Mercedes Moné has been away from the squared circle for nearly a calendar year. The former Sasha Banks had been working with New Japan Pro Wrestling and STARDOM following her WWE walkout, capturing the IWGP Women’s Championship in her first match within the Far East’s top promotion. While she would lose that title just two months later, New Japan had plans to put gold around Moné’s waist almost immediately after. NJPW sent Moné to NJPW STRONG, the company’s American brand, and created the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship with Moné specifically in mind to hold it. Moné would reach the finals of that title’s tournament but suffered an ankle injury in the culminating bout, forcing NJPW to call an audible and crown AEW’s Willow Nightingale NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion instead.
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This injury occurred in late May, roughly one month before NJPW’s crossover super show with AEW, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. While there was initial optimism that Moné would be cleared in time, as ankle fractures typically take 4-8 weeks to recover from, Moné’s condition was much more severe than initially anticipated.
Mercedes Moné’s Injury Was Declared “Career-Ending”
The Boss’s in-ring run nearly came to an abrupt halt last year.
Speaking on the Kick Rocks Podcast, Mercedes Moné opened up about her ankle injury suffered in May 2023, revealing that doctors originally told her she would not be able to wrestle again.
“I’ve been working so hard to get back to this place that I love. Little do people know, I was told this is a career-ending injury,” Moné said. “I screamed at my doctor and surgeon and said, ‘No, it’s not.’ I’m going to come back really soon and I’m going to have the greatest time, the greatest matches, the greatest career that I’ve had yet. I see it. I feel it. I know it.”
Moné first resumed wrestling training this past November, about six months after undergoing surgery to repair her ankle. She has shared sporadic clips of her bumping around in wrestling rings since but has yet to have an official match since recovering.
Moné is expected to make her AEW debut this Wednesday at AEW Dynamite: Big Business. It’s unclear as to if her arrival will see her get physical or if she will solely participate in a speaking segment.
