Mercedes Mone gives more insight into her decision to leave WWE.
During the May 16, 2022 episode of WWE Raw, Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks in WWE) and Naomi reportedly walked out of the company over creative differences with Vince McMahon. The two were the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions at the time. Mone and Naomi were booked in a multi-woman number one contender's match for the WWE Raw Women's Title on the show before ultimately leaving. They were suspended indefinitely on the following episode of WWE SmackDown and the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles were vacated.
Appearing on Hot 97, Mercedes was asked if she ever doubted her place in wrestling.
"Only within the last two years when I was going through leaving WWE. I'm like, 'Should I be done with wrestling? This is not fun for me. All this noise is not fun.' I was like, 'No, you love this. It's not the noise. It's the noise. It's noise in the ring, noise in the performance, noise when you go out there in front of the crowd. It's not this internet noise, the politics, you can work through that.' There are going to be politics everywhere. It's how you work through that. That's how I grew from a legit boss to a CEO. I wanted to take control of my life and my career. Two years ago, I was really questioning myself if I should still do this. 'You're amazing. You still have so much more to give and do. You can't quit on your dreams now,'" she said.
Asked why she left WWE, Mercedes replied, "There are so many reasons. The biggest thing was listening to my heart and soul. Something didn't feel right that day. How we were talked to didn't settle in my heart. I just instantly knew, if I wasn't going to take control of my life right here and now then I was never going to be happy there by having someone talk to me the way that they do or feeling like you don't belong. Okay. I've been doing this for 14 years. To feel this low, my soul is like, 'No, get up. Go.' It was the hardest decision. WWE was always my dream when I was 10 years old. To be with that company for ten years. To walk out was the hardest decision I made in my whole life. Now, it's the greatest decision because of where I am today. The TBS Champion. The highest-paid woman in women's wrestling history. I walked out of that door and walked into so many more doors that were open to me."
Mercedes continued to express her happiness and encourage others to take risks, even if it means being afraid.
Mercedes won the NJPW Strong Women's Title at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door by defeating Stephanie Vaquer.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review by clicking here.
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