Mercedes Mone fka Sasha Banks was rejected as huge Royal Rumble winner by top WWE executive; WWE star returning after 2.5 years won instead - Reports

Mercedes Mone (fka Sasha Banks) may no longer be part of WWE, but at one point, she was pitched as one of the stars who could have won the Royal Rumble. However, a top executive turned down the idea and had someone else in mind.

In the 2022 Royal Rumble, Fightful Select reported that many people backstage had pitched Sasha Banks as the winner of the event. However, that didn't happen as Vince McMahon had taken complete charge of booking the match, which even caused TJ Wilson to walk away temporarily. Instead, McMahon wanted Ronda Rousey to win the whole match, eliminating all 29 women. Eventually, Rousey won, but only after eliminating four other stars.

When this was being planned, Rousey had not wrestled in 2.5 years in the company. Sasha Banks was a top name at the time, but McMahon wanted Rousey to win instead, and not Banks.

McMahon also didn't help with the booking of cameos, as they had no real plans in the Rumble. Vince McMahon had only told them to get in and get out of the match quickly, and Summer Rae, Sarah Logan, Melina, and others all spent a minute or less in the match at that time.