambassador for New Japan, was asked for an update regarding The CEO while being interviewed by WrestlePurists. Romero could not give any more information regarding a return date, but did state that both parties remain in regular contact:
“I honestly don’t have an update right now. I hope that I’ll be talking to her agent and her maybe soon-ish, but I honestly don’t have any update about anything,” he said. “The last thing I had heard was that she was recovering well and basically, they were going to let me know or reach out when she was getting close to a comeback.”
“There’s definitely still communication,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t know what she’s going to want to do when she comes back for sure. Especially coming back from a serious injury that kind of messed her up, you know, maybe messed up her timeframe of what she wanted to do and how she wanted to do it. So, I really couldn’t speak for her, I don’t think it would be fair.
Romero concluded by stating that he hopes that Mone will have more matches for the promotion and is pleased with the matches that have taken place so far:
“I think that she thoroughly enjoyed her time in New Japan and New Japan loved working with her and obviously would love to continue to work with her, but I think everybody’s pretty happy with the work that we’ve done,” he added.
Will Mercedes Mone Join AEW?
The last time that Mone was seen at a wrestling event was when she was spotted in the crowd at Wembley Stadium during AEW All In. With Full Gear taking place in California, Mercedes Mone has hinted at another future AEW appearance.
Mone left WWE in 2022 following an infamous backstage incident that took place between herself, Naomi and John Laurinaitis. With fans still speculating about the alleged events that took place, Mercedes Mone also recently hit back at a fan who believed they had all the details surrounding her WWE exit.
In the latest update, Mercedes Mone is back in the ring.
H/t to Fightful.