Mercedes Moné Eyes Bayley Rematch; WWE, AEW Rumors on Bryan Danielson and Kairi Sane
August 23, 2023
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Mercedes Wants Another Match vs. Bayley
On the eight-year anniversary of their historic NXT match, Mercedes Moné expressed her desire to wrestle Bayley again in the future.
Mercedes took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday to post a photo of herself and Bayley, along with a message about her hope to make in-ring magic with Bayley again some day:
On Aug. 22, 2015, Mercedes, who was then known as Sasha Banks, defended the NXT Women's Championship against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
Although it wasn't the main event, Banks and Bayley stole the show in a match that many still consider to be the greatest women's wrestling bout of all time.
Banks and Bayley told a beautiful story and the match had a perfect ending with Bayley finally reaching the top of the mountain and beating Sasha for the title.
Once they made it to the main roster, Banks and Bayley worked both with and against each other on numerous occasions, but NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn is still viewed as the pinnacle of their time together.
At the start of this year, Mercedes officially left WWE and signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, quickly becoming the IWGP women's champion, although she eventually lost the title and is currently out due to injury.
Meanwhile, Bayley remains in WWE as one-third of Damage CTRL along with Dakota Kai and the new WWE women's champion Iyo Sky.
While Mercedes and Bayley are currently in separate promotions, they both have many years of great wrestling ahead of them, and it seems likely that their paths will cross again one day.
Danielson to Reportedly Be Present for All In
Bryan Danielson is on the shelf due to injury, but he is reportedly expected to be in London for AEW All In this weekend.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Danielson is nursing a fractured arm and is not scheduled to wrestle, but he will be in London for the biggest show in AEW history.
While it is unclear if Danielson will make an on-screen appearance, it sounds as though he will be present to support his Blackpool Combat Club stable mates.
BCC members Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta are set to team with three mystery partners in a Stadium Stampede match against Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Best Friends and the Lucha Bros at Wembley Stadium.
Over 80,000 fans are expected to be in attendance, making All In the largest crowd in AEW history by a significant margin. That should add even more excitement to an already chaotic match type like Stadium Stampede.
While every indication is that Danielson will not be cleared to wrestle after getting injured in the main event of Forbidden Door against Kazuchika Okada, he is a huge part of the BCC's success, and having him on the show in any capacity would be a treat for fans.
Details on Kairi Reportedly Returning to WWE
After three years away, Kairi Sane is reportedly expected to return to WWE in the near future.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), the former NXT women's champion and WWE women's tag team champion was compelled to return to WWE for multiple reasons.
Among them is the fact that fellow Japanese Superstar Iyo Sky has been booked strong since reaching the main roster, as she won the women's Money in the Bank ladder match and is now the WWE women's champion.
Also, Kairi reportedly believes Triple H being head of creative is a positive, as Triple H previously booked her well during her time in NXT.
Meltzer also reported that Kairi wanted to work more dates for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stardom, but they wanted exclusivity, which led to a disconnect.
Kairi last wrestled for WWE in 2020 before returning to her home country of Japan. She subsequently spent a year as a WWE ambassador before making her in-ring return for Stardom in early 2022.
Sane went on to become the inaugural IWGP women's champion, but she dropped it to Mercedes a few months later, and she eventually became a free agent.
WWE has a stacked women's division led by Sky, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Bayley, Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch, and Kairi is poised to add even more star power to the equation.
Kairi was already successful in WWE, but after leaving and reaching the top of the mountain in Japan as well, she could be set for an even better run during her second stint with WWE.
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