AEW’s Dax Harwood has lavished praise on Mercedes Moné and Bayley, claiming that their feud in 2015 helped change the perception of WWE NXT.
That year, Bayley, one of WWE’s most popular babyfaces at the time, captured the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Brooklyn, and defended the gold in an Iron Woman match at NXT TakeOver: Respect.
Speaking about the feud on his podcast, Harwood praised the efforts of both women. He said,
“I think that [Bayley] and Mercedes were the two to change the perception of ‘NXT,’ not just the women. When they put that match on in Brooklyn and the people saw that, they’re like, ‘That’s what I want to see out of my ‘NXT.’ Those kinds of matches, that drama, that emotion, that athleticism. That’s what I want to see.'”
Harwood also recalled how Bayley always puts the story and match psychology above the moves when she’s in the ring:
“That match reminded me how good she really is… It reminded me why she is so good, and 10 or 15 years down the line, people are gonna say, ‘Oh, man. She’s the reason those matches are good.'”
After NXT, both women would find success on WWE’s main roster, where Bayley remains to this day, while Moné debuted for NJPW last month.
