Mercedes Moné will make her next defense of the IWGP women’s championship Sunday, wrestling the incredibly talented Mayu Iwatani at Stardom’s All Star Grand Queendom.
In Yokohama, Japan, Moné plans on again displaying why she is the industry’s most distinct standard-setter. Only 31, she has embarked on an extraordinarily difficult journey, leaving the powerful reach of WWE to challenge herself in ways that are simply not yet possible in North America.
“The ultimate goal for a lot of professional wrestlers is to make it to WWE,” says Moné, who set the industry aflame in WWE as Sasha Banks. “That’s what I thought was the big time. But I did that. I wanted to make new history, and the place to do it is here in Japan. Japan has the highest standards for women’s wrestling, and I want to set the standard in New Japan.”
