Bleacher Report helps you stay up-to-date with the latest news from the WWE universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Mercedes needs to adapt to Bayley
On the eighth anniversary of their historic NXT match, Mercedes Moné told him that she will fight Bayley in the future.
Mercedes took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday to post a photo of herself and Bayley, as a message about her hope of doing magic in the ring with Bayley one day:
Let’s start again someday??@itsBayleyWWE pic. twitter. com/b4ljJMx7fg
On August 22, 2015, Mercedes, then as Sasha Banks, defended the NXT Women’s Championship against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
Although it wasn’t the biggest event, Banks and Bayley stole the display in an attack that for many remains the biggest women’s wrestling attack of all time.
Banks and Bayley told a wonderful story and the match ended perfectly, with Bayley finally reaching the top of the mountain and beating Sasha for the title.
Once on the main roster, Banks and Bayley worked together and opposite each other many times, but NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn remains the pinnacle of their time together.
Earlier that year, Mercedes officially left WWE and signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, temporarily becoming IWGP Women’s Champion; He eventually lost the name and is lately absent due to injury.
Meanwhile, Bayley remained in WWE as Damage CTRL’s third along with Dakota Kai and new WWE Women’s Champion Iyo Sky.
Although Mercedes and Bayley are lately in separate promotions, both have many years of wonderful struggle ahead of them, and it turns out that their paths will most likely cross one day.
Danielson would take charge of the All In
Bryan Danielson is on set due to injury, but will be in London for AEW All In this weekend.
According to Fightful Select (by Felix Upton of Ringside News), Danielson is recovering from a damaged arm and is expected to fight, but will be in London for the biggest exhibition in AEW history.
While it’s unclear if Danielson will appear on screen, it looks like he’ll be there for his comrades at the Blackpool Combat Club.
BCC members Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta are expected to team up with 3 mystery partners in a Stadium Stampede facing Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Best Friends and Lucha Bros at Wembley Stadium.
More than 80,000 enthusiasts are expected, making All In the largest crowd in AEW history, so far. That adds even more excitement to an already chaotic type of game like Stadium Stampede.
While all indications are that Danielson will likely not be allowed to compete after being injured in the main event of Forbidden Door against Kazuchika Okada, he is an important component of BCC’s success, and having him on screen in any capacity would be a gift to fans.
Details on Kairi’s return to WWE
After a three-year absence, Kairi Sane is expected to return to WWE in the near future.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (by Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), the former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion was forced to return to WWE for several reasons.
Among them is the fact that fellow Japanese superstar Iyo Sky has been highly ranked since she landed on the main roster, as she earned Money in the Bank’s female ratings and is now WWE Women’s Champion.
In addition, Kairi thinks that the fact that Triple H is at the helm of the creation is a positive point, because Triple H has already booked his time in NXT well.
Meltzer also reported that Kairi was looking to schedule more dates for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stardom, but were looking for exclusivity, which caused a disconnect.
Kairi last wrestled for WWE in 2020 before returning to her home country of Japan. She then spent a year as a WWE ambassador before forcing her back into the ring for Stardom in early 2022.
Sane became the first IWGP women’s champion, but she left Mercedes a few months later and became a free agent.
WWE has a packed women’s department led by Sky, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Bayley, Rhea Ripley, and Becky Lynch, and Kairi is about to add even more star strength to the equation.
Kairi had had success in WWE in the past, but after leaving and reaching the top of the mountain in Japan as well, she may be in a position for an even bigger career in her second season in WWE.
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