This past Wednesday at AEW Dynamite: Big Business, Mercedes Mone made her long-rumored debut and officially signed with the promotion. The former Sasha Banks previously made a cameo appearance for the company at AEW All In: London last August and reports that she could become All Elite imminently gathered steam in December when talks between Mone and WWE regarding a potential return were said to have fallen apart.
Days before her surprise debut, Mone was interviewed on The Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast and most notably discussed her reason for leaving WWE back in 2022. What caught the attention of many, though, was the end of Mone’s response where she appeared to confirm her plans to return to her former home promotion in the future.
“I know I’m going to be back [in WWE] one day, so it’s not over,” Mone said after reflecting on her exit from the company. “Like I said, I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling in a lot of places.”
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that many backstage at AEW were rubbed the wrong way by Mone making such a statement days before officially signing with the promotion. Those annoyed by her comments are said to be even more skeptical now that Mone sees AEW as a place to simply make money before ultimately returning to WWE rather than actively wanting to be a part of the promotion. The former is a mindset some talents have reportedly adopted which, in turn, has hurt the company as a whole in the past.
Mone has yet to make her AEW in-ring debut and has not competed in the ring whatsoever since NJPW STRONG Resurgence in May 2023. There, she suffered an ankle injury in the finals of the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship tournament against Willow Nightingale – an injury that has kept her out of action for almost ten months.
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling and credit The Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast.