AEW Women's World Champion Willow Nightingale and her challenger at AEW All In, Mercedes Mone, have a deep history, though one that only goes back a few years to their NJPW STRONG Women's Championship match in May 2023. It was the match where Mone suffered a near career-ending ankle injury, and where Nightingale became inaugural champion.It's something that's stuck with Mone, and it's helped fuel her feud with Nightingale over the top women's title in AEW. Both women sat down with Renee Paquette on an episode of "Close Up" and spoke about the match. Nightingale said she had to thank Mone, because the bout changed the trajectory of her career, but acknowledged she did take advantage of the situation."When I first won the STRONG Championship, I remember thinking to myself, 'Do I deserve this?'" she said. "Because she did get hurt in that match and I took advantage of that, because that's what a fighter does. Your opponent's hurt, hey, that's your opportunity. That's your opening. So I went for it and I did it."Mone said she remembered the moment she was injured and couldn't begin to explain the pain when her heel landed on the steel post. She said she knew she had to finish the match, no matter what."I knew that I couldn't just lay there and put up the 'X' and have doctors come around and carry me out," Mone said. "But every second that went by, I was getting weaker and weaker and more scared because that feeling in my leg was going all up my body. I knew that something was wrong, but I didn't know how wrong it was, until that one, two, three. Her standing over me. Her raising that title that I created with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. And her just smiling over me."
Mone described her terrible experience in the hospital and said that she never received a call or text from Nightingale. She did, however, have to see the star online, smiling with the title as she was recovering."Not only is it painful talking about the past, all these memories that I have of Willow is just that stupid, damn smile because I don't know what's so funny about me losing," Mone said. "About me being in pain... The woman that gave you an opportunity and you tried to take that from me and you're smiling in my face?"Nightingale said that while people were happy for her, others believed that she only lucked out. She said she had to work on her self confidence to get where she is now."I always tell myself, 'You didn't get here accidentally,'" she said. "'This wasn't a mistake. Everything happens on purpose.' People don't put you in these positions unless they think you can pull them off. Three years later, I do still have to like give myself a little pep talk every now and then, but I don't have such a giant, huge chip on my shoulder anymore."Mone said her career almost ended when she faced Nightingale in NJPW, and she had no idea if she would ever wrestle again. She said she couldn't stop dreaming about wrestling, and knew nothing outside of the fact she had to get back at Nightingale for what she and did to her.The pair will square off one-on-one for the fourth time, in their biggest meeting yet, at Wembley Stadium. The winner walks away as AEW Women's World Champion.If you use any quotes from this article, please credit AEW and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
