50 Best Wrestlers Of The 2020s (So Far)
27. Mercedes Moné
As Sasha Banks in WWE, Mercedes Moné was already a generational talent. But in the aftermath of some pandemic months that revealed the full scope of her on-screen power as a force of nature in creatively barren times, 'The Boss' went on to take control of her career and take it in an entirely different direction.
Her May 2022 WWE walkout alongside then-co-Tag Team Champion Naomi was seismic. An important statement of protestation of bad booking and self-worth in an industry perpetually obsessed with how to clip its game-changers' wings, the move was predictably criticised publicly by those within the company but audiences saw through the corporate tantrums. WWE had lost two of its most bankable stars, and the Mercedes Moné character in particular was born out of a defiance and determination to get it done outside the only machine she'd known.
After an injury-stalled NJPW run merely teased what could be for the 'CEO', her 2025 in AEW (after a settling period the year prior) confirmed it. Moné's death-defying bumping, razor sharp in-ring IQ and a totally revived character meshed perfectly with the brand new raft of opponents she was being lined up with. Quantity morphed into quality as she got well-received reps across the world and became AEW’s crown jewel not by putting a TBS (and everything else) Championship run together that silenced the last of her nay-sayers and made fools of those that said she was wrong to walk out on the market leader.