Mercedes Mone appears to have narrowed in on a decision about her future.
Fightful reported on December 29 that Mercedes, the former Sasha Banks, had been in conversations with WWE about a potential return to the company. However, the two sides were far apart on terms. In following up, we learned that Mercedes Mone has continued conversations with All Elite Wrestling, just a month after it looked like the two sides couldn’t come to terms. Beyond that, those in the industry we’ve spoken to say that All Elite Wrestling is the likely landing point, and that's what Fightful has been told to expect.
Those that we’ve spoken to expect her to land in All Elite Wrestling, though nobody could confirm she’s signed on the dotted line. Of late in both WWE and AEW, there have been instances – specifically with Will Ospreay and CM Punk – where the physical contracts were not signed until the day of their appearances with AEW and WWE respectively. One source claimed that they heard AEW and Mercedes were close to agreeing on terms, if they hadn't already.
Another source indicated that if something changed an Mercedes didn't end up debuting in AEW, there would be an even bigger story at play associated with why that didn't happen, as it is actively being planned.
For those confusing "expecting" and "100 percent" -- we don't report something is "100 percent" until we know it to be official. However, Mercedes is all but expected to be All Elite. If you have any questions about that process, we're happy to answer.
NJPW sources said that rumors of a planned January match with Giulia were never seriously possible due to Mercedes' injury.
Mercedes was said to have been seeking one of the largest contracts in women’s wrestling history.
Contrary to what several claim, we've heard nothing regarding a specific debut date.
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