The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Mercedes Moné On AEW Grand Slam, Being AEW Highest Paid Champion, Celebrity Wrestling + More

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Mercedes Moné To Discuss AEW Grand Slam, Being AEW Highest Paid Champion, Plus Celebrity Wrestling. Listen For More!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God. We are The Breakfast Club. Jess Hilarious is on maternity leave. So we have Lauren LaRosa filling in. And we got a special guest in the building. Ladies and gentlemen, the CEO, Mercedes Monet. Welcome. What's up, champ? Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me.

How you feeling? I'm feeling good on this beautiful New York morning. There you go. Was in a long, long traffic this morning, but it's good. I'm happy to be here. Oh, the U.N. is in town. That's why. Yeah, that's why I heard.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I want to start from the beginning for people that don't know who you are. You are a huge wrestler. Yes. And how did you get into the wrestling game? What made you say, I want to do that? It's when I was 10 years old, I started watching wrestling on TV and there was like nothing on TV.

I was scrolling through the channels and then WB was on. I was like, whoa, what is this? This is interesting. My mom came in the room. She's like, turn this off. Wrestling's the devil. Wrestling's so bad. I went to my brother's room the next door.

She said wrestling's the devil? It's the devil. It's so bad. She's religious? She's very religious. Then I went to my brother's room, finished watching wrestling, and just instantly a light just came into my soul.

It was like, this is going to be your soul calling. This is going to be your soul purpose. And since I was 10 years old until now, here I am at 32,

every single day was just dreaming about wrestling and being a professional wrestler. And now here I am, the greatest women's wrestler of all time. Did your brother used to practice his moves on you?

DDT? No, no, no. My brother has special needs, so he couldn't have done that, no. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay. So you originally were born in California. Yes. And then you moved to Boston. Yeah.

Now, why did y'all move to Boston? Was it for your brother? It was for my brother. My brother has special needs, and we moved around a lot just to find the right doctors and the right schools for him. And finally, my mom got a job out in Boston, so... There's the Boston accent. We moved around a lot just to find the right doctors and the right schools for him. And finally, my mom got a job out in Boston. There's the Boston accent. We moved out there.

I started training in MMA when I was 16 years old because there was no professional wrestling school that would train me at the time. You had to be 18. You could fight for real then. I was trying to train for real to get me ready for wrestling. Trained out in Massachusetts for two years and then I turned 18 during pro wrestling school, and then two years later, I got signed by WWE. How did your mom feel when you started the training? My mom was like, oh, God, why? No. But once I got signed, she became my biggest fan.

She drove me to all my wrestling shows and to wrestling training. So, you know, deep down, she supported me. She loved it. She loved that I had this dream of legit since I was 10. Like this, I told my mom, this is what I was gonna do. This is my goal. This is my dream. And I gotta go do it. But once I really made it,

that's when she's like my biggest fan. Pardon my ignorance. I didn't know there was pro wrestling schools. It's like what, Ric Flair University or something? There's some professional wrestling schools all over the world, everywhere. For actual, like for this type of wrestling? To be the best, you gotta train with the best.

I've traveled all over the world to be the best. Is it like you get belts there, you get degrees? Like what do you get? No, you don't. You learn. You get belts in the big leagues. I'm with AEW, I'm a two-time champion. No, you just begin training.

You learn how to bump, how to hit the ropes, how to be a performer, how to cut promos. There's, like I said, there's wrestling schools all over the world. They're in New York. They're in Boston. They're in England. They're in Australia. Wrestling is global.

Do these organizations go to these schools to find talent? They do. They scout them out. They either scout them out or us as wrestlers, we have to book ourselves. We have to go out and make a name for ourselves and be seen. I remember writing to WWE every single week. Anytime they were in town from boston i'm like can i be can i please be an extra can i be an extra work can i get a look at um then they looked at me and then they sent me down to florida for a week tryout and then that's when i got signed full-time wow congrats

what was your break what was your big break that actually got you into wrestling? I feel like my biggest break was in 2015. Myself and this wrestler named Bailey, we had the greatest women's match of all time. Sports Illustrated said we had the greatest women's match of all time. And that's really changed the landscape of women's wrestling after that match. I felt like a lot of people started taking it seriously and really letting people know that women can do it just like the men and more and because me and bailey had that match in the the standing ovation the crowd reaction the next pay-per-view me and her got to main event that pay-per-view special because we

did so good wow and how many injuries did you receive you know throughout this whole process and how bad has it been i've had about five I've had about five broken noses. My ribs broken. Jesus. Dislocated pelvis. You said not too many? Not too many. And last year I broke my heel, which took me out for a whole year. Yeah.

How long did it take before you feel like you made it in wrestling? I don't know. Maybe. No, I feel like I made it. Like I said, 2015 was like that start of that buzz for women's wrestling. And then really 2020, 2021, where I main evented WrestleMania, being the first ever black woman to main event a WrestleMania. That's when I really felt like I did something.

