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Mercedes Mone is reportedly set to work for a major promotion despite being under contract with AEW.
After months of speculation, Mercedes finally made her much-anticipated debut at AEW Big Business. She kicked off the show with a promo thanking fans for their support over the years. Later in the night, the former WWE Superstar also saved Willow Nightingale from a vicious attack at the hands of Julia Hart and Skye Blue.
While the dust on her impressive debut continues to settle, Fightful Select has reported that New Japan Pro-Wrestling was under the impression that they would get to work with the former IWGP Women's Champion in a big way. The report added that the Japan-based promotion hoped they could pick up where they left off last year before Mone's injury.
Following her departure from WWE, Mone showed up at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom, where she attacked Kairi Sane. She then defeated her for the IWGP Women's Champion. However, the former Women's Champion sustained an injury, which ended her promising run.
Bully Ray opens up on Mercedes Mone's AEW debut
Mercedes Mone's AEW debut has the entire wrestling world talking about it. Many wrestlers and critics have commented and given their thoughts on it. Bully Ray is the latest to open up about the former WWE star's debut.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray stated that Mercedes' promo hit home for him.
"This really hit home. When Mercedes said, 'I want to be here,' That's the stuff wrestling fans wanna hear. I don't know necessarily how they feel about things like CM Punk saying, 'I'm home!' but that's a little eh, but when Mercedes Mone said, 'I have to be here!' and 'I want to be here!' you gotta fully immerse yourself in that feeling. This felt very WWE-esque in the presentation, and Mercedes came off as a real star."
He continued:
"Sometimes, with all of these new signings, things get wonky, and [it] helps that they were in Boston, her home city. But she had that aura to her tonight. She carried herself well tonight. She sucked it all in. She milked it. For every last cheer, it was worth [it], and it worked." [4:00 - 5:15]
It will be interesting to see how Mercedes Mone fares in All Elite Wrestling.
