Tonight Mercedes Mone fka Sasha Banks is expected to make her AEW debut on a special episode of AEW Dynamite called Big Business in Boston, or Boss-ton as the poster says. Now before I go any further let me make it clear that I do think she is making a good decision to choose AEW over WWE at this time. Why? One word: schedule. If the money is the same or close, which is what we’re assuming here, then schedule becomes a if not the determining factor. In WWE she’d be on site for TV weekly, then probably working some house shows during the year, and some PLEs and various other WWE-related media appearances, projects, etc. In AEW she can work Wednesday for Dynamite, a few PPVs through the year, and have the rest of the time to herself. While her acting career is the first thing to come to mind you should really think about the convention circuit instead. Her role on The Mandolorian has undoubtedly gotten her a bigger seat at the convention circuit table and with more free time that means more time to hit those and to keep more of the money than she would if she were traveling under WWE’s banner.
Which brings us to the million dollar question: just how she should be booked when she gets there? I thought I’d take a crack at it figuring out an answer to that question myself. The first night is pretty simple: she debuts and sets up her first feud. A week or two later she debuts in the ring and beats somebody, then gets a match at the next pay per view, which she wins and moves on. But what about after that? Here’s what I think.
Win the AEW Women’s Title by this summer
Too soon, you say? I don’t think so. You have a short window to convince people that her arrival isn’t just going to be another addition to Tony Khan’s toy collection. She’s not just there to have matches with people, she’s there to get some more people watching the show that either slipped away or were not watching it before. To even get anywhere near close to that goal she needs to be in a big, prominent position. I’m a firm believer that the simplest answer is usually right, and given her resume and what she brings to the table and the growth potential behind her the simplest answer is to for her to be at the top of the division in kayfabe and not just on payday. I’m also looking at the calendar and seeing that summer will be right there, and with all the conventions she’ll be doing what better way to get your company some notice than to have her going to all these conventions with your women’s title belt in tow, and She can take it with her to any other interviews she gets or any other public appearances she makes to promote her other projects. While having her walk in and win it on day one would be doing way too much, I don’t think this is jumping the gun at all.
Summer of 2024
After winning the title, she feuds with Toni Storm over the summer. Storm has the character to keep things interesting for the next few months. Mercedes can work the Forbidden Door Pay Per View against somebody from Stardom or New Japan Strong. Then at Wembly, you do the big rematch. And thanks to the back to back Pay Per View weekends you can even have Toni win it back at Wembly, and then Mercedes win the blowoff match at All Out to close things out on that feud. You can then proceed with the looming Storm/Mariah May breakup angle.
The rest of 2024
Based on 2023’s schedule they’ll have three more PPVs – WrestleDream, Full Gear, and World’s End – and the big Arthur Ashe Stadium episode of Dynamite. Does she need to defend on all four? Nope, but if you want to she can. Between Deonna Purazzo, May, Willow Nightengale, and Saraya there are people there she can work with. You could even stretch one of those matchups over two shows. Nightengale beat her for the New Japan Strong Women’s Title so there’s history there. If you want to go there you can play up her and Saraya’s WWE history. And then, when she retains at World’s End the music hits, and out comes the big fish for 2025:
2025 and beyond
Mone and Baker can be your big women’s feud for 2025. They can even swap the title a couple of times, and when Jamie Hayter comes back you can use this feud facilitate Baker and Hayter’s breakup angle and make it a 3 way angle for a while. When that’s all wrapped up you can go any of three ways with the Women’s Title and if you want to give her a non title feud for a few months there’s your time. And there are a few other opponents available for whatever you want to do – Kris Statlander, Athena (once they finally bring her back from ROH), Thunderrosa and assuming they bring her in, Kamille. There are also more crossover matches to be hard with women from Stardom and NJ Strong. She can win some more women’s titles, win the Owen Hart Tournament, she can hold the TBS title for a bit down the road.
So just hog up all the spotlight, you say?
Well…….yes, if that’s what you want to call it. You didn’t bring her in to have five star matches with a checklist of names and nothing else. She’s there to boost your business, to generate some new interest (or regenerate some dormant ones), to get more attention to your company and your women’s division. You don’t have a year to spend having her ‘earn’ it, and you damn sure don’t have time to waste running her through ‘dream matches’ that few people have heard of to care about; if after six months she’s just having ‘dream’ matches then people are gonna start checking out. Tell me this; is there anyone on that roster the she should take a back seat to, without some type of build or story to it? NO. That doesn’t mean she should go undefeated, but she should be at the front at all times. She’s not there for a six month run between WWE stints; it’s gonna at least be two or three years. She’s also been off of American television for two years, so her reintroduction needs to be one that reminds people of just who she is. And it’s good business for the reasons I outlined earlier.
What about the locker room?
Here’s where I have little faith in Tony Khan. One of the things he failed to do with CM Punk was make it clear that hey guys, business has gotten stagnant and we need him to recharge things and get us to the next level. In this case business has taken a dip over the past several months and there’s no avenue right now to turn that around on the men’s side, but there is one through the women’s division so they need to take it. If anyone balks at that then show them the ratings and attendance numbers and ask them if they have a better idea. If done right you can get some more business and over time, lots of people will get to eat. Mercedes isn’t going to be some forever champion with a 600-0 record; some women will get to beat her while she’s there but those wins should mean something big when they happen. And I’m sorry but beating her in a five star match on TV in September with no title involved doesn’t cut it.
As for the idea that doing all that would send the wrong message, I’m a firm believer that whatever message you’re sending gets delivered by signing her in the first place. When you sign her, Adam Copeland, CM Punk, you’re telling people one of two things. Either you’re a high priced toy collector, or the people you have aren’t generating enough business and enough interest. In Tony’s case, it’s both! If an NFL team goes from 9-8 to 6-11 and then they sign a big free agent, they’re telling the people there that whoever played the new guy’s position wasn’t getting it done well enough. And they can take it how they want but the team’s record tells the tale. AEW has been losing audience since last summer, it’s all in the numbers. Yes, Tony’s booking has had a lot to do with that but he’s just hired somebody to handle a lot of the creative duties – Jennifer Pepperman, a former senior writer with WWE – so he’s at least acknowledging that end, too.
But that’s not for us to worry about as fans. Our main concern is that she’s used in a way on television that is interesting and makes us want to stay tuned. Four and five star matches only go so far to that end; if you bother to read the star raters out there you’ll see that AEW has had plenty of those while things have been in decline. This is an opportunity to do something that may convince a few people to tune in to their show, and there won’t be any other woman available maybe ever who will give them that. As a fan if you’re more focused on what may happen backstage, based on previous dirtsheet reports and rumors from years past, than what happens on your TV screen then that’s a you problem. If you believe that there’s some proverbial kayfabe dues that she needs to pay first, that’s also a you problem. In real life sports an All Star Player who joins a new team doesn’t play second string for half their first season to earn the right to do what they were brought in to do. If the Knicks bring in Lebron I’m not expecting him to pass up on shots to prove himself, I expect him to be Lebron and everything that comes with it.
We will see what happens; the day of her arrival is her, and with thay I give you my blueprint (see what I did there?) for what I think they should do. There’s only one way to do this and that’s pedal to the metal.
Stroke of Genius 