Last night, AEW owner Tony Khan just unveiled his latest huge announcement: a special edition of AEW Dynamite titled Big Business will take place in Boston, MA on March 13. It is widely expected, and all but confirmed by this announcement, that Mercedes Moné, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, will make her AEW debut at the event from her home town.
In a move reminiscent of the buzz surrounding CM Punk’s arrival at Rampage: The First Dance in August 2021, Khan has heavily teased fans with Moné’s debut without outright confirming it. Scheduled for Wednesday, March 13, at Boston’s TD Garden, the “Big Business” graphic on air was adorned with a subtle yet telling “Bo$$ton” sign on TD Garden. A clever nod to Mone’s “Legit Boss” persona from her WWE days, this teaser has sent the wrestling community into a frenzy.
According to a report from Fightful Select, Mercedes Moné has already inked a contract with AEW. Interestingly, there are murmurs that NJPW is keen on maintaining a working relationship with Moné, even as she embarks on this new journey with AEW.
For those unfamiliar with Mone’s recent career trajectory, she made headlines by departing WWE in May 2022, citing creative differences during a Raw taping, vacating the Women’s Tag Team titles alongside her partner Naomi. Since then, Mercedes has ventured into new territories, making a striking debut for NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023. Her momentum continued as she clinched the IWGP Women’s Championship from KAIRI at Battle in the Valley in February 2023, marking an impressive start to her NJPW tenure.
Unfortunately, Moné suffered an ankle injury during a one-night tournament at Resurgence in May 2023. Despite initially being planned to win the inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Championship, Moné called an audible in the ring, putting over her opponent, Willow Nightingale, and has been on the sidelines since, nursing her injury.
Mercedes Moné is one of the most decorated women’s wrestlers in history, winning the NXT Women’s Championship, the WWE Raw Women’s Championship five times, the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship three times. She was Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Woman of the Year in 2015.
During the announcement, Khan promised that Big Business will be “one of the most important nights ever in AEW”. That covers a lot of ground, so all eyes will be on Bo$$ton March 13.
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