Mercedes Mone is one of the top female wrestlers in the world, having already established her legacy in America and now blazing a new path in Japan.
Mone has won the IWGP Women's Championship and will look to become the first-ever NJPW STRONG Women's Champion at NJPW Resurgence in a one-night tournament.
While training in Japan, Mone broke a sweat in a t-shirt presented to her by Allie Allbright, an independent wrestler who is just starting her wrestling career. Mone posted a photo of herself in the shirt after Allie stated that Mercedes was her dream opponent.
Allbright Moné pic.twitter.com/N3j7WpyDYv
— allie allbright (@alliewrestles) April 2, 2023
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) April 12, 2023
The friendship between Allie and Mone dates back eight years and has only grown stronger as Allie has entered the ring for herself.
"It's so crazy for me to put into words because everybody knows she is my absolute favorite. She's the reason why I wanted to become a wrestler. It started when I met her for the first time in 2015 and I kept meeting her and it became a friendship through being a fan and she has given me so much great advice when it comes to wrestling. I've updated her throughout my journey of training, which is crazy for me to think about it. I wanted to give her my first official wrestling t-shirt, and she loved it and Im just glad she didn't throw it away, to be honest. She wore it and the fact that she did that means the world to me. I can't even believe I'm saying that," Allie told Jeremy Lambert & Joel Pearl on In The Weeds.
When asked what advice she has received from Mone, Allbright replied, "The greatest advice that anybody could ever give you, just to love it and have fun with what you're doing. I know it's cliche, but wrestling is hard. Anything that you love and want to make into a career, you have to have passion for it. There are days when you don't want to go to training or get out of bed, but she basically told me to love it and to have fun and be safe. I know these sound like little things, but when you take into consideration something like wrestling, you have to remember that every day when you go. Just to love it and if this is something that I actually want to do as a career, to love it and go after it."
Allbright trains at Grindhouse and has already wrestled the likes of Billie Starkz as she continues her training.
Fans can keep up with Allbright's career by clicking here.
Check out the full interview with Allie in the video above.
