“Do Not Give the Slightest Sh*t”: True Extent of Sasha Banks’ Popularity Outside of WWE Revealed by Fan After She Declares Japan ‘Her Country’

Sasha Banks broke wrestling Twitter when she hopped out of WWE to join the NJPW. Just after appearing at the Tokyo Dome stadium as Mercedes Mone, she quickly rose to the top and became champion. Then she also fulfilled her first title defense recently. But the audience’s reaction to her in Japan is still not like it was in WWE.

While there is always a gap between countries, Sasha Banks was the biggest name in WWE at her peak. So what might be the issue that is plaguing Banks’ success in Japan?

Sasha Banks isn’t a big star in Japan, despite her proclamations

After her recent title defense at NJPW’s Sakura Genesis, Mercedes Mone took to Twitter to call her opponent, Mayu Iwatani. She proclaimed, “This is my country now 🇯🇵 @MayuIwatani back down bitch #TheCEO” but according to The Real Snowden, that isn’t the case at all. The Twitter account noted that when they caught up on the NJPW show, there was no big pop for the former Boss.

They even mentioned that the crowd wasn’t at all hyped about the American wrestler. They added that the audience didn’t give her polite applause. There could be many reasons for this, the primary one being NJPW isn’t known for its women’s wrestling.

The Sakura Genesis show only had one women’s match, which was Banks’ title defense. Over the years, NJPW has climbed the ranks of the wrestling community by providing hard-hitting men’s bouts but this wasn’t one of them.

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The other reason could be that Mercedes Mone’s popularity hasn’t transferred to Japan. While WWE was popular in Japan during the Golden Era, it isn’t at the moment. So, for many people, this might have been the first or second time watching Mone. Also, in Japan, it takes a lot of time for outsiders to gain the audience’s respect as many careers like Jay White, Will Ospreay, and Zack Sabre Jr. are an example of.

But how exactly has Mone fared in her recent matches?

Mercedes Mone’s recent matches in NJPW and Stardom

But what about the matches that Mone has been putting on in Japan? One of the harshest critics in wrestling at the moment, Dave Meltzer gave Mone’s debut match against Kairi Sane, a whopping four and a half stars. This was also the highest-rated match on the Battle of the Valley card that night. She even got the internet fans on her side as well.

While she has been performing excellently in her Japan stint, Banks might need more time to settle with the audience. We hope that she can get back to the pedestal she was on WWE in the upcoming matches.

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Let us know what you think about Banks’ stint in Japan in the comments below.