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.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
