Back in 2022, Mercedes "Sasha Banks"Mone sent shockwaves through the wrestling business when she walked out of WWE along with Naomi over the treatment and creative direction of the company's women's division. Mone would reappear in New Japan Pro Wrestling at the start of 2023 and has since joined All Elite Wrestling, while Naomi joined TNA Wrestling and eventually worked her way back to WWE. However, there was a time where Mone considered hanging up her boots for good, and she was asked during a recent interview with Katee Sackhoff if she considered retiring after her WWE departure.
"I did. I did because of how hurt I was by it and how much it drove me into a place of darkness. I couldn't believe something that brought me so much light in my life, that saved me so many times when I was a kid, brought me so much darkness. I was just like, I don't want to feel like this, I don't want to have so much stress where I'm legit killing myself because all of the stress that I'm creating or the sadness that I'm bringing to myself because of this bad mental talk my head. So, just a lot of healing, just a lot of healing and I told myself no, this is still what I freaking love, I love wrestling and I still have the same goal of when I was 10 years old and no one's going to take that away."
Mone has already claimed that former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon talked to her in a way she didn't appreciate, something that contributed to her leaving as she wanted to follow her heart, while also wanting to fight for women's wrestling across the world by getting people to give it the respect it deserves.
While some people believed that Mone would have an easy way back into WWE after McMahon was forced to retire in 2022, she opted to stay away from wrestling until the end of the year and took her career to Japan. This was not only move that would lead her to AEW in March 2024, but it was also a decision she made by listening to herself and her God.
"I felt like at this time, maybe they want to see me gone forever, maybe people want to see me disappear. I'm like, I can't give that to people, I can't give up on myself and I can't give up on my dream. I still have so much light and passion for this and such a chase and a drive. My light and my God told me, you've got to keep on going. So here's New Japan, take your bags, go to Japan and go make one of your dreams happen. That happened and then just more dreams kept on coming and coming and then more talks with AEW happened and then the connection just kind of realigned and it was finally perfect until I signed a contract with AEW and it felt so right because I knew I could create so much more new dreams and memories for women's wrestling."
Mone has since gone on to conquer AEW, New Japan, and even RevPro in the United Kingdom as she currently reigns as the company's Undisputed British Women's Champion. She will be appearing for the company on April 20 to make her first in person defense, and will hope that she can add even more gold to her collection by the end of 2025.
Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
