4 months ago
27 ARTICLE AD
Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, reached her breaking point with Vince McMahon’s creative decisions. In 2022, she and Naomi left the company as Women’s Tag Team Champions. This move worked out well for Mone, who now controls her own career in AEW.
After a stint in Japan and a break due to injury, Mercedes Mone signed with AEW and currently holds the TBS Championship. She also became the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion after defeating Stephanie Vaquer at Forbidden Door.
Mandy Rose, who also had a long run in WWE, was released in December 2022 due to controversial content on her FanTime page. She witnessed firsthand the struggles Mercedes Mone faced in WWE.
Speaking on her Power Alphas podcast, Mandy Rose discussed Mone’s comments about having creative control in AEW and being happy. She noted that she could relate to the freedom Mercedes enjoys in her post-WWE journey.
“Mercedes Mone recently did an interview, and she talked about having complete creative control in AEW, which I kind of knew about, I had heard previously. Someone asked her about returning to WWE, and she just said, ‘I have everything I love right now, so I’m happy.’ So, good for her for doing what she did, and now she’s able to have complete creative control, which, she was always big with that. I remember in WWE, if she wasn’t happy with something, it was hard for her to be able to speak out about it because [of] certain circumstances and people weren’t gonna change it, then it was useless to even speak out because you’re just wasting your breath.”
“So I think that’s cool, that she does have all of that creative control. I can definitely relate to her right now in a sense of, yeah I’m not wrestling right now, but it is a sense of really great freedom to be able to do whatever you want and have that creative control, and if something comes your way, you’re able to do it and you don’t have to go through this line of people to get permission or whatever it is. That is a great feeling, especially [for] people that have been in WWE for quite some time and kind of felt like they were restricted.”
“I hope they’re changing a little bit, which they might be. But I think that’s relatable in my aspect. Even though I’m not wrestling, I do think that it is a very freeing feeling to be able to do whatever you want and create whatever you want. The world is your oyster, and it’s cool.”
Mercedes Mone is enjoying her time and earning a significant income with a substantial contract, comparable to top stars in other companies. Whether she will return to WWE remains uncertain, but under Triple H’s leadership, things might be different from the past.
Meanwhile, Mandy Rose maintains a “never say never” attitude about returning to the ring. However, she doesn’t need to, as she makes over seven figures a year with her OnlyFans business, where she also calls her own shots.
What’s your take on Mercedes Mone joining AEW with her own creative freedom? Do you think Tony Khan should give creative control to his stars? Let us know in the comments section!
