The AEW arena was thrown a massive curveball today when Mercedes Mone, aka Sasha Banks, made her AEW debut. As her name suggests, Mone showed up on the AEW Big Business PPV and drew a loud burst of crowd response. However, while fans absolutely loved her joining the company, there was a time this wouldn’t have been possible.

Mercedes Mone has had a very topsy-turvy time in her pro wrestling career. While she left WWE and joined NJPW on her own accord last year, she wanted to return home. However, negotiations had reached an impasse. Moreover, she even rejected Tony Khan for WWE at one point. Despite this, Khan made a decisive call that eventually prevented Mercedes Mone from becoming Sasha Banks once again.

When one CEO reached out to another

Sasha Banks left WWE in May 2022 along with her then-tag team partner, Naomi. The reason lay in the way the duo was getting booked and how they didn’t find much meaning from their roles. While this resulted in a long hiatus that was broken in January 2023, Mercedes Mone was out of action once again, but involuntarily this time.

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According to Patreon, Fightful Select, Sasha Banks was severely injured for 10 long months. While she was a very attractive prospect for every pro wrestling outfit, her injury meant that she couldn’t start ring work immediately. During this period, Mone had turned down the offer of Tony Khan for WWE.

In early December, it was revealed that Mercedes and AEW had ceased discussions because of differing terms, and she had resumed talks with WWE, which also didn’t materialize. 

“Goodbye to Sasha Banks”: Mercedes Mone’s Return at Big Business Breaks the Internet After Historic Tony Khan Announcement

However, AEW’s head honcho changed his strategy and extended a helping hand to Sasha Banks instead of a professional one. While WWE didn’t want to go forward with Mone, Khan proposed to sign The CEO despite her not being immediately available.

This negotiation took place somewhere in December, and Tony Khan projected to place Sasha Banks in the AEW in the initial days of January. But he didn’t want an injured Mone to walk on crutches before the crowd. Hence, he discarded his original plans but still kept Mone on his payroll. Two months later, he is now reaping the fruits of his patience and benevolence.

When Mercedes Mone received something Sasha Banks wanted

Mercedes Mone made a power-packed AEW entrance at TD Garden and immediately captivated the spectators. This may be a new audience for her, but she was performing in her home city of Boston.

Thus, the unadvertised pro wrestler received a stellar response with the crowd vigorously chanting “CEO, CEO,” and “Welcome Home.” The crowd also saw Mercedes Mone do some great mic work and throw some punches as well. This was made possible because of the extra support she received when she was medically down and out.

Sasha Banks Return: Mercedes Mone Decides First AEW Opponent After Big Business Debut

Thus, while Sasha Banks didn’t like how WWE operated, Mercedes Mone received a benevolent gesture right from the get-go in AEW. What are your thoughts on this? Let them flow in the comments.