Mercedes Moné has never forgotten the night her match with Willow Nightingale went horribly wrong, and the AEW star says the injury affected her so much mentally that she eventually needed therapy.
While speaking to the Daily Star, Moné opened up about the serious ankle injury she suffered while wrestling Nightingale in their NJPW Strong Women’s Championship match. Years later, that moment still plays a major role in why Moné views their rivalry as deeply personal. Moné explained that she couldn’t stop replaying the injury in her mind. She remembered slipping, hitting the steel post and immediately realizing this wasn’t normal wrestling pain.
“Don’t think going to therapy is making you crazy or there’s something wrong with you. It’s actually something very beautiful. Going to therapy can release so many things, and for me, I had to go to therapy because nonstop I could think about this moment of me slipping and landing on a steel post and feeling just that crack, and that moment of being like, ‘Wait, I felt pain before, but what is this? Can I stand? Can I walk? Can I finish this match?’”
Despite knowing something was seriously wrong, Moné said her first instinct was still to get back into the ring and finish what she started. She also made it clear she hasn’t forgotten how Nightingale reacted once she realized Moné was hurt.
“I slid right in. I tried to finish this match, and Willow took advantage. She saw that I was hurt.”
Moné went even further while discussing that night, recalling how Nightingale stood over her and smiled after getting the victory. For Moné, that image became another part of the memory she carried with her after the injury.
“Not only did she see that I was hurt, but she stood over me after she pinned me and smiled at me. Me, the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, the woman that really pushed this era forward, the woman that made people believe that they can be women’s wrestlers. She was smiling at me.”
That history is a major reason Moné isn’t treating her latest showdown with Nightingale like just another championship match. The injury nearly took wrestling away from her, forced her to deal with the mental fallout in therapy and left her with an image of Nightingale standing over her that she clearly hasn’t forgotten.
Now Moné gets another chance to settle things inside the ring, and judging by the way she talks about that injury, there’s a lot more driving her than simply adding another championship to her collection.
What do you think about Mercedes Moné revealing that she needed therapy after her injury against Willow Nightingale? Do you think their real history makes the rivalry more compelling? Let us know your thoughts and feedback.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
