Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, is one of AEW’s biggest stars.
While speaking with Hot 97, Mone discussed her exit from WWE in May 2022 when she and Naomi walked out of the company due to a creative disputed with Vince McMahon.
”There’s so many reasons, but the biggest thing is just listening to my heart and my soul. Something didn’t feel right that day. How we were talked to didn’t settle in my heart, and 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, having someone talk to me the way that they do or feeling like you just don’t belong. Like, okay, I’ve been doing this for 14 years, and to feel this low, my soul was like, ‘No, get up, go.’
That’s a big decision, though. It was the hardest decision. WWE was always my dream when I was 10 years old. So, to be with that company for 10 years and to walk out was the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my whole life. But it’s now the greatest decision I’ve ever made because where I am today, the TBS Champion, the highest-paid woman in women’s wrestling history.”
H/T to Fightful for the transcription