Former WWE star Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) defeated Kairi for the IWGP Women’s Championship at NJPW’s Battle in the Valley show in San Jose, California.
Mone worked over Kairi’s arm throughout the match and she acted heelish at certain times and late in the match she caused Kairi to accidentally knock out the referee. With the ref out of the picture, Mone tried to set up Kairi for a table spot but Kairi reversed it and put Mone through it.
Kairi went for the insane elbow but Mone got her feet up. Kairi blocked the frog splash and then applied the crossface but she bit her way out of the hold and then she hit her new finisher, the Mone Maker to win the title. Mone and Kairi hugged after the match.
Mone is apparently sticking around with NJPW for a while because she said in her mini-documentary that she wants to help the company expand globally and she is excited about future opponents.
This was Mone’s first wrestling match since walking out of WWE last year after creative issues with Vince McMahon.
