31-year wrestling veteran claims former WWE Superstar jumping ship to AEW will be "like a Cody [Rhodes] situation"

Cody Rhodes was released from WWE many years back and made a name for himself outside of the company before starting AEW. He is now back in the Stamford-based promotion and is one of the biggest babyfaces on the roster. Matt Hardy feels Sasha Banks could follow a similar trajectory if she jumps ship to All Elite Wrestling after walking out of her former promotion.

The Boss, now known as Mercedes Mone, made a blockbuster debut at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. It was her first wrestling-related appearance since May 2022, when she walked out of the company alongside Naomi due to alleged creative differences.

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Speaking on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, The Broken One suggested that Sasha Banks leaving her previous company and coming to AEW would be a huge jump.

"She’s a big star. There’s no if, ands, or buts about it. She really has put a ton of equity on her name, and on her character, on her identity as a pro wrestler. She’s been able to continue to hold that as she hasn’t even working with WWE. She’s kept herself in the headlines, which is great. Her coming to AEW would be a big deal. I feel like in some ways it would be very similar to, almost like a Cody situation in some ways. It’s like a huge jump. It would have that feel, yeah," Hardy said. (H/T Fightful)

Mercedes Mone will face former WWE star KAIRI in February

At Wrestle Kingdom 17, KAIRI defended the IWGP Women's Championship against Tam Nakano of the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The former NXT star came out on top as she retained her title.

Her celebrations were interrupted by the debuting Mercedes Mone. The latter offered a handshake at first, but dropped KAIRI with a modified DDT. She then declared her interest in capturing the IWGP Women's Championship.

It was then confirmed that the two women will square off against each other for the title on February 18 at the Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California. This will be Mercedes Mone's first match since she and Naomi defeated Natalya and Shayna Baszler back in May 2022 as part of WWE.