All eyes are on Saraya’s televised AEW in-ring debut. The first-ever NXT Women’s Champion came out of retirement this past November at AEW Full Gear, defeating Dr. Britt Baker DMD in her first match in five years. While she has been encouraged to space out physicality, Saraya is very much a full-time member of the AEW roster, revealing in a recent interview that she has title aspirations down the line. Saraya gets her chance to mix it up with the woman that holds the gold next month, as she will tag with a mystery partner in a duos bout against Baker and AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter on the January 11th edition of AEW Dynamite.
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Speculation on Saraya’s mystery partner has run wild, with many anticipating that she could be teaming with a debuting Sasha Banks. Banks walked out of WWE earlier this year, and while her contract status has never been officially confirmed, recent reports have the former WWE Women’s Champion appearing at next month’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. Considering AEW and New Japan have a working relationship, the possibility of Banks walking through the forbidden door is very real.
Speaking to Forbes, Saraya addressed these rumors, noting that all mystery partner roads tend to lead to the real-life Mercedes Varnado.
“I feel like anytime there’s a mystery, everyone always goes straight for Mercedes (laughs). They’re like—straight away—it’s her!” Saraya said. “There’s plenty of women out there. I’m not going to say yes or no to anybody, but there’s a lot of exciting prospects for a potential tag partner.”
Saraya and Banks have history, as the two were part of the initial faction warfare era of WWE’s women’s revolution in 2015. The two wrestled against one another on a December 2017 edition of Monday Night Raw, a singles bout that went down just weeks before Saraya suffered a career-ending injury. That injury in question came at a WWE live event and was the result of a dropkick from Banks herself. While Banks delivered the move, Saraya has emphasized that she has never blamed Banks for her retirement.
“The first person I texted as well was Mercedes, Sasha,” Saraya revealed shortly following her in-ring clearance. “I just said, ‘Hey sis, I just want to let you know since I know this whole thing was tough on you mentally, but my doctor just cleared me and told me my neck is 100% ready to go. I haven’t told anyone else but I know this will make you feel good. I’m back, haha.’ And she was over the moon and stuff like that.”
Even if Banks does not end up being Saraya’s tag partner, Saraya has hopes of sharing a ring with her down the line.
“I’ve always said that I would want to work with Sasha again in any capacity, because she’s a pro,” Saraya continued. “In the wrestling side of things, she’s such a fantastic athlete, you can’t deny her talent. She’s fantastic.”
