Posted in: AEW, Disney+, Sports, Star Wars, TV, WWE | Tagged: aew, disney, Koska Reeves, mercedes mone, Mercedes Varnado, sasha banks, The Mandalorian, wwe

The Mandalorian: Mercedes Moné on Struggles with WWE to Get Time Off

AEW's TBS Champion, Mercedes Moné, reflects on the struggles she faced trying to get time off from the WWE to film Disney+'s The Mandalorian.

AEW star Mercedes Moné, like many other of her contemporaries, found a second life in Hollywood outside of the wrestling ring during her time in WWE on the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Rather than use her company moniker at the time "Sasha Banks," Moné decided to be credited as her real name, Mercedes Varnado, playing Koska Reeves, a Mandalorian aligned with Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) in season two. Getting time off to film for the show was another can of worms for her former employer, as Moné spoke with WFAN about the experience while promoting the upcoming AEW PPV Forbidden Door.

AEW Star Mercedes Mone Reflects on Trying to Get Time Off to Film The Mandalorian

When asked if there were restrictions to do outside projects, "Oh yes," Moné said. "That's definitely a big reason why I came to AEW. Even doing 'The Mandalorian' was pulling teeth with the WWE to try and get time off to film that show. [AEW owner] Tony (Khan) says, whatever I need. If I need the private jet to go from filming in LA to coming for a show, it's available for me." Mone, the current AEW TBS Champion, is a 10-time champion and Grand Slam Champion with WWE during her run from 2012-2022, winning NXT, Raw, and SmackDown Women's Championships. She also won the Women's Tag Team Titles three times, with two runs with Bayley and one with Naomi. Her run with Noami was cut short after both walked out on the company, protesting their creative direction and abdicating their titles. While Naomi eventually returned to WWE following her Impact Wrestling/TNA run, Moné wrested in Japan before going to AEW.

While Moné's departure from WWE was during the Vince McMahon era, Paul "Triple H" Levesque has played far looser creatively, allowing her friends like Bayley to visit and see her official AEW debut on the March 13th, 2024 episode of Dynamite in Boston. She made her in-ring debut on May 26th at Double or Nothing, defeating Nightingale to win the TBS Championship. For more including Moné reflecting about her greatest matches, AEW, and her decision to leave WWE, you can check out the video. AEW Forbidden Door airs June 30th.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!