Mercedes Moné Wins AEW TBS Title Match vs. Willow Nightingale at Double or Nothing

In her first match since signing with AEW, Mercedes Moné defeated Willow Nightingale at Double or Nothing on Sunday to win the TBS Championship.

Mercedes won with the Moné Maker to cap a hard-hitting match, which included Willow crushing the new champion with a power bomb on the ring apron:

Willow had this match won after hitting Moné with the Doctor Bomb, but referee Aubrey Edwards was distracted by Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway. Mercedes kicked out before a three-count and eventually took control of the match for the win.

To add insult to injury, Hathaway yelled at Willow for losing post-match. Willow shoved him down, and Statlander starting helping the tired and hurt ex-champ to the back...until she turned heel and hit her with a lariat.

Speculation ran rampant for months regarding Mercedes joining AEW, and it finally came to fruition on the Big Business edition of Dynamite in her hometown of Boston in March.

Moné expressed her excitement to be in AEW and expressed her belief that AEW was the one place where she could help change women's wrestling for the better.

On that same night, Willow faced Riho in the main event, and Mercedes saved Willow from an attack at the hands of Julia Hart and Skye Blue.

While Moné is best known for her decade-long run in WWE as Sasha Banks, which saw her become a multi-time champion and WrestleMania main eventer, she and Willow crossed paths in between her WWE and AEW stints.

During Mercedes' time as a member of the New Japan Pro-Wrestling roster, she faced Nightingale on an NJPW Strong show. Moné suffered a significant ankle injury during the bout, allowing Willow to win.

That essentially kept Mercedes out of action for an entire year since the injury occurred in May 2023, and she didn't wrestle again until Sunday.

Given that Moné suffered a career-threatening injury in a match against Nightingale, it made sense for Willow to be her first target in AEW upon being cleared to compete.

That much became clear at Dynasty when Willow beat Hart for the TBS Championship, marking her first title win in AEW. Afterward, Nightingale was confronted by Mercedes, and their match was made official for Double or Nothing.

There was support for both wrestlers during Sunday's match since both Mercedes and Willow are fan favorites, but ultimately it was The CEO who emerged as TBS champion in her first AEW match.

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