The world of professional wrestling is often filled with surprises, and one recent twist involves WWE’s talks with a major name — Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks. However, these discussions have hit a roadblock, leading to a standstill in negotiations.
According to Fightful Select, WWE engaged in talks with Sasha about her potential return to the company. While the initial conversations were described as amicable, they failed to progress to a point where both parties could reach an agreement on a deal.
WWE sources assert that they were the ones to walk away from the negotiations. Notably, Fightful had previously reported that Banks’ asking price exceeded Charlotte Flair’s new deal, indicating that she commands a significant value in the market. It remains unclear whether this financial aspect contributed to the breakdown or if other factors were at play.
Following the failed negotiations, speculation arose regarding Mercedes’ future destination. AEW has long expressed interest in signing her. Fightful’s sources suggested that she might be appearing elsewhere imminently, leaving fans wondering where she might end up.
In an update, the Wrestling Observer is reporting that WWE’s talk with Sasha fell apart because of money:
“She was absolutely negotiating with WWE. From what I was told, they were far apart on money. There is one person in WWE who said, like, ‘Until she shows up and until you hear she signed a contract, just remember what happened with CM Punk,’ like that. But I don’t know if they know or they were, but I was absolutely told that this afternoon, ‘Just remember what happened with Punk.’ You know, when they say it’s done and they tell everyone it’s done. But we were told by multiple people that they were far apart on money.
And that’s what, the same thing from a year ago, if you remember, when before she went to New Japan and when there was all the talk that she might come back when Vince (McMahon) was gone and [Triple H] was there, and in the end, they did not make the deal a year ago because she had asked for again, the way it was explained was, Charlotte Flair money and, they weren’t going to go that high.
And also, the other thing with her is that she has other things, whether it’s acting or other companies that she’s involved in, that could be an issue. I think that with AEW, I think she would have more freedom to act, although WWE is going to probably give you more freedom now than they would under Vince when Vince was such a controlling person, but maybe not.
But the thing is, also, for Mercedes, it’s probably a really high-priced deal, but we’ll see what happens.”
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