Willow Nightingale is a double champion.
Nightingale defeated Mercedes Mone’ to become the new TBS Championship in the main event of Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash, which aired live from the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ralston, Nebraska.
Mone’ first won the TBS Championship, after defeating Nightingale on May 26, 2024 at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
Below is an excerpt from Alex Kahrs’ AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash of how the title change went down.
Willow lands a Death Valley Driver sending the champ onto the hardest part of the ring.
She brings Moné back into the ring, and the champ tries to escape her grasp by heading back out. Willow goes for another cannonball of the apron, but ends up crashing onto the floor when Mercedes dodges it! The champ lands a pair of vertical suplexes, but there will be no third Amigo here as Willow sends her into the ring apron to break free.
She turns her attention to the announce table, clearing it off as she has some bad intentions in mind. She brings Moné up for a Doctor Bomb, but Moné fights back for a suplex that sends Willow crashing onto the announce table instead!
Both women are down and out as the ref begins the count. Mercedes crawls to the ring at seven, and just at the count of nine we see Willow make it back in as well! Willow gets a nearfall, but Moné counters for some elbow strikes into a Statement Maker…but the challenger rolls her up for a nearfall. Statement Maker is finally broken by force as Willow hoists her up, sending the champ into the corner.
Babe with the Powerbomb is countered, and Moné gets a nearfall. Mercedes tries to go for a Money Maker, but the challenger counters into a Babe with the Powerbomb for the win!
