Mercedes Mone praises Athena after AEW Dynamite match: ‘Too talented to be denied’
TBS Champion Mercedes Mone says her match on AEW Dynamite was everything she wanted and more.
Mone defeated ROH Women’s World Champion Athena on Wednesday night to advance to the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. The match took place in her hometown of Boston. Mone spoke with The Boston Herald about the experience and praised her opponent.
“I hadn’t wrestled in Boston for years, so to do it right next to Fenway and see and hear and feel this crowd — it was amazing,” she said. “Once I was in the ring, I felt the crowd and lived in that moment.”
“Before we even locked up, I was so overwhelmed. I couldn’t even be Mercedes Mone the character — I was Mercedes Varnado, taking it all in. As the crowd was cheering, I asked myself, ‘Is this really happening?’”
“It was everything I wanted and more, especially to do it against Athena. Even in defeat, Athena deserves her praise. She’s too talented to be denied.”
After the match, AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm and her butler Luther appeared in the stands and applauded Mone. Storm and Mone have never had a singles match, but the two champions could end up facing off if Storm retains her title heading into AEW All In: Texas and Mone wins the Owen Hart Cup to qualify for a title match on the show.
“I’ve never had the chance to wrestle Toni Storm in a singles match,” said Mone, who had a brief staredown with Storm after the match. “You have no idea how badly I want that.”
The full interview with Mone from The Boston Herald is available here.