Mercedes Mone Opens Up About The 'Magical' Experience Of Working In Japan

Mercedes Mone has been a very busy woman since leaving WWE in May 2022. She reprised her role as Koska Reeves in "The Mandalorian," appeared in her first feature length movie in "The Collective," and even made a cameo appearance in the crowd at AEW's "All In" pay-per-view in August 2023. However, since leaving WWE, Mone was able to achieve something that she had dreamt of since she was a child; wrestling in Japan, where she made her first appearance in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

During a recent edition of the "Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast," Mone explained how much working in Japan meant to her. 

"What a dream," Mone exclaimed. "That was my biggest, biggest dream since I was a kid, to go to Japan and to work in a Japanese promotion. But to work in New Japan, the biggest, and a male-dominated [promotion], where they just created this women's championship, the IWGP Women's Championship, and to be the second ever after KAIRI, history-making things." Mone also opened up about how she was able to meet some of her female idols on her travels in Japan, including joshi legends like Aja Kong, who still wrestles to this day, and Manami Toyota, who Mone called the female version of the late Eddie Guerrero, another hero of hers.

Mone stated how she got goosebumps meeting the people she grew up watching, and that, at the end of the day, she's a fan at heart. "How can I still experience these moments where I'm such a giddy...I'm a mark first. I love wrestling, and I love that I can meet my heroes and idols through this business."

Please credit "Kick Rock Wrestling Podcast" when using using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.