Mercedes Mone reveals why Japan rapidly improves wrestlers

Mercedes Mone joined AEW in March 2024. She debuted at Dynamite Big Business and immediately established herself as one of the top talents within the women's division. Just two months after her arrival, she won the TBS Women's championship at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view.

Over her first few months in AEW, Mone has been embroiled in a feud with Willow Nightingale and, more recently, Kris Statlander. However, she's still found time to add more gold to her collection by winning the New Japan Pro Wrestling's Women's Strong championship. 

Mone had spent time with NJPW before moving back to the United States to team up with Tony Khan's company. Her time in Japan allowed her to get an up-close look at the different style, training methods and culture surrounding wrestling. Anna Jay recently spent a few months with NJPW before returning to AEW, and has since received significant praise for her rapid improvements within the ring. 

During a recent interview with Yardbarker via the "Taylor Talks Wrestling" podcast, Mone explained how spending time in Japan can be such a steep learning curve for American talent. 

"It's the training," Mone said. "It's the grind. It's the hustle. They treat it like it's a legit sport. And I know Anna Jay wanted to go out there to get better, to learn and she grew so much as you can see in AEW now ... I'm sure she trained every single day and had matches every single day ... So it's cool to see that now she is a competitor for my New Japan strong championship."