Mercedes Money talks NJPW Capital Collision, big career moments, more

[Chris]

AEW star Mercedes Moné, formerly WWE’s Sasha Banks, defends NJPW title at Capital Collision in DC - WTOP News

One of the biggest names in professional wrestling is preparing for a match in D.C. This Friday night, Mercedes Moné defends her NJPW Strong Women’s Championship at the third annual Capital Collision.

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On facing Momo Watanabe:

“I am facing Momo Watanabe,” Moné told WTOP. “She is a New Japan superstar, but she stands no chance going up against the ‘C.E.O.’ of AEW and New Japan. I am really the greatest women’s wrestler of all time. I know Momo is known for her knee strikes, but I am also known for my knee strikes, so I feel like tonight is going to be a battle of the knees. I’m so excited to just knee her in the face and let the whole world know that I am the queen of Japan.”

On Snoop Dogg:

“I didn’t know him until I was probably like 10 years old and my dad was like, ‘Your cousin is a really famous rapper now,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, cool,'” Moné said. “When I was 16 he took me to ‘WrestleMania 24’ and that’s when we really started to become close. Our bond is the love of wrestling, he grew up such a wrestling fan and I grew up watching wrestling, so when we went to ‘WrestleMania’ together … I told him one day I wanted to be a wrestler.”

On feud with Bayley in NXT:

“We did so good that they had to give us the main event,” Moné said. “I remember that match going over 30 minutes. Any time I’m in the ring with Bayley she is one of my favorite people to perform against. There’s always magic when we’re in the ring together, so that’s definitely one of my favorite highlights of my career. At that time women were not even given 10 minutes for a match, so to be given 30 minutes was so incredibly special.”

On feud with Charlotte in 2016:

“It meant a lot because I started out with Charlotte in 2012 and I remember being in developmental with her,” Moné said. “With that last name of Flair, I was like, ‘Just because you’re a Flair, you’re not me.’ … Having that feud with Charlotte was such an amazing experience. I really feel like it helped put women’s wrestling on the map and she pushed me to new heights that I’ve never been before in the ring, so I had an incredible feud with her.”

On WrestleMania vs Bianca Belair:

“It was so emotional,” Moné said. “That was one of my biggest dreams since I was 10 years old, but it was so big I didn’t think it was possible, then here I was at ‘WrestleMania 37’ in the middle of the ring looking at Bianca like, ‘Wow, we are doing this, this is so much bigger than us, bigger than wrestling.’ That moment was so special. The way she looked at me, I was like, ‘Girl, you better stop before I start bawling and we slip in the ring from our tears.'”

On wrestling at Wembley Stadium:

“I’m still on a high from it,” Moné said. “Last year I was just a fan in attendance with a broken heel dreaming about which company I’m going to be in. Now this year performing at ‘All In’ at Wembley was such a dream come true, it was so amazing, the crowd was electric and I can’t wait to do it all again next year at ‘All In’ in Dallas, Texas. It’s been such an exciting time for professional wrestling because of AEW — and I enjoy being the face of TBS.”

Final thoughts:

“Professional wrestling has been the best it’s ever been in the past 10 years, so I’m so happy to be part of it,” Moné said. “AEW is going global, so any woman who wants to come after my championships, I’m always ready.”