Kris Statlander was never pinned nor submitted during her AEW TBS Championship reign, and on Saturday’s edition of “AEW Full Gear,” she took to Mercedes Moné in order to win back the title she never lost. After many Meteoras, even more near falls, and two finisher kickouts, Moné defended the TBS Championship by the skin of her teeth in a history-making match.
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From the match’s very beginning, Statlander had Moné’s number. The challenger started the match strong with a military press slam and a pin attempt onto Moné, to which the champion kicked out with zeal. The ring was hardly enough to cage the two women as they continued to go blow-for-blow on the outside of the ring.
After Statlander nearly escaped a count-out loss, Moné wailed on her competition with Meteora attempt after Meteora. Statlander answered every pin cover from the champion with a kick-out at 2. The Newark crowd roared when Statlander connected with Saturday Night Fever, and they were hysterical when Statlander kicked out of the Moné Maker. After several kick-outs and more hard fighting, Statlander seemed to finally have the champion figured out when she rolled up Moné into an Electric Chair position. Statlander attempted to drop Moné onto the canvas to close out the match, but Moné bit Statlander’s leg in a desperate last resort. Statlander crumpled from the unexpected offense, and Moné rolled her up for the win after 19 minutes and 25 seconds — the longest run time for a women’s match in AEW history.
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Moné relished in her victory on the floor amidst the shocked Newark crowd. As she lay in the glow of another successful title defense, Statlander was escorted to the back by a ringside doctor.
“I’m the greatest TBS Champion of all time. I’m the best,” Moné breathed. “The conversation; the blueprint.”
