Tag: Mercedes Varnado

Mercedes Mone says she’s on ‘day six’ of recovery

Posted on by Ian Carey

Mercedes Mone posted an update to her Instagram Stories on Sunday. 

The 31-year-old injured her ankle in the main event of NJPW Resurgence on May 21. Details regarding the extent of the injury have been scarce but it resulted in the finish of her match against Willow Nightingale being changed last minute. 

Mone posted a photo of her foot in a cast to Instagram stories over the weekend. She also included the caption, “Day 6 recovery.” 

Some have taken her caption to mean Mone recently underwent surgery. However, this has not been confirmed. 

Mone’s injury occurred when she fell from the top turnbuckle to the outside and appeared to roll her ankle on the floor when she landed. She was unable to put weight on her foot after and Nightingale would win the match, and the Strong Women’s Championship, moments later. 

Prior to her injury, there had been rumors Mone would be at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II in Toronto on June 25. Sports Illustrated would later provide an update on the potential for Mone and AEW to work together in the future, writing:

While Khan would not definitively comment on whether she would have been part of the card, any such plans were derailed last month when she broke her ankle in a match against Willow Nightingale to crown the first NJPW Strong women’s champion. 

Multiple sources close to Khan have confirmed that there were significant discussions with Moné, which bodes well for a potential appearance in the future. 

Mone’s next scheduled appearance is set for July 7 at the Fanboy Expo in Knoxville, TN. 

Report: Bayley will be in Japan to support Sasha Banks at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Mercedes Varnado (Sasha Banks) will have some support as she makes her NJPW debut.

PWInsider reports that WWE star Bayley will be in Tokyo on Wednesday to support Varnado, who is expected to appear at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. If Varnado does show up at Wrestle Kingdom, it will be her first pro wrestling appearance since walking out of WWE Raw this May.

Bayley traveling to Japan comes after she appeared on Raw last night. She’s currently involved in a feud with Becky Lynch.

“Obviously, Bayley is under contract to WWE and likely shouldn’t be expected to be seen on camera, but we are told she will be there,” PWInsider wrote. “In asking around, we could not confirm that WWE sent Bayley to the show, but it’s entirely possible (and probably likely) she headed to Japan herself to be there for Varnado given their long standing friendship.”

Trinity Fatu (Naomi), who walked out of WWE with Varnado last May, is also in Japan ahead of Wrestle Kingdom 17. PWInsider noted that NJPW sources intimated that Fatu was coming to Japan “on her own accord.”

Dave Meltzer reported that he hasn’t heard of anything scheduled for Fatu as far as pro wrestling is concerned: “Regarding Trinity Fatu (Naomi) being in Japan as reported by Mike Johnson, we haven’t heard of anything scheduled for her as far as pro wrestling is concerned. There has been at this point nothing talked about on the Stardom side of things.”

Wrestle Kingdom 17 is taking place at the Tokyo Dome. The pre-show will begin airing on NJPW World at 1:20 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday morning.

Saraya praises Sasha Banks for taking career into her own hands

Posted on by Joseph Currier

In a recent interview with the Metro, Saraya praised Mercedes Varnado (Sasha Banks) for taking her career into her own hands.

“I love the fact that she took her career into her own hands, and she knows her worth and she knows she wants to be treated a certain way, and she deserves to be treated that way because she’s done a lot for the wrestling business,” Saraya said.

“She’s one of the girls that puts butts in seats, and you want to see wrestle and you wanna see main event. She deserves all those things.”

Varnado hasn’t appeared in pro wrestling since walking out of WWE Raw this May, but that’s expected to change with her showing up at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4.

Last month’s announcement that Saraya and a mystery partner will be facing Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter on the January 11 episode of Dynamite has also led to speculation that Varnado could be coming to AEW. Saraya told the Metro that she’ll be happy for Varnado wherever she ends up going.

“Wherever she ends up, I’m gonna be happy for her, and anyone that gets her is gonna be very, very lucky. I just selfishly hope that I get to wrestle her one day,” Saraya said.

Saraya commented on the speculation of Varnado being her mystery partner in an interview with Forbes that was published in December: “I feel like anytime there’s a mystery, everyone always goes straight for Mercedes (laughs). They’re like — straight away — it’s her! There’s plenty of women out there, I’m not going to say yes or no to anybody, but there’s a lot of exciting prospects for a potential tag partner.”

