Latest on Mercedes Moné's NJPW Status (Exclusive)

Mercedes Moné will be back in a squared circle again soon. The former IWGP Women's Champion shared a vignette of herself resuming in-ring training last week, showcasing herself running the ropes for the first time since injuring her ankle this past May. Moné was wrestling AEW's Willow Nightingale in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural NJPW STRONG Women's Champion when she hurt her ankle. This injury put Moné on the shelf indefinitely and resulted in her not being cleared come events like AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door and AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts, two shows she was rumored to have been involved in if she was healthy.

Now that she is getting back into in-ring shape, questions are rising about where her next match will take place.

Latest on Mercedes Moné's NJPW Status

Whenever Mercedes Moné steps back into the ring, it might be a surprise for everyone across the board.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, NJPW star and ambassador Rocky Romero noted that there remains "no update" on Moné's NJPW status.

"No update so far, but I saw the video and I liked it," Romero said of Moné's new vignette. "I'm glad that she's back into doing what she was put on this earth to do."

When he's not competing in the ring, Romero is one of New Japan's strongest liaisons. He helped foster NJPW's working relationship with AEW back in 2021 and played an instrumental role in bringing Moné to the Far East when she became a free agent.

"Within a couple of months for sure," Romero said of how quickly Moné's debut this past January at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 came to be. "I can't remember the exact timeframe, but once we kind of all knew that we all wanted to do it, on her side and New Japan's side, everybody was in. We made some cool things happen. It worked out really easily."

Romero remains optimistic that Moné still has more New Japan matches in her but admitted that there will be multiple companies vying for her services.

"I do hope that we would be able to work with her in the future, but she's also got so many options," Romero continued. "She's the number one free agent in the world right now, without a doubt. And I'm sure that AEW and WWE and Impact Wrestling and everybody under the sun is trying to see what Mercedes is going to do next."