It has been a whirlwind of events for Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) since she and her then WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion partner, Naomi (Trinity Fatu), walked out on Raw on that fateful mid-May day. For Banks, she kept herself busy, which only added to the rampant speculation as to her eventual destination – if it was even in professional wrestling.
Then, a figurative bomb dropped: Banks is set to appear at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest show of the year on January 4, Wrestle Kingdom 17, which is once again a one-night affair. While her appearance has yet to be announced by New Japan, speculation is she will be jump straight into the IWGP Women’s Championship picture.
So, how did we get here? Here’s a timeline dating back to Varnado’s and Fatu’s walkout to what we know now. Much of this was corroborated through the December 19 Voices of Wrestling podcast’s flagship episode beginning around the 1:45:10 mark.
Note: I will refer to Banks and Naomi while discussing anything regarding WWE, but use Varnado and Fatu when discussing them outside of WWE. Varnado has also trademarked “Mercedes Moné,” indicating this may be her name outside of WWE.
May 16, 2022 – The Walkout
It was reported during that night’s Raw that Banks and Naomi walked out due to creative differences they had concerning the tag team division. They had been set to involved in a six-pack challenge match to determine Bianca Belair’s challenger for her title at Hell in a Cell.
Michael Cole informed viewers – in very WWE-friendly terms – that Banks and Naomi walked out during the show. WWE also issued this statement, which blamed the wrestlers because “even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.”
May 20 – Indefinite suspension
It was four days later on SmackDown that Michael Cole announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and stripped of their Tag Team Championship. This announcement was made notorious by Cole stating that Banks and Naomi had “let down millions” of WWE fans with their actions.
In those four days, word came down that Naomi had been set to win the six-pack challenge and face Belair while Banks was set to face Ronda Rousey for her title. Both Banks and Naomi were set to lose though as mentioned earlier, they had concerns over the direction of the tag team division and not about their scheduled losses.
Fans also noticed during the packaged “WWE Then, Now, Forever, Together” intro video that both Banks and Naomi were removed. Cody Rhodes replaced Banks while Rousey replaced Naomi. WWE also removed all of their merchandise from WWEShop.
June 15 – Banks’ release
June 15 saw even more breaking news as WrestlingInc.com founder Raj Giri tweeted Banks had been released from WWE. While some questioned his reporting, his news was confirmed by other wrestling journalists, thus refuting the skepticism from the questioning.
While Banks was released, nothing was known at the time about Naomi’s status. The VoW pod reported that WWE had come to their separation agreement with Banks over the summer with the agreement that January 1, 2023 was the earliest she could take wrestling bookings. Fightful later confirmed she signed a deal with Bushiroad for multiple dates with VoW reporting her per event fee was the highest in Bushiroad’s history.
July 6-7 – Removal from WWE’s internal roster
Further strengthening Giri’s report about Banks’ release, between July 6 and 7, WWE removed both Banks and Naomi from their internal roster. The distinction of “internal roster” is key as WWE still has made no acknowledgement of Banks’ – or Naomi’s – status with the company.
In fact, if you go to WWE.com, Banks and Naomi are still listed as SmackDown wrestlers even though WWE has released Banks and has no plans on bringing back Naomi.
September 9 – Walking the runway
Varnado and Fatu kept their names in the headlines, but not within the world of wrestling. In September, they walked the runway at New York Fashion Week, a high honor. This was another sign to their detractors that both Varnado and Fatu have name recognition and demand outside of professional wrestling.
December 3 – First movie
Then, on December 3, Varnado tweeted that she had just finished filming her first movie. Apparently, she was set in The Collective from Tom DeNucci. This comes after she appeared in the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
December 5 – Barmageddon!
While the news of her appearing on the new USA show Barmageddon was revealed by Brie Bella on The Bellas Podcast in October, and previews that aired during both Raw and NXT showed clips of The Bellas and Banks (presumably filmed while still with WWE), Barmageddon debuted on December 5.
December 8 – Reported to appear at Wrestle Kingdom 17
A few days later, in a bombshell that sent waves through wrestling social media, Varnado was reported to appear at the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 17 from New Japan Pro Wrestling, first reported by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.
NJPW does not have a women’s division, but is owned by the same company that owns World Wonder Ring Stardom. Varnado has made her affinity for Stardom and the wrestlers there known, but even if she doesn’t wrestle there, she can always wrestle on NJPW productions.
The inaugural and current IWGP Women’s Champion is KAIRI, fka Kairi Sane. Varnado teased a potential match with KAIRI a few months ago, and the plan seems to be her confronting the winner of the title match between KAIRI and Tam Nakano at WK 17 (presumably KAIRI).
December 21 – Arrival in Japan
Varnado then arrived in Japan on December 21, two weeks ahead of her scheduled debut with NJPW and Stardom. It’s likely she’s using the time to acclimate to the time difference while training in preparation of her upcoming appearances.
The VoW pod reported that Bushiroad is adamant about exposing the West to their women’s wrestling with the belief that there is a “dearth of quality women’s wrestling” in the West. they believe their best way to make this happen is through NJPW and the IWGP Women’s Championship. Having Varnado and presumably KAIRI – two names well known to Western wrestling fans – leading the way should do well in achieving this goal.
That’s the timeline of Sasha Banks’ WWE release and Mercedes Varnado’s path to New Japan Pro Wrestling and Wrestle Kingdom 17. Be sure to tune into Wrestle Kingdom 17 in a few short days on January 4, 2023 to witness Varnado’s debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling!
