Is Mercedes Mone's AEW Career Doomed Before It Has Even Begun?
Olivia Owen Highlights
- Mercedes Mone can boost business for AEW's women's division.
- Tony Khan relies on Mercedes Mone for AEW's success.
- Mone's WWE return hints could impact her AEW push.
When Sasha Banks left WWE in 2022, most fans thought she'd return to the company eventually. After all, she'd been there since 2012, and with Vince McMahon retiring and Triple H taking creative control, it only made a comeback feel more likely. Instead, Banks changed her name to Mercedes Mone and took her talents to New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom before a serious ankle injury brought her run to a sudden halt. Now, Mone is set to become the face of AEW's women's division, but there's just one potentially big problem. In a recent interview, Mone told the host that she'll be returning to WWE one day. With this news, will Tony Khan be reluctant to push a wrestler who might not be around long?
Mercedes Mone Company Tenures | WWE (2012-2022) New Japan Pro Wrestling (2023) Stardom (2023) All Elite Wrestling (2024) |
Mercedes Mone Wrestling Championships | 7 Time Women's Champion in WWE 3 Time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion IWGP Women's Champion |
Mercedes Mone Can Bring Big Business To AEW
Tony Khan Needs Mercedes Mone For AEW's Women's Division
- Mercedes Mone left WWE in 2022
- Mercedes Mone was shown in the audience at AEW All In
- AEW has also recently signed Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay
Many fans understood why Mercedes Mone walked out of WWE in 2022, even if they didn't like how she did it. She drew even more sympathy with how WWE publicly humiliated her and Naomi on air in the aftermath. Sasha Banks is one of the Four Horsewomen (along with Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Bayley), and although she was a multiple-time champion, her reigns were often short, and she wasn't booked as well as the others.
Wrestling fans knew Sasha Banks was a star. She did too, which is why she took a chance on herself, changing her name to Mercedes Mone and competing in NJPW and Stardom. Though a severe ankle injury has kept her on the sidelines for many months, it hasn't hindered her star power. Remember when she was shown in the audience at All In last year in London's Wembley Stadium? People lost their minds, even though she was never in the ring. Tony Khan needs that attention in his company. AEW is falling behind in attendance and ratings. They are now at a moment where a rebound seems possible, with the signings of Mone, Kazuchika Okada, and Will Ospreay, but Mone is the most important. Outside of Women's Champion Toni Storm and TBS Champion Julia Hart, most of the women's roster isn't connecting. Someone as famous as Mone can bring out the best in everyone if given a chance. Tony Khan really needs this to work.
Why Mercedes Mone Left WWE, In Her Own Words
Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks, abruptly walked out of WWE due to various issues. Mercedes now breaks her silence on her WWE departure.Mercedes Mone Is Already Talking About Returning To WWE
Sasha Banks Is One Of WWE's Four Horsewomen
- Mercedes Mone says her time in WWE is not over
- Mercedes Mone is great friends with Bayley and Naomi
In a recent interview with the Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast, Mercedes Mone spoke to host Evan Mack about many topics, including why she left WWE and her hopes for the future. One part of the interview, however, really drew attention. When talking about walking away from WWE, Mone said in a clip that wasn't part of the original interview but released later:
"I know I'm going to be back there [in WWE] one day, okay? So it's not over. Like I said, I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling, in a lot of places." (h/t Wrestling Inc)
It's understandable why Mercedes Mone still cares about WWE. It's her home, her family, and many of her best friends are still there, including Bayley, and the recently returning Naomi, who was competing as Trinity Fatu in TNA. Still, saying she's going to go back to WWE one day, when she hadn't even debuted for AEW yet, might have been something Tony Khan didn't want to hear.
Mercedes Mone: Why Her Signing With AEW Will Be A Mistake
WWE is doing their best business ever, but instead, Mercedes Mone has chosen to join the failing and less glamorous AEW.Mercedes Mone's WWE Comments Could Alter Her Long Term Push In AEW
Tony Khan Might Not Like What Mercedes Mone Said About WWE
- Mercedes Mone could be seen as using AEW as a way back to WWE
- Tony Khan bashes WWE on social media
- Tony Khan can't afford to not make Mercedes Mone the face of AEW's women's division
Mercedes Mone's comments could be seen like she is treating AEW as a stepping stone. Many times, when a wrestler quits or is released by WWE, they go elsewhere to prove themselves before coming back. It worked wonders for the likes of Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, who had both become jobbers in WWE, only to shine in other promotions, leading to returns that saw their careers doing a 180 from where they were before. Is Mercedes Mone doing the same? Is she so afraid of being just the same old Sasha Banks in WWE again that she needs to prove to Triple H and company how valuable she is first?
Tony Khan needs Mercedes Mone to not only lead his women's division but be one of the very top faces in AEW. With Mone's comments, that now becomes a bit of an issue. How does Khan build a company around someone who is only going to be there temporarily? The AEW President famously hates WWE. By pushing Mone, he can help himself now, but he's helping WWE later, giving them a superstar ready to be bigger than she ever was before. Mone's comments can doom her AEW career before it even gets started, forcing the too proud Khan to hold her back because he doesn't trust her loyalty to the company. Hopefully he resists that temptation. Mone deserves to be the top star in a division for once. She's not a member of a foursome any longer, but the one who can do it all single-handedly. With AEW's ratings and attendance issues, Khan has no choice but to give Mone every title and main event there is, even if a few short years from now she's back in WWE giving a promo to a roaring crowd about being "home".
