AEW's Mercedes Mone Opens Up About Facing 'Icon And Legend' Emi Sakura

Mercedes Mone walked out of the Title Tuesday edition of "AEW Dynamite" with both her AEW TBS and NJPW STRONG Women's Championships around her waist after defeating Emi Sakura. It was the first time the two women had ever crossed paths, but it seems Mone had been wanting this match for quite some time. In the latest edition of her newsletter "The Mone Mag," Mone explained how it felt to share the ring with a woman she had been watching since she was a teenager.

"Emi is a Japanese icon and legend who's been in the wrestling business for 30 years! She is a legend and someone I've admired and have literally been watching since I was 13! So, for me personally, as a fan of the sport, as Mercedes Varnado, I am more excited than normal," Varnado wrote. "This will be one of those rare moments where I'm up against a veteran with so many more years and experience than me. It's crazy to think that this is only the third time in my career that I've had the chance to face someone with this kind of longevity. There are really only two other times in my career when I've faced women with more years in the business than me."

Mone also explained that due to all of the travel disruptions caused by Hurricane Milton, combined with all of the other duties she had to attend to during the day, she had virtually no time to prepare for her match with Sakura. However, given how she described the match as "EPIC!" in her newsletter, it's safe to say the lack of preparation didn't take anything away from her enjoyment of the bout.

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and thanks to "Mone Mag" for the transcription.