Josh Alexander Hypes Up Mercedes Moné's Upcoming In-Ring NJPW Debut

Impact World Champion Josh Alexander will be featured at the same event where Mercedes Moné (formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE) will be making her in-ring debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. That show will be Battle in the Valley on Saturday, February 18. Alexander will be in an eight-man tag team match, while Moné will challenge KAIRI for the IWGP Women's Championship. During an interview with The Sporting News, Alexander expressed his excitement over how far women's wrestling has come and praised Moné for getting out of her comfort zone.

"I'm super excited – I think women's wrestling as a whole has taken leaps forward in the past 10 years," Alexander said. "For Mercedes stepping out of WWE and coming over to Stardom and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, I think it's an excellent way for her to showcase her talents."

The Impact World Champion also noted that Mone gets to call the shots at this stage of her career, and she chose NJPW and Stardom for a reason. Alexander believes that fans who watch Battle in the Valley just to see Moné will be pleasantly surprised by the full card.

Alexander also praised Moné's drawing ability. He believes the show sold out solely due to the announcement that Mone would be making her NJPW in-ring debut at the show. While Alexander will be featured in the first match of the main card, he doesn't plan to have an early night off. He said he will be glued to the monitor backstage throughout the entire show, and of course, that includes watching KAIRI versus Moné.