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The Numbers Behind Mercedes Varnardo's Debut as Mone in New Japan
The long awaited return of wrestling of Mercedes Varardo to wrestling since leaving WWE after being booked poorly delivered. The match is currently outdoing the much lauded 'greatest storyline of all time' finale; Sami Zayn vs Roman Reigns, on Cagematch with an 8.6 rating (8.3 for Sami/Roman). An 8.6 rating is obviously a fine achievement when your last official wrestling happened 10 months ago.
In this article we are going to be looking at the numbers behind this match, how it was laid out and how it compares to other big matches.
As you can see Mone was making use of high impact moves, strikedowns, grapples and dives were plentiful. This one was heavy in taunts (showpersonship), showing Mone's charisma mesh well with the Japanese manner of displaying fighting spirit. Interestingly, Mone was the heel within the confines of the ring bell; breaking the rules more than 10 times!
In the Flow of Offence charts, you'll see Mone had a chunk of time on top in the first portion of the match, before an exchange of large offence in the middle of the match, with her having to overcome a KAIRI period of control towards the end.
This chart subtracts KAIRI's total offence for each minute from Mone's to show who got the best of each minute, on screen. This one does magnify the small margins in how the on-screen struggle revealed itself. Mone seems to have more minute by minute advantages, including the biggest one. However KAIRI's advantages are notable when they happen.
The match's pace can be described as having a slow start rising to a peak very early in the match, another peak in the middle before the pace slowed somewhat as the competitors sold the impact of their efforts.
Here you can see Mone's performance compared with her most famous WWE match; her clash with Bayley at TakeOver Brooklyn. You'll notice her strike rate is down but her use of grapples is up. She's less reliant on submissions yet her character work has become (or was in this encounter) more frequent.
When comparing her with some of Japan's most talented wrestlers: - Her strike rate would fit nicely; presenting an even exchange.
- Her strikedown rate had more in common with the heavier strikers on this graphic.
- Her uptick in grapple use (in comparison to vs Bayley) is more in fitting with these competitors.
- Submission use vs KAIRI is very much in the middle of these competitors.
- The push and pull of a wrestling match via reversals is something that may need to be upped.
This one is just for your interest; Mone/KAIRI compared and contrasted with AEW matches.
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