'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell spoke about former WWE star Mercedes Moné (fka Sasha Banks) debuting in AEW this week.
The 32-year-old star set the wrestling world on fire after she appeared on the Big Business edition of AEW Dynamite this past Wednesday. She cut a promo thanking her hometown fans at the TD Garden in Boston. She also showed up during the main event and decked the TBS Champion, Julia Hart.
This week on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell spoke about Moné's claims about returning to the WWE. He felt that it was too early for her to comment on a return to the Stamford-based organization. He mentioned that the comments would probably not affect her push on AEW, but the star could have refrained from talking about it.
Trending
"Mercedes dug herself a bit of a political hole right after she got there. She has no sooner gotten to AEW, nd somebody asked her, 'Will you ever be back to WWE?' and she said, 'Oh yeah, I'm certain I'll be back there some time.' I'm like wait, isn't this a little too soon? You just got there." [26:43 onwards]
During the conversation, Mantell claimed that Moné could have been more diplomatic about her response since she had just joined the Tony Khan-led federation. He felt that WWE might take offense to the statement and never hire her back.
"I think she could just as well have not said that and went on about her business and everything would have been fine. I don't think it's gonna hurt her or anything. And WWE they could say, 'Wait a minute, you're gonna be there? You're certain you're gonna be there?' They could say, 'Well, we'll make sure that you're not back here.' They could almost take that as a damn... Who knows what goes on behind those doors." [27:15 onwards]
It's still early days for the star in AEW, and it will be interesting to see if she can replicate the same success in the promotion that she had with McMahon & Co.
If you use the quotes from this article, please embed the YouTube video and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcript.
Rhea Ripley explains how a Triple H vs. Ric Flair match got her into wrestling. Check out her comments below.
