Mercedes allegedly upset a lot of people at AEW before she even debuted

In the build-up to her debut at “Big Business” this past Wednesday (Mar. 13), Mercedes Moné did an interview with Evan Mack’s The Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast that generated a lot of headlines.

When the former Sasha Banks spoke to Mack, she was still playing it coy about her next move as AEW employed the same “open secret” promotional approach they’d used for CM Punk’s arrival in 2021 for Moné’s first appearance. That could help explain why Mercedes told the Kick Rocks host she was sure she’ll return to WWE someday:

“I know I’m going to be back there [WWE] one day. It’s not over. I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling in a lot of places.”

But whether that was designed to plant a seed of doubt about her next move or is a real indication of her future plans*, it apparently didn’t play well at AEW.

In the newest Wrestling Observer Newletter, Dave Meltzer wote of Moné’s saying she knows she’ll eventually return to WWE…

Boy did this one rub a lot of people the wrong way. Time will tell, and quite frankly she should always have it in her mind the possibility of going to WWE, but saying so days before she’s about to start in AEW wouldn’t be the right time politically to say that.

Within AEW, Meltzer says there are those who really want to be with the company and those that see it as a place to get paid until they get another opportunity with WWE. The latter group is seen as being responsible for a lot of AEW’s behind-the-scenes problems, which is why Moné quote upset those in the former.

Meltzer goes on to hypothetically ask what the response at WWE would have been had Cody Rhodes or Jade Cargill said they were sure they’d eventually be back in AEW before WWE announced their signings. He then closes out the item by writing:

In time, this will play out as it does, but the people who were skeptical are now more skeptical. In the end, if she’s a long-term valuable asset to the company nobody will remember this statement. And if not, everyone will remember this statement.

Let us know what you make of this, or just add your favorite popcorn-eating GIF, in the comments below.

* It’s certainly something one of her best friends in the business openly hopes for.