At NJPW Battle in the Valley, Mercedes Monè won the IWGP Women’s Championship by beating KAIRI in a hard-hitting singles match.
Monè's good friend and current WWE star, Bayley, was also in attendance in San Jose. Interestingly enough, the Damage CTRL leader was wearing a Lucha mask to keep things in order and not cause any chaos among the spectators.
According to Twitter user @RighteousReg, though, Bayley opted not to keep the mask on and eventually took it off to show her support for Monè.
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Mercedes Monè reflected on her time away from WWE
Mercedes Monè (fka Sasha Banks in WWE) and her former tag team partner Naomi walked out of the company due to them reportedly having issues with the creative team.
At Wrestle Kingdom 17, Monè made her NJPW x STARDOM debut, confronting KAIRI after her match against Tam Nakano.
During a recent interview with the TV Insider, the former WWE star reflected on her time away from the Stamford-based company. Monè said:
"It’s really an opportunity to really choose things for myself and to really be my moniker for the past 10 years. To be a boss. To be built on success. To do everything yourself and evolve into a CEO. To be a boss of my own IP. A boss of my own schedule. It has been such a crazy journey so far to figure it out because I’ve been used to such a system, but it has been such a blessing. I haven’t had such growth in my life like I”ve had in the past nine months. For me, it has been an incredible experience and journey."
Monè's victory at Battle in the Valley was her first official match since departing WWE and also her first championship win.
What did you make of Mercedes Monè's match at Battle in the Valley against KAIRI? Sound off in the comments section below.