Mercedes Mone (formerly Sasha Banks) left WWE in May 2022 alongside Naomi due to a creative dispute with Vince McMahon. They were WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at the time. Naomi has since returned to WWE, while Mone is expected to make her AEW debut next week.
Speaking to Evan T Mack on the Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast, Mone was asked about what happened. She said,
“That’s a big question. That’s a big, big question. I really believe in, not only the universe, but I believe in myself and a higher power of light that comes over me. Something inside of me told me that I needed to go do this and stand up for myself. It was a very hard decision because wrestling in WWE has been my whole life. People don’t know, it’s been my whole life. It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my whole life, but it’s the proudest. It’s crazy, because I would not be sitting here, living the best version of my life and getting to be everything I’ve ever dreamt of, and more. It makes me so excited because that moment changed my whole life for the better. I’m so thankful for that moment. I’m so proud of myself. I’m so proud of Trinity, of just how strong we were. Everybody wanted to talk about it. Everybody wanted to act like they were in the room. Everybody acted like they were in the room, or worked there, or were backstage, or knew what happened, or knew what was said. All I know is that I handled it like a CEO, like the boss that I am, with my head held high. I can’t say anything but amazing things to WWE. I’m so thankful to the career they gave me, the fans they gave me, the life they gave me. The dreams that they gave me. So many dreams. I got to chase and live them all. I get to do so much more. I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling in a lot of places.”