AEW Big Business edition of Dynamite has garnered a lot of attention for weeks now. All this hype was around the debut of one former WWE Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks. Going under the name Mercedes Mone, she finally made her AEW debut in her hometown of Boston to a warm welcome from those inside the TD Garden. Since her departure from the WWE, Mone had worked in NJPW before signing on to AEW.

Sasha Banks put an end to months of speculation around her pro wrestling future which saw her being linked with a return to WWE, the promotion she left under unceremonious circumstances in 2022.

Mercedes Mone arrives in AEW and gets into action on debut night

The show opened with a tease of a new star arriving to grace AEW Big Business. Up until this point, there was no build-up or confirmation that Mone would be debuting. Back in December, it was even reported that there were no longer “working plans” for her to debut in AEW. Fightful then reported her to be in talks with WWE about a return but nothing came of it, allowing AEW to swoop back in.

Everything was speculation and word of mouth, until Mone’s new theme song, “CEO,” hit the arena at the start of Big Business, and she emerged to a huge ovation from the hometown crowd. The crowd chanted “CEO” for her as she took to the ring. With The Boss being trademarked by the WWE, ‘CEO’ is the new Boss. Taking to the ring for the first thing, she said, “Boston, I’m home,” and thanked the fans for sticking by her. The ‘CEO’ then got down to business.

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Mone hinted at exciting things to come in AEW, including competing against the talented women’s roster. She also mentioned unfinished business with Willow Nightingale, likely referencing their NJPW match. Nightingale beat Mone for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion belt last May and it was there that the former WWE Raw Women’s Champion suffered an injury putting her on the shelf.

Moné then announced that Nightingale would face Riho in that evening’s main event. In the main event, Nightingale defeated Riho before being attacked by Sky Blue and current TBS Champion Julia Hart. Mone then made the save, first taking out Blue on the ramp and then dispatching Hart. She raised Nightingale’s hand in victory in front of the cheering crowd.

Mone fka Sasha Banks left WWE in May 2022 after a decade with the company alongside Naomi owing to creative differences. The duo held the Women’s tag team championships at that time. She appeared at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom in January 2023 and later won the IWGP Women’s Championship.

She competed against Willow Nightingale for the inaugural STRONG Women’s Championship and suffered the fateful injury that kept her out of action. Since then there have been rumors of her either returning to WWE or making a debut for Tony Khan’s AEW. She was even spotted in attendance during AEW’s All In PPV in London, UK but her future remained in doubt, until this week.

Ahead of her debut, she said on a podcast that she had found a new home. Now, fans know this new home will be at Tony Khan’s AEW. However, the focus for now was on celebrating her AEW arrival.

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She did not participate in any match tonight as she is still not medically cleared to wrestle. But her presence could soon spice up the AEW Women’s division.

What direction could Tony Khan take Mercedes Mone in AEW?

With a talent like Mone, Khan has a ton of options. He could reignite her feud with Nightingale from NJPW in AEW. He could make her carry an undefeated streak like Jade Cargill. The most viable option would be to put the Women’s World Championship belt on her. We may even see her feud with Saraya with their brief WWE history coming into play.

Fans would want to see the former seven-time Women’s champion perform the way she did in NXT and the WWE. Her carefree nature of taking bumps is what made her famous, and leaving it all in the ring added to it. However, as mentioned earlier, she is yet to be cleared. Once she is ready to wrestle, we may see a change in her style due to her past injuries. What did you think of Mone’s debut? Tell us in the comments.

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