AEW Reportedly Wanted Mercedes Moné at Forbidden Door, Might Have Faced Saraya

Many have wondered whether or not Mercedes Moné would be involved with AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's upcoming Forbidden Door event, though that changed when Moné suffered an ankle injury at Resurgence. It appears that she will be out of commission when Forbidden Door happens, but before that, a new report from Fightful Select indicates that AEW had inquired about getting Moné for the event. The report also says that Moné's rumored opponent for the event was going to be Saraya, though that portion wasn't able to be confirmed regarding in-place plans.

Those with knowledge of the situation claim that AEW had spoken to NJPW or those with ties to NJPW in hopes of securing an appearance from Moné at Forbidden Door, and there was AEW talent that believed she was going to be doing the show, though that all changed with her injury.

As for Moné vs Saraya, before Saraya returned to the ring in AEW, Saraya's last match was with Moné back in WWE. During that match Saraya (going by Paige) suffered a stinger, and the match was stopped as a result. Saraya wouldn't wrestle in WWE after that and would make her in-ring return to wrestling after joining AEW.

While the report mentions built-in history, there's nothing in the report that references any specific plans AEW might have formulated for the match ahead of time. Saraya and Moné do have a history in WWE to build upon if they both do start a program later on in AEW, but if it happens, it will have to be after Moné recovers from her injury.

Moné was injured during her match at Resurgence against Willow Nightingale, and it is thought to be a broken ankle. Resurgence also saw the debut of the NJPW Strong Women's Championship, a Title that reports say was created specifically for Moné. With her injury, plans had to be changed, and Nightingale would go on to win the Title. Since then she's already defended it in AEW, and in an interview with Busted Open Radio, Nightingale said the whole thing is still surreal (HT PostWrestling).

"It's very surreal because like you said, she (Mercedes Moné) is extremely accomplished. I'm a fan of hers and I think respect goes into what we do in wrestling through and through, but in an instance like this, I remember sitting on the couch and watching when she made her main roster debut on Raw and I went through the house screaming and my mom was like, 'What's going on?' And I was very excited because I had gone to school in Boston and she was a Boston girl, she's a woman of color and it really just seemed like everything she did, she truly believed in herself," Nightingale said.

"Even before AEW and Ring of Honor, if this company doesn't see the star power in me, I know the star power in myself and she was somebody I could kind of turn to and be like, that is the attitude that I need and she was in so many landmark matches and so especially going into this, I knew the possibility of facing her was there and I wanted to do her proud as much as I did myself and hopefully, this is something that could earn respect from her and the New Japan fan base," Nightingale said.

Do you want to see Moné take on Saraya down the line? Let us know in the comments!