Mercedes Mone Joins Crunchyroll Anime Awards as Esteemed Presenter

Mercedes Mone’s future in professional wrestling continues to be a major topic of discussion, but it’s already a done deal where she will go next. Ahead of her impending AEW debut, Mone has been announced as a presenter for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

Crunchyroll announced that Mercedes Varnado, known as Mercedes Mone, will be a presenter at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. The award ceremony will take place on March 2.

The event will also feature musical performances by Hiroyuki SAWANO, KOHTA YAMAMOTO, Shing02 with OMA and SPIN MASTER A-1, and YOASOBI. The awards will commemorate significant anime anniversaries, including a performance of the “battlecry” opening song from Samurai Champloo by Shing02, OMA, and SPIN MASTER A-1.

The ceremony will be livestreamed on Crunchyroll channels on YouTube and Twitch starting at 6 PM JST, hosted by voice actress Sally Amaki and entertainer Jon Kabira. Fans can relive the action through reruns starting March 16th on the 24/7 Crunchyroll linear channel on various platforms.

”CRUNCHYROLL REVEALS MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, MORE CELEBRITY PRESENTERS AND OFFICIAL THEME SONG FOR CRUNCHYROLL ANIME AWARDS 2024

With Over 34 Million Votes Cast, the Anime Awards Names New Celebrity Presenters including NFL’s Dallas Cowboy DeMarcus Lawrence, Actress Chiaki Kuriyama, Indian Film Actor Rashmika Mandanna, Alongside Musical Performers Hiroyuki SAWANO, KOHTA YAMAMOTO, YOASOBI and More

Culver City, Calif., February 13, 2024 – Anime fans have made their voices heard! With more than 34 million votes cast from the anime community around the world (nearly doubling from 18 million last year), the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards has revealed today a star-studded slate of musical performances including YOASOBI and Shing02 who will perform beloved tracks from fan-favorite anime, alongside additional celebrity presenters including wrestling legend Mercedes Varnado, American football star DeMarcus Lawrence, and actress, singer, and model Chiaki Kuriyama.

Unique to this year’s celebration is a first-of-its-kind Crunchyroll Anime Awards Theme, specially created by composer and music producer Hiroyuki SAWANO (Attack on Titan, Solo Leveling) and composer, arranger, and lyricist KOHTA YAMAMOTO (Attack on Titan, The Seven Deadly Sins), who will perform the song live at the ceremony in full for the first time. The iconic show opening will be available to stream on Crunchyroll after the conclusion of the Anime Awards.

The full music performance lineup and newly-added live ceremony and pre-show presenters are listed below, in alphabetical order:

Musical Performances by:

Hiroyuki SAWANO and KOHTA YAMAMOTO – Composer, Arranger, Lyricist, and Musical Producer

Shing02 with OMA and SPIN MASTER A-1 – Recording artist, hip hop band and DJ

YOASOBI – Japanese pop duo

Live Ceremony and Pre-Show Presenters:

Chiaki Kuriyama – Actress, Singer, and Model

DeMarcus Lawrence – NFL Football Player from the Dallas Cowboys

Emiru – Professional Streamer, Variety Player, Cosplayer, and Co-Host of Steak & Eggs

Joaquim Dos Santos – Director, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Labrinth – GRAMMY-Nominated Songwriter, Producer, Recording Artist

Liza Soberano – Actress, Advocate, and Entrepreneur

Mercedes Varnado – WWE World Champion, Actress, Entrepreneur

Nava Rose – Fashion Creator

Phil Lord & Chris Miller – Academy Award winning duo behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Porter Robinson – GRAMMY-Nominated Musician

Rashmika Mandanna – Indian Film Actor

So Takei – Japanese TV Personality, Comedian, Actor, and Former Japanese Decathlon Champion

Vinnie Hacker – Model, Pro-Gamer, Actor, and Digital Creator

Music at the 2024 Anime Awards will be a celebration of key moments in anime history. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Samurai Champloo, Shing02, OMA, and SPIN MASTER A-1 will perform the show’s opening song “battlecry,” exclusively for livestream viewers. The Anime Awards will also commemorate important anime anniversaries through the presentation of a unique musical performance that brings together iconic songs from series celebrating milestones, performed by a live orchestra in a symphony format. Japanese pop duo YOASOBI will also perform ahead of their set at Coachella. For fans looking to hype themselves up in advance, select music videos and concert performance videos from Hiroyuki SAWANO and YOASOBI are available to stream on Crunchyroll.

The Anime Awards will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2024, with a live ceremony hosted by renowned voice actress Sally Amaki and popular entertainer Jon Kabira. Fans can watch the Anime Awards livestream on Crunchyroll channels on YouTube and Twitch beginning at 6PM JST. To relive the action, fans can tune in for reruns starting March 16th on the 24/7 Crunchyroll linear channel on Amazon FreeVee, LG Channels, Pluto TV The Roku Channel and VIZIO WatchFree+.”

AEW is preparing for a significant event named “Big Business” at Boston’s iconic TD Garden, as announced on AEW Dynamite last week. Mone has been drawing checks with AEW for a while already. We will have to wait and see how she will fare in AEW once she finally debuts.

What do you think of this story concerning Mercedes Mone? Do you feel she will be a great presenter at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards? Sound off in the comments section below!