Former WWE star's brand "has been severely damaged" since joining AEW, Eric Bischoff says

Eric Bischoff is never afraid to speak his mind about current topics in the wrestling business. In a recent podcast episode, the former WCW executive gave his thoughts on Mercedes Mone's AEW run so far.

Mone became one of the world's most well-known wrestlers when she performed as Sasha Banks in WWE between 2012 and 2022. The 32-year-old made her AEW debut in March and quickly captured the AEW TBS and NJPW Strong Women's titles to become a double champion.

Bischoff said on 83 Weeks that Mone's stock has dropped considerably since signing with AEW:

"Now they're [WWE stars] moving over to AEW where, quite frankly, I think Mercedes Mone's character has just taken a giant hit. Her brand has been severely damaged as a result of being involved with AEW television." [1:56:23 – 1:56:39]

In her most recent AEW match, Mone defeated Queen Aminata on the October 16 episode of Dynamite to retain the TBS Championship.

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Eric Bischoff on the change in perception between AEW and WWE

Triple H replaced his father-in-law Vince McMahon as WWE's head of creative in July 2022. Since then, many fans have praised The Game for significantly improving the company's on-screen product.

Eric Bischoff believes the WWE environment is no longer as controlling as it once was. AEW, meanwhile, gives Mone creative freedom over her character, but Bischoff thinks her segments and storylines often fail to deliver:

"Here's the really funky part. It used to be, 'Yeah, but you're gonna go to WWE, you're not gonna have any control, you're not gonna know who you're gonna wrestle, you don't have any say,' all of which was true, but now you get to go to AEW and, in Mercedes' case, she's got creative control and her own personal writer [Jennifer Pepperman], who I happen to know and respect, and she not only is able to do whatever she wants to do, she's got a writer doing it, and she's still losing ground as a brand." [1:56:39 – 1:57:11]

Mone won several titles in WWE as Sasha Banks, including the RAW Women's Championship five times and the SmackDown Women's Championship once. She also headlined the first night of WrestleMania 37 against Bianca Belair.

What are your thoughts on Mercedes Mone in AEW? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit 83 Weeks and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use Eric Bischoff's quotes from this article.