Varnado filed a trademark for “Mone’ Banks” on December 27.

After departing WWE this July, Saraya made her AEW debut in September. She returned to the ring by defeating Baker at November’s Full Gear pay-per-view. It was Saraya’s first match in nearly five years. Saraya was medically disqualified from competing in the ring during that time due to neck issues.

Sasha Banks’ NJPW deal includes Stardom show; WWE negotiation details

Posted on by Ian Carey

New details are available regarding Sasha Banks’ deal with NJPW. 

Dave Meltzer addressed Banks’ status in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer noted that while Banks’ agreement is with NJPW, it also includes one Stardom date, likely a major show the promotion has planned for the spring. 

“The deal is with New Japan but would include one date for Stardom. That would be for a show that is expected in April, but the company had planned for the biggest show in its history, which will tentatively be announced on 12/29 at the Stardom Sumo Hall show,” Meltzer wrote. 

Bushiroad is hoping that Banks’ large social media following will help draw fans and build the public perception of the company. 

“Their belief is that with 5.6 million Instagram followers and 2.4 million Twitter followers, far more than any of their talent, that she has gigantic mainstream appeal,” Meltzer continued. 

Voices of Wrestling reported that Banks’ deal is the largest per-event agreement NJPW has ever made, including Chris Jericho’s. Jericho’s deal, however, was based on various percentages as opposed to a flat rate. 

“For the record, the money I reportedly made during my run with @njpw1972 from 2018-2020 online currently is completely wrong. I never had a flat per appearance deal, I was paid according to the event. And I made more per event than I did for MOST of my Wrestlemania matches,” Jericho posted to Twitter on Thursday evening. 

Sources close to the situation only confirmed Banks’ agreeement is a “huge per-event deal” but it is unknown how much she will be making or if it is more than Jericho received. 

Banks negotiated with WWE over the summer and reached an agreement that she would become a free agent at the start of 2023. This meant that WWE would not freeze her contract but she would be unable to do anything wrestling related until January. Following the regime change in WWE, the two sides began negotiating a deal for Banks’ return but ended up being far apart on money.  

“She was said to be seeking a number along the levels of Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and those internally have said she wasn’t offered numbers close to that. They said that she’s not seen internally as somebody who would be on top for the next five years,” Meltzer wrote. 

Sasha Banks and WWE ‘very far apart on money,’ multiple NJPW dates agreed to

Posted on by Ian Carey

As of right now, Sasha Banks has agreed to terms for multiple dates with New Japan Pro Wrestling but re-signing with WWE is still a possibility. 

On Saturday, our own Dave Meltzer confirmed PWInsider’s report that Banks is scheduled to attend Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023. He also noted that the booking with NJPW did not go through WWE. 

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio released early Sunday, Meltzer reported that Banks’ WWE contract is set to expire at the end of the year, and the last he had heard, the two sides were far apart on money. While a deal with NJPW has not been officially signed, Banks has agreed to terms for multiple dates in 2023 with the promotion. 

“I asked WWE about it and they had basically nothing to say as far as the situation,” Meltzer said. 

“[WWE] were talking to her about a return and they were very far apart on money. That was the last that I had heard. Again, could AEW afford her? She wanted a lot. What she was asking for was a very high number for a WWE woman wrestler but again, if you look at the amount of money WWE takes in, she still would have been underpaid.”

Meltzer also addressed the possibility that WWE could freeze Banks’ contract as a result of her walking out on an episode of Raw in May and having not returned since. 

“Her contract was to expire at the end of the year. However, as we’ve seen with so many people in that company, I mean, she hasn’t worked there so they can freeze the deal and they’ve frozen deals for people who have walked out, they’ve frozen deals for people who have been hurt, and we’ve heard over and over again so many people who wanted to be free agents had to wait, and wait and wait,” Meltzer continued. 

“Perhaps they just figured we don’t want to freeze you and you can go or perhaps her lawyer said ‘we’re going to challenge it’ and whatever, I don’t know what’s happened.”

Meltzer also noted that Banks will appear at Wrestle Kingdom 17 but is not scheduled to wrestle on the show.  

