AEW's Mercedes Mone Retains TBS Title in Dynamite In-Ring Debut, Forbidden Door Challenger Teased

Mercedes Mone wins her first TBS Championship defense on AEW Dynamite, and AEW teases her opponent as Stephanie Vaquer

By Matthew Aguilar

Mercedes Mone didn't have to wait long to receive her next Championship challenger, as after winning the TBS Championship at Double or Nothing, she received her first post-title opponent on tonight's AEW Dynamite. Mone would find out that it was Skye Blue who attacked her earlier this year, and Blue called out Mone for a shot at the TBS Championship. That match happened tonight as well, and Blue certainly gave Mone a run for her money. Mone would ultimately come away with the win, but she then received her next challenge in New Japan Strong Women's Champion Stephanie Vaquer.

Skye went for a strike but Mone countered and then slammed Blue into several turnbuckles. An arm drag and a dropkick followed, but Blue kicked out of the pin attempt quickly. Mone threw Blue to the other side of the ring with a hurricanrana, and then a Meteora connected and drove Blue to the floor. Mone went for another pin, but Blue kicked out.

Blue turned things around and knocked the Champion off her feet, and Blue returned the favor from earlier with slams into the turnbuckle. Blue stayed aggressive, clubbing Mone in the back with a forearm shot and then locking in a hold to keep her grounded. Mone was able to counter that and connect with a dropkick to the side of the head, but Blue came back with a dropkick of her own that floored the Champ.

A pin attempt followed but Mone kicked out. Mone was able to get some momentum with a knee strike and followed it with a backstabber into a cover, but Blue kicked out of the pin. Blue responded with a vicious kick to the head, but then Mone reversed a move and sent the challenger reeling. Blue slammed Mone down face-first to the mat and went for a pin, but Mone managed to kick out of the cover.

Mone reversed a move and then the two stars traded kicks, but Mone revised a move and hit the Mone Maker into a pin. That was enough for the win, but Mone didn't get a chance to really enjoy it, as New Japan Strong Women's Champion Stephanie Vaquer came out to face down Mone. While there were few words exchanged, both stars held up their Championships and made it clear that a battle for those Titles was likely on the way.

The place for that to happen would obviously be Forbidden Door, and with that pay-per-view not so far away, this match will likely get cemented sooner rather than later. For now it's not official, but hopefully that will change soon.

As for Forbidden Door, the future is bright for the pay-per-view, which has in the past been limited in some ways due to unfortunate injuries. That's had an effect on past dream matches, and while there are certainly injuries at the moment that will keep some stars out of the mix (Kenny Omega, Eddie Kingston, and Adam Copeland for instance), there are a host of stars that are ready to go, including Swerve Strickland, Toni Storm, Mercedes Mone, The Elite, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and more.

What did you think of the match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

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