Watch: Mercedes Monè Drops a New Emotional Promo
Mercedes Monè (fka Sasha Banks) made her surprise debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling back at Wrestle Kingdom 17 last month at the Tokyo Dome. The arrival came after months of speculation regarding her future in pro wrestling, as she and Naomi had walked out on an episode of Monday Night Raw in May 2022 and reports of her being granted release started popping up in the months that followed. Monè will now challenge Kairi (Sane) for the IWGP Women's World Championship at Battle in the Valley this Saturday at the San Jose Civic Center. While the event is stacked with other New Japan matchups including Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, the women's title match was enough to sell out the event.
Monè's new video sees her without makeup and her blue wig overcome with emotion as she thanks fans for all of their support while she undergoes this new chapter in her career. The caption for the video reads, "We all have a dream. This is mine. Coming soon." Reports have since popped up that Monè only has a small handful of New Japan dates lineup up and she has already hinted at working for other promotions around the world for what she's calling a "World Domination Tour." WWE fans have also maintained that she'll wind up back in WWE in the near future.
We all have a dream this is mine
— Mercedes Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) February 14, 2023
Coming soon … #TheCeo #MercedesMonè pic.twitter.com/4SKo5k9AwE
"They were hitting just as hard as the men, having these 30-minute long five-star matches," Monè said in an interview with NJPW, admitting that traveling to Japan to wrestle its top Joshi stars had been her goal for years. "I was so amazed by them that Japan became my number one goal even before WWE. I managed to achieve what I wanted to achieve in WWE, and now I get to live out this international dream."
"It's cool to see how quick it was, the turnaround to go from another name and character I've done for ten years to now be Mercedes Monè, and to see that instantly trend," Monè continued. "Just people obviously caring and wanting to see my match with KAIRI was cool. For it to sell out, with that match being the only thing announced at that time, was amazing. I know my fans always love and support me, so I knew it was going to do well, but it was kind of a shock to see how quickly it went that well."
