Jim Ross Believes Mercedes Mone vs Britt Baker Match Was Too Long

Mercedes Mone’s arrival in AEW has significantly reshaped the promotion’s landscape. As the TBS Champion as well as the NJPW Women’s Strong Champion, Mone had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately, her match with Britt Baker at All In was a mixed bag for many fans and even Jim Ross believes the match was too long.

Mercedes Mone put her TBS Championship on the line against Britt Baker at the All In pay-per-view, in what was undoubtedly a highly anticipated matchup. However, the match was widely panned for being far too slow and having a lot of uninspiring spots, with many fans blaming Britt Baker for being a bad wrestler.

Mercedes Mone would ultimately pick up the win but no one was happy after the match. While speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross was asked about Baker and Mone’s match and whether there was any sort of anti-bias against Britt Baker.

Jim Ross felt that 17 minutes was more time than needed to tell their story. Ross thought a shorter match, around ten minutes, would have been sufficient and something he would have agreed with. He mentioned that wrestlers often think having more time makes a match better, which he disagrees with. Ross believed the match was too long and that the story wasn’t fully engaging the audience yet. He also commented on the idea of “bias” in wrestling, saying he understands the concern but doesn’t know why it happens.

”I think 17 minutes is more time than they needed to tell the story they needed to tell. Both of them have the influence of Tony. Tony probably had in his head, ‘Let’s go about ten, bell to bell,’ which would have been plenty of time. I would have signed off on that in a heartbeat. Talent negotiate for more time, they think automatically that if they have more time, their match will automatically be better, which is ridiculous. I don’t know. I thought the match was too long. People had not quite yet bought into that story. Maybe another month of good TV, they would. I just don’t understand the ‘bias’ concept. I understand what you’re saying, and I don’t totally disagree; I just don’t know why it’s occurring.”

Mercedes Mone also opened up about her regrets when it came to her match with Britt Baker. Nonetheless, it’s clear many fans are unhappy with Britt Baker’s performance, so we’ll have to see if the two will feud again in the future.

Do you believe Mercedes Mone and Britt Baker’s match was longer than necessary? Let us know in the comments section below!

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