AEW star kept marriage separation a secret from Vince McMahon for fear of losing WrestleMania spot
A top star from AEW's women's division has claimed that she had kept her separation from her husband a secret from Vince McMahon out of concerns over her WrestleMania spot. The talent in question is former WWE Superstar Sasha Banks aka Mercedes Mone.
Rumors surrounding The CEO's divorce from her ex-husband Sarath Ton were recently confirmed by Mone herself. Speaking on her YouTube channel, the reigning AEW TBS Champion revealed that the couple had been separated since December 2020. However, Mone had decided to keep quiet about the separation since she did not want the news to lead to Vince McMahon making any changes and disrupting her goal of main eventing WrestleMania 37.
The Boss had squared off against 2021 Royal Rumble Winner Bianca Belair on Night 1 of The Show of Shows and dropped her Smackdown Women's Championship to The EST.
"We got separated at the end of December of 2020. He finally moved out in January of 2021. I was shooting The Mandalorian, plus trying everything in my power to be the main event of WrestleMania. So of course I don’t want all of this stuff to get out because you don’t know what Vince [McMahon] is gonna do [and] you don’t know what he’s gonna change because Vince was very — um, I was in a storyline with Bianca."
Mone further cited her concern about being paired on-screen with Reggie, whom she worked with during her feud with Carmella at the time during a trying personal time, to explain why she did not disclose having split with her husband.
"Carmella…the Sommelier (Reggie). Vince was so obsessed with me and this Sommelier that I’m like, Oh my God, he wanted us to be together and all this stuff. So me and Sarath just decided we’re gonna keep this a secret." [H/T - PWMania]
Mercedes Mone recently spoke about her relationship with Vince McMahon
Mercedes Mone made headlines when she and Naomi walked out of WWE over creative disagreements in 2022. She went on to find success in NJPW and signed up with All Elite Wrestling earlier this year, where she is currently the TBS Champion.
During an interview with the WFAN podcast in June, Mone shared her thoughts regarding Vince McMahon. She claimed to have had a "great" relationship with the former TKO Executive. She stated that the relationship had developed further courtesy of the work done by her and Bayley during the pandemic era.
She further voiced her gratitude toward McMahon for booking her to the main event, Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, which she claimed had been a dream of hers.
Vince McMahon is currently the subject of a federal investigation following several serious allegations against him earlier this year.
On the other hand, Mercedes Mone is set to defend her TBS Championship against Britt Baker at AEW All In 2024 later this month.