Mercedes Mone Suffered A Panic Attack Before Her Match At Wrestle Dynasty

Mercedes Mone wrestled a classic with Mina Shirakawa at the first-ever Wrestle Dynasty event inside the Tokyo Dome last weekend, but a health scare almost kept her from being able to work the match.

In her Mone Mag newsletter, Mone says that she suffered a panic attack prior to her Wrestle Dynasty match. She said she was able to do the match because wrestling inside the Tokyo Dome was a dream of hers and that she didn't want to let fans down.

“I have nerves and butterflies for all my big matches, my match at the Tokyo Dome against Mina was somehow different.

"From the moment I landed in Japan, where I actually bawled my eyes out with both disbelief and gratitude, to the morning of the event, where I had an actual panic attack, making history was the last thing on my mind.

"Kev could see my condition on the bus ride and asked: ‘Are you nervous or just excited?’ I replied, ‘Both.’ Truly, it was my lifelong dream to have a match at this level at the Tokyo Dome, so I was beyond excited. Along with the rich wrestling history, I feel as though, in some strange way, Japan, like Mexico, is another home. Yet, for all my joy, I was likewise petrified

"I didn’t want to let the promoters down. I didn’t want to let the fans down. I didn’t want to let Mina down. I especially, and as always, didn’t want to let the women wrestlers of today AND tomorrow down. I want New Japan, and all promotions, globally, for that matter, to know that we female athletes deserve prominent recognition and a prominent place on the card.

"Mone defeated Shirakawa in the Wrestle Dynasty match and won the the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship. Mone now holds the AEW TBS Championship, NJPW Strong Women's Championship, and that new RevPro title."