Willow Nightingale Recalls ‘Mental Battle’ She Fought Before Match With Mercedes Mone

Willow Nightingale recalls the mental battle she went through prior to her match with Mercedes Mone.

Willow Nightingale recalls the mental battle she went through prior to her match with Mercedes Mone.

At AEW Double Or Nothing 2024, Willow Nightingale would walk into the event as a champion, but also an underdog as she took on Mercedes Mone with the title on the line. Although Nightingale would come up short, she remains a significant part of AEW television, as well as being a fan favorite.

While speaking to Women We Love in a new interview, Willow reflected on the bout with Mone, recalling the mental battle she fought beforehand.

“I think what was really fascinating is I was the champion, but I went into the match as an underdog. So a lot of it was a bit of a mental battle of being like, you are a champ right now and that is for a reason. You didn’t get here accidentally. She may have the bigger name, have more experience in the mainstream with the eyes and more fans. But you’re not here accidentally. You’re here because of all your hard work and everything that you’ve done. You’ve carried this championship and yourself well, and even though it might be the most pressure I’ve ever been under in the ring or the most people tuning in, and while some are going to give me praise, and I appreciate that, there are also going to be people who are going to scrutinize me. You just have to be prepared to know that you are authentically yourself. No matter what, you’re going to go out there and do your best. That is so much more than so many people can say. That is what charges me up, and that’s what gets me going. That is how I look back at that and feel pride in that. Even if it was like a match that I lost, I still went out there and gave it my all.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Willow spoke about her proudest moment of her wrestling career so far. You can read more about that here.

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