Photo: Jason Hall
Mercedes Moné, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, made her All Elite Wrestling debut on the special 'Big Business' edition of 'Dynamite' in her hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, Wednesday (March 13) night.
Moné's debut came weeks after AEW CEO, President, General Manager and Head of Creative Tony Khan teased a "big announcement," which included several references alluding to her money-related persona.
"'Big Business' is going to be one of the most important nights ever in AEW and a night that the entire pro wrestling industry will remember," Khan said.
Fightful Select reported that Moné "is headed to AEW, and has been on their payroll for a while" immediately following Khan's announcement. Moné and then-co-Women's Tag Champion Naomi left during the live broadcast of RAW prior to their scheduled main event match in May 2022 and were suspended by WWE days later. Naomi, who recently competed for TNA Wrestling, made her WWE return at the 'Royal Rumble' pay-per-view in January.
Moné, who won the IWGP Women's championship and the STRONG Women's Title for New Japan Pro Wrestling and attended AEW's 'All In' event in London in 2023, was consistently one of WWE's top female stars since debuting on its main roster in 2015, having won both the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships a combined six times, as well as headlining Night One WrestleMania 37 with Bianca Belair, becoming the first Black women to jointly headline WWE's biggest annual event in history.