Mercedes Moné calls herself “the CEO” for a reason.
Moné has staked her claim in AEW. She isn’t concerned about what’s going on in other pro wrestling organizations ahead of her All Elite Wrestling in-ring debut at Double or Nothing on Sunday, May 26.
“I feel like there should be no competition when it’s between companies,” Moné, who spent a decade in WWE as Sasha Banks, exclusively told Us Weekly. “It just needs to be competition between the wrestlers, seeing who wants to be the main event of the show, to make the most money. I’m competing with everybody here in AEW to let them know I’m the face of the company. I’m not competing with any other company.”
Regardless, Moné argued that perceived beef between AEW and WWE is mostly the work of passionate keyboard warriors.
“A lot of things just trail from the Internet,” she said. “People are just so in their phones. Going on the Internet and bragging and complaining and they’re not actually living in the real world. When they come out into the real world and they actually go to wrestling shows and enjoy things with wrestling fans, they know that this is all just so much fun.”
Moné added, “People just like to drag things and be mean on the Internet just to be mean on the Internet. When they come to these shows, it’s a whole different feeling.”
In AEW, Moné said she’s spearheading “a women’s global evolution,” which began with shedding her former persona.
“I’m having the best time of my life and career,” she gushed. “There’s this new freedom. I’m discovering a whole new side of me. I’m not Sasha Banks anymore.”
On Sunday, her new character will square up against Willow Nightingale in a match for the AEW TBS Championship. Double or Nothing also marks the 5-year anniversary of the promotion.
“I’m excited to wrestle and just show how much this match means to me,” Moné said of the highly-anticipated showdown. “The women in AEW have such a huge platform and we’re ready to make a statement that women’s wrestling is the best here.”
Moné gave props to Nightingale, calling her a “star on the rise,” but acknowledged “she is so genuine, her smile legit sometimes pisses me off.”
She added, “I can’t wait to wipe that stupid smile off her face this Sunday.”
AEW Double or Nothing airs live Sunday, May 26 at 8 pm ET on Bleacher Report and traditional cable and satellite providers.
