7 Ups & 5 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 (Review)
2. Mercedes Moné Arrives
Mercedes Moné’s debut was unfortunately mostly terrible.
A star on her level on a stage that big after a wait so long shouldn’t have coalesced to cultivate a moment that felt so awkward and small-time, but that was the case in what ended up being a difficult marriage of different presentation styles.
A botched new finisher on Kairi after a handshake didn’t help, nor did an uncharacteristic but understandably nervy promo from the former ‘Boss’. But these are growing pains at worst, first night jitters at best, and everything in wrestling is recoverable.
Her new look was typically dynamic, the gimmick is fully-drawn and the eventual title fight with Kairi that this arrival served to promote will be a killer, but it was hard to shake the feeling that the whole thing was 2023’s first abject disappointment.