“I do know this, she will be going to the show. She will appear on the show, she will not wrestle on the show. She has dates with New Japan Pro Wrestling in her deal, I do not believe it is signed. She could still sign with WWE and this could all fall apart but she has pretty much agreed to their terms. So as far as they are concerned, they have a deal.”

How AEW fits into the situation is not clear. 

“I do not know how AEW fits in. Obviously, everybody is going to jump to the speculation that she is the mystery partner of Saraya against Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker on the Forum show January 11 and now if it’s not her, it’s probably going to be a terrible disappointment.”

“New Japan Pro Wrestling cannot afford to pay the numbers that WWE was willing to pay her, I can say that. AEW could, obviously, afford that. So, is it a deal where she does both? Perhaps, that I cannot confirm at all. I know when I asked AEW about it, I got a non-answer.”

“As of right now, she’s done with WWE. Like I said, it could change at any moment but that’s the situation right now.”

Report: NJPW bringing Sasha Banks to Wrestle Kingdom 17

Posted on by Ian Carey

Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) is reportedly going to be at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023. 

According to a report from PWInsider, it is not clear if Banks will be wrestling or even appearing before the live crowd on the show but NJPW is bringing her to the event. 

Back in October, Banks teased a potential match with IWGP Women’s Champion Kairi. She posted a match graphic to her Instagram stories that Kairi later shared on Twitter. 

One month after sharing the above match graphic, Kairi became the first-ever IWGP Women’s Champion at Historic X-Over on November 20. She defeated Mayu Iwatani in the finals of a tournament to win the title. 

Banks hasn’t wrestled since a WWE house show on May 15, 2022. Along with Naomi, she would walk out on WWE Raw the following night after a disagreement with management about the treatment of the women’s tag team division. 

Paul “Triple H” Levesque was asked about Banks’ WWE status during an interview with Ariel Helwani in September. 

“Time will tell,” Levesque responded. “I think in a lot of ways communication breakdowns are terrible. There was a communication breakdown there, for whatever reason. Starting back up that communication is not a difficult process but it can be a process and you have to go through the process. But she’s an unbelievably talented woman who can do just about anything she wants, it just comes down to what does she want to do now.”

“She’s an unbelievable performer that I believe in with everything I have,” he continued.

Sasha Banks and Naomi set for Vulture Festival

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Sasha Banks and Naomi will take part in Vulture Festival 2022. 

In an event announced today, Banks (billed as Mercedes Varnado) and Naomi (billed as Trinity Fatu) will “just vibe for like an hour” at Vulture’s pop culture event in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 12. 

Vulture writes: 

Have you ever been in the presence of real legends? Well, lucky you because this is your opportunity to see Mercedes Varnado and Trinity Fatu (also known as Sasha Banks and Naomi of WWE Superstar fame) live and in person for one night only. We’ll look back on some of their favorite memories, play some games, and maybe even do a little dancing? No bad vibes and nothing out of pocket — just a fun night feeling the glow with two legit bosses we’ve missed a whole lot.

Vulture Festival is a pop culture spectacle where Vulture (the website, not the bird) comes to life right before your very eyes. Curated by our very own editors, it’s a weekend of live and in-person panels with some of your favorite stars and creators, where we can all obsess together over the culture we so love.

Vulture Festival will be held at The Hollywood Roosevelt. Tickets for Varnado and Fatu’s event are on sale, with prices ranging from $25 to $37. Jamie Lee Curtis, Kumail Nanjiani, and Henry Winkler are among other celebrities advertised for panels at the event.  

Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE on May 16, vacating the Women’s Tag Team Championship in the process. The pair were suspended indefinitely by former WWE chairman Vince McMahon. 

Reports later suggested that at least Banks had received her WWE release, reports that WWE has never confirmed nor denied. Still more reports would later suggest that Banks and Naomi had reached a deal to return to the company. 

Though no return to WWE has officially been announced, WWE is mentioned by name in the Vulture announcement. Additionally, Banks is advertised for a season one episode of USA Network’s Barmageddon, which premieres on December 5. Additionally, Varnado posted photos from a training session at a wrestling school in Barcelona, Spain.

Varnado has also partnered with former WWE star Kalisto and his wife Abigail in the Kanndela Labs CBD company, which won Best Newcomer in the World CBD Awards last week in Barcelona.

During their wrestling hiatus, Varnado and Fatu have also modeled in New York and Los Angeles Fashion Week events.