On the latest episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed Mercedes Mone’s (Sasha Banks in WWE) New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at Wrestle Kingdom 17.
After KAIRI retained her IWGP Women’s Championship against Tami Nakano, Mercedes Mone made her way out to the ring, confronting and attacking the champion.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Mercedes Mone’s debut promo: “It had a good look… nothing bad about it or anything like that, but just one thing, the crowd, man. It’s just hard to navigate that Japanese crowd because it was quiet, it was silent. You know they don’t understand what you’re saying [laughs]. I don’t mean the language barrier. That part sucks right there. Normally, going to Japan, it’s a wrestling company. They just want to see some action. Then, when you can talk and speak the language, that helps a whole hell of a lot.”
On what could have made it the moment of the night: “If she just would have knew a few Japanese words, if she just would have studied in Japanese what she wanted to say, or maybe not what she wanted to say. Say the first part in English, but just the outline in Japanese. My thing is, that outline could have been very important, just to be able to relate with the Japanese people for a second. Even if it was just one line, you know what I mean? I’m serious. That’s what I’m talking about from the entertainment perspective, being able to switch gears and go there. It’s tricky, and for her, when I talk about those moments, that would have been a moment. That could have been the moment of the night.”
On Mercedes Mone’s future in Japan: “What she does in the ring is gonna be the icing on the cake for what she does over in STARDOM and in Japan because I feel like Sasha Banks has all the tools to work with [anybody]. I mean come on, you think she can’t go over and tap out Kairi Sane? So yeah, she’s definitely top dollar.”
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