Mercedes Moné Beats Kairi in 1st Match Since Leaving WWE as Sasha Banks

In her first match since leaving WWE in May 2022, Mercedes Moné defeated Kairi at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Battle in the Valley in San Jose, California, on Saturday to win the IWGP Women’s Championship.

Prior to an episode of Raw in May, Mercedes and Naomi walked out of WWE because of creative differences. They were suspended and stripped of their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, and Mercedes did not resurface in the world of pro wrestling until January.

At Wrestle Kingdom 17, Moné made her NJPW debut after Kairi’s successful title defense against Tam Nakano.

After going by the name Sasha Banks during her decade in WWE, Mercedes not only changed her name, but also her look and theme song. Additionally, she changed her nickname from “The Boss” to “The CEO.”

Mercedes confronted Kairi and attacked her. She then cut a heel promo, challenged Kairi to a future title match and held the IWGP Women’s Championship above her head.

Shortly after that moment, Mercedes vs. Kairi was made official for Battle in the Valley, marking New Japan’s return to the United States for a major show and Moné’s first match of any kind in about nine months.

While it had been a few years since their last match against each, Mercedes and Kairi were no strangers to one another, as they faced off on multiple occasions in WWE, particularly in 2019 and 2020.

In fact, Kairi’s final feud in WWE in the summer of 2020 before returning home to Japan saw her and Asuka feud with Mercedes and Bayley.

Kairi and Asuka fell short in their bid to beat Mercedes and Bayley for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, but Kairi did score singles wins over both Mercedes and Bayley prior to her departure.

In terms of interest from an American audience, Saturday arguably marked the biggest women’s match in the history of Japanese wrestling, as a five-time Raw women’s champion, one-time SmackDown women’s champion and one-time NXT women’s champion in Moné was making her in-ring return against a one-time NXT women’s champion in Kairi.

Mercedes’ in-ring return was a successful one, and by beating Kairi for the title, she quickly established herself as the face of the NJPW and STARDOM women’s division.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.