Willow Nightingale isn’t just dealing with a sore hand heading into AEW All In. It’s actually broken—and Tony Khan says AEW already had to change plans because of it.
During the AEW All In media call, Khan confirmed that Nightingale is dealing with a broken hand. The injury was serious enough that AEW had to make some changes during this week’s Dynamite and Collision tapings. There’s one thing it apparently isn’t changing, though: Willow vs. Mercedes Moné. Khan confirmed that Nightingale still intends to compete at All In despite the injury. Willow wants the match and wants to defend the AEW Women’s World Championship against Moné at Wembley Stadium, so the title match remains on.
That gives us a much clearer picture of what was going on during the August 26 Dynamite in Glasgow. Moné attacked Nightingale backstage during the show and specifically targeted her hand, leaving Willow clutching it in pain. At first, it looked like another piece of their story heading into All In.
Turns out AEW was working around something very real. Bryan Alvarez had already reported after Dynamite that the injury was legitimate, although the expectation was that Willow would still be able to wrestle.
“Willow’s hand injury is said to be legitimate, but she is expected to be able to work the show this weekend.”
Nightingale only won the AEW Women’s World Championship from Thekla at Redemption in July, while Moné earned her shot by winning the Owen Hart Foundation Cup. Instead of heading into one of the biggest defenses of her reign at full strength, Willow will now be wrestling with an injury that AEW has already acknowledged on television.
The good news is the match is still happening. The bad news is Willow is walking into it with a broken hand against a challenger who already knows exactly where to attack. So, we’ll have to see if Willow will walk out of Wembly Stadium as the AEW Women’s Champion.
Do you think Willow Nightingale can still retain against Mercedes Moné with a broken hand? Let us know in the comments.
