NJPW Strong Women's Tournament Winner Changed On The Fly After Mercedes Mone Injury

The winner of last night's NJPW Strong Women's Championship tournament finals match at NJPW Resurgence 2023 between Mercedes Moné and Willow Nightingale was reportedly changed on the fly. Dave Meltzer indicated on "Wrestling Observer Radio" that Moné was supposed to win the tourney and become the inaugural titleholder. PWI's Mike Johnson also claimed that Moné was due to win and that "an audible" was called during the title match. "The CEO" allegedly broke her ankle during that historic encounter. Moné was visibly struggling with her right leg after driving Nightingale into the top turnbuckle and landing on the floor. 

Moné defeated CMLL's Stephanie Vaquer in the first semi-final match at Resurgence 2023, while Nightingale overcame Momo Kohgo to advance to the finals. Moments after Moné had seemingly gotten hurt in the main event title clash, Nightingale landed a powerbomb in the center of the ring. However, during the pin attempt that followed, the referee abruptly stopped his count before three, even though Moné's shoulders were still on the mat. After the confusion, Nightingale landed another powerbomb to become the inaugural NJPW Strong Women's Champion. Although not directly shown on camera during the pay-per-view, Moné was seen being rushed to the backstage area. 

Moné tweeted a video of herself after the show, seemingly from a hospital bed, and wrote, "WRESTLING!!!! Phew not how I dreamed for tonight to go. I'm so sorry and I love you guys so much. I'm gonna heal and be back better than ever. Moné @njpwglobal."