Mercedes Mone Signs Contract Extension With NJPW/STARDOM

Fans can bank on seeing more Mercedes Moné in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and STARDOM.

According to Dave Meltzer, Moné and Bushiroad agreed to an extension of her current contract just hours before STARDOM's All Star Grand Queendom event. Despite the reported extension, Moné lost the IWGP Women's Championship to Mayu Iwatani on April 23, marking an end to her reign at 64 days. There's no word yet on how long her deal has been extended, however Moné did announce during the post-show press conference that her "next stop" would be Long Beach for NJPW Resurgence on May 21.

Just over seven months after walking out of WWE, Moné made her NJPW debut at Wrestle Kingdom in January by attacking then-champion KAIRI. The former WWE stars then met in the squared circle again at NJPW Battle in the Valley where Moné became the second woman to hold the IWGP Women's Championship. She was able to defend in a three-way against AZM and Hazuki earlier this month before being defeated by Iwatani.

It was reported back in March that Moné's original Bushiroad deal would be up on April 23. There were rumors that she was making at least $100,000 per appearance, but Meltzer claimed that wasn't true. As of late, though, the 31-year-old has shared on social media and in interviews that she is interested in living in Japan full-time and is in the process of learning more Japanese. One thing's for sure — Moné's intent of staying in Japan to make new history appears to be continuing on for the foreseeable future.