Update On Internal Word Within WWE About A Potential Return For Sasha Banks/Mercedes Moné

Mercedes Moné and her future upon recovering from injury is still a hot topic of discussion in the wrestling community, with rumblings of a potential WWE return once again swirling.

There has been no official update as to what Mercedes Moné’s current contract status is with New Japan Pro Wrestling, whom she debuted with on January 4th, 2023 at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17. Moné would appear at the annual Tokyo Dome show to confront and subsequently attack the then reigning IWGP Women’s Champion Kairi, she would then announce that she had joined both NJPW and their sister promotion STARDOM (World Wonder Ring Stardom). This would lead to a title match between the two at NJPW’s Battle in the Valley on February 18, 2023, in which Moné would successfully capture the IWGP Women’s Championship.

Moné’s IWGP Women’s Title reign would come to an end at 64 days, after she was defeated by Mayu Iwatani at STARDOM All Star Grand Queendom on April 23rd, 2023. She would next challenge for the inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Champion at NJPW’s Resurgence on May 21st. Moné would advance to the finals of the tournament, but it was in that match she would suffer a serious right ankle injury that reported caused plans to change on the fly (Moné was originally slated to win the match), leading to Willow Nightingale picking up the win and becoming the inaugural Champion.

Mercedes Moné has been out of action since suffering the injury to her right ankle in May. She made an appearance at AEW’s All In from Wembley Stadium in London, when cameras showed Moné in the crowd watching the AEW Women’s Title match. She was said to be wearing a walking boot still, but it was not visible when she was shown in the crowd. It had previously been reported that Moné was set to wrestle at All In, but she had not fully healed from injury and was not cleared to compete yet.

Moné is expected back soon, as she posted a video a couple weeks back of herself training at the Hybrid School of Wrestling in San Antonio, Texas, hyping up her return to the ring.The video was titled, “The countdown begins” had a caption that read, “Mercedes Moné is back in the ring.”

The exact timeframe for her return is still not known, but there were reports back in October that NJPW still had plans for Moné to potentially challenge Giulia for the NJPW Strong Women’s Title upon returning from injury, as the belt was said to have been created with Moné in mind.

A lot has changed in the wrestling landscape since Moné walked out of WWE in May of 2022. Vince McMahon is no longer in charge, and Triple H was asked a few months back by Ariel Helwani about the possibility of a potential Sasha Banks return to WWE. Triple H responded by saying, “Time will tell.” Which once again sparked a lot of speculation and debate as to whether we might see her potentially return to WWE in the near future.

In an update, Aaron Varble of SEScoops has reported that sources within WWE have confirmed to him on three separate occasions over the last 30 days that there has been no contract talks between WWE and Mercedes Moné. Additionally, WWE’s Creative Team has not discussed any ideas for her potential return to the company. However, it was noted that this is a much different time, especially with how information flows internally within WWE. He was most recently told on December 12th, that “Sasha Banks’ name will only come up when there’s a deal.” With one source stating, “There’s no deal, or no deal yet.”

“I have spoken to sources within WWE who have confirmed to me on three separate occasions over the past 30 days that there are no contract talks between Mercedes Mone and WWE. The creative team is also not discussing any ideas for her return to the company. That being said, this is a much different time, especially how information flows within WWE.”

“I was told by a tenured member of the WWE team on December 12th that, “Sasha Banks’ name will only come up when there’s a deal.” Per one source, “There’s no deal, or no deal yet.” “

We will keep you updated if we hear anything more about Mercedes Moné’s return from injury after having to undergo surgery on her right ankle, or if we hear anything about her contract status and potential return.

If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.

You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel,  or any of your favorite podcast platforms.

Follow us on Twitter: @BodyslamNet

BodySlamNet is back with a brand new interactive YouTube channel! Get ready for more live streams of show reviews, post shows, watch alongs, interviews and much more covering WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling/TNA, STARDOM, GCW, ROH and more. 

——————————————————————————————————– 

See Cassidy Haynes, Stephanie Hypes, Alex Lajas aka Queen of the Ring, Lyric Wrestling, Lo, LeMaire Lee, Lewis, Astrid and more for our new LIVE post shows where we will be discussing all the weekly shows with you all. 

——————————————————————————————————–

Follow BodySlam Net on all social media platforms at @BodySlamNet 

——————————————————————————————————–

You can show your support for all of our new hosts, videos and channel at slamchats.com for viewer donations that go directly to us here. Support BodySlam!