WWE legend Sasha Banks confirms switch to AEW – under the ring name Mercedes Moné – with electric debut appearance in Boston

WWE legend Sasha Banks made her move to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) official under her new ring name, Mercedes Moné.

After much speculation, Moné made her first appearance for the promotion on the Big Business edition of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday in her hometown of Boston.

Moné arrived at TD Garden in a Mercedes-Maybach to preview her arrival before opening the show to huge applause from the crowd. The show began with her new exit music as the jumbotron displayed “CEO” and transformed into “Mercedes Moné” before she did her walk.

‘Boston, I’m home,’ Moné said in the ring. ‘If you can feel my heart right now, it’s beating out of my chest.

‘Thank you for supporting me these last two years. Thank you for giving me the courage and strength to be here. Thank you for staying with me in all my low moments, in all my high moments, in all my milestones, in all my titles, in all my moments, the moments that made history, thank you.’

Before joining AEW, Moné became a ten-time champion in ten years under the WWE banner.

During her breaks, Moné received chants of ‘CEO’ and ‘welcome home.’ Additionally, he got his first taste of AEW in-ring action later in the show.

After Willow Nightengale defeated Riho to cap the night, TBS titleholder Julia Hart and Skye Blue attacked her in the ring. Moné then came to her rescue by knocking out Blue in the hallway before eliminating Hart.

Moné and Nightengale stared at each other before the latter raised her savior’s hand in victory.

Before joining AEW, Moné had a legendary stint in WWE under her name Sasha Banks from 2012 to 2022. During her tenure with Vince McMahon’s company, she held the NXT Women’s Title, the Raw Women’s Title five times, the Smackdown Women’s Title and the Women’s Tag Team Title three times.

Moné made her promotional debut in front of her home crowd at TD Garden in Boston.

Moné left WWE on bad terms after a creative dispute with McMahon. In a WWE statement, they stated that Moné and Naomi ‘entered WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.’ .

It was later reported that failed negotiations over compensation led to Moné leaving WWE for good.

She later debuted under her name Mercedes Moné in January 2023 during an appearance on New Japan Pro Wrestling. Moné also appeared for NJPW’s sister promotion, World Wonder Ring Stardom, before making her long-awaited debut in AEW.