Mercedes Moné says leaving WWE was ‘the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make’

Mercedes Moné has been on the sidelines for almost 10 months after suffering a significant ankle injury last May wrestling for NJPW.

Towards the end of 2023, there was a lot of uncertainty about whether Moné will come back to wrestling as part of WWE or AEW. However, all signs now point to her debuting for AEW next Wednesday (Mar. 13) night in Boston on the Big Business episode of Dynamite.

During an interview on The Kick Rocks Podcast, the former Sasha Banks was asked about why she decided to walk out of WWE in May 2022.

Here is her response:

“Something inside of me told me 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…It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my whole life. But it’s the most 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 [dreamed] of, and more. You have no idea.

And 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. I’m so proud of just how strong we were.

……Everybody acted like they were in the room, or worked there, or were backstage, or knew what happened, or knew what said. But all I know is that I handled it like a CEO, like the boss that I am, with my head held up high, and I can’t say nothing but amazing things to WWE. I’m so thankful for the career that they gave me, the fans that they gave me, the life that they gave me, the dreams that they gave me.”

Mercedes doesn’t specify what the issue was in WWE that she felt she needed to stand up for herself over, but it’s clear that she doesn’t regret making that decision.

Moving on, Mercedes teased her return to wrestling at AEW Big Business:

“I’ve been making some really big moves, big business moves and big money moves…I finally think I found a home in a wrestling place. Yeah, so it’s really really exciting, and I’m excited about these big money moves.”

There’s also this interesting line, which could be a hint at more matches for Mercedes in Japan this year, or maybe even in WWE way down the line:

“I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling, in a lot of places.”

How excited are you for the expected return of Mercedes Moné to pro wrestling next week at AEW Big Business, Cagesiders?