I made it. I want to SB off that match. That's another match where fans come to me and be like, because of that match, my little girl wants to be a wrestler. I can bring my kids to wrestling. Or I enjoy all of this because of your matches. You make me feel a certain type of way. So I feel like maybe really in 2020, 2021,

is when I really felt like I made it or like I cemented my legacy in wrestling. You take wrestling with your spouse to a whole nother level. Like, you know how you wrestle with your girl or you have fun? You take that to a whole nother level. No, you can't play with her. No, you can't play with you. Don't play with me. Don take wrestling with your spouse to a whole nother level. You wrestle with your girl or you have fun. You take that to a whole nother level. No, you can't play with her. No, you can't play with you. Don't play with me. Don't play with me.

I'll slam you down. I'll put you in a bank statement. I'll make you tap out if you mess with me. Could you imagine you playing with your girl and all of a sudden she got you in the headlock? Illegit arm burn. Like, all right, tap out. Have you ever had to do that in real life for real to one of your guys? Not to any of my guys.

A couple of fans when they want to come a little too close. Yeah. You don't got security? I do have security. I of fans when they want to come a little too close, yeah. You don't got security? I do have security. I was about to say. I just got security, so yes. Yeah. I mean, and you don't need security, you know, to protect you from people.

More so, in some cases, to protect people from you. Yeah, exactly that. Exactly that. Do guys, like, approach you, like, wanting you to do wrestle moves to them? All the time. That's so annoying. Mercedes, body slam me, body slam me. Because they just want to be really close and snug.

But you got to give them new space. You got to be like push back, hold the championship, and we'll stand a little far apart for our picture. That's it. What do you think would have been your plan B if you didn't make it as a wrestler? That's hard. I never really had a plan B before I was a wrestler.

I was an order taker at a restaurant. I was a shoes associate. So I feel like maybe just a manager at a hotel. Like I just only saw wrestling for me. That was my A, B, C, D, E, F, G. My only goal, my only desire. So I think I would only be a professional wrestler in some type of way, you know, or in the wrestling industry. Did you ever feel like giving up? Did you always have like the full support of your family? Was there anybody saying, hey, why don't you go learn a trade? There's only been maybe twice in my career where I'm like,

I don't think I can do this anymore. Just the pressure, the politics, let alone just the politics and being a woman in this sport. It's a male dominated sport and a woman of color nonetheless um there was a couple times where i had to look deep down inside and be like do i really want to do this do i really want to go through this pain every single day it's not just mental pain it's physical pain that we're putting our bodies through every single week with the travel and then the the bumping getting on the cars driving to the next towns um but then i just look back into my soul and be like,

what is your sole purpose? What makes you smile? What makes your heart flutter? What makes you go chase your goals? And it's always been professional wrestling. You said you worked at a shoe store? I did. What store did you work with?

Baker's. Oh, I didn't see you last year. So I see your photos and your photo shoots, the stuff that you do for Monet Mag, is very fashion, artsy. So incorporating your fashion sense and then like what you like about art and all that stuff into your brand, when did that become a thing? When did you know you needed to do that?

Right away. I mean, watching wrestling is larger than life. You had to watch like the Macho Man. He had the bright colors, the glasses, the hair. I knew when I was going to be a professional wrestler, I wanted to be larger than life because I was such a shy girl growing up. Then when I got signed, I dyed my hair. I got the hair. I knew when I was going to be a professional wrestler, I wanted to be larger than life because I was such a shy girl growing up. And then when I got signed, I dyed my hair. I got the nails. I got the necklace. I got the glasses. And then really I started to tap into myself and being like, OK, it's OK to be beautiful and feel that way and tap

into your femininity. And I love fashion and art and getting to design your own wrestling gears and wear that out every single week. It's the funnest part of wrestling. I love being a girl and I love coming up with my costumes and I feel like I have the best costumes in the game. Is it true that Snoop is a relative of yours? He's my first cousin, yes. Snoop is your first cousin?

When did you find that out? Did you always know growing up? I didn't find out until I was maybe like 10 years old and my dad's like, Snoop's coming to Iowa, which is where I lived at the time. He's like, so let's go see him. Saw him, and I told everybody at school, I'm like, Snoop Dogg's my cousin. And everyone's like, no, he's not.

No, he's not. Went to the concert, and Snoop gave me like a whole box of shirts to give to everybody at the school the next day. And I felt like the coolest kid in class. And then when I was 16, he was hosting WrestleMania. And I messaged my dad. I'm like, can you please ask Snoop

to bring me to WrestleMania? Please, please, please. He brought me to WrestleMania, and I feel like just from that in, our bond came from wrestling. We just talk about wrestling. We love wrestling. And still to this day, he's one of my biggest fans and supporters. So first cousin, I mean, one of your parents is his brother?

My dad is his uncle, yes. Oh, wow. Uncle Rio. Wow. Wow. You ever smoke with him? Yes, of course. Of course. After a match, I'm hoping, not before. After a match, wow. Uncle Rio. Wow. Wow. You ever smoke with him? Yes, of course. Of course.

After a match, I'm hoping. Not before. After a match, yes. It's for my inflammation inspiration. There you go. It's for medicinal, yeah. Yeah. Your name used to be Sasha Banks.

Yes. And you changed it to Mercedes, which is your real name. Why did the name change? Because Sasha Banks was such a big entity, big brand. It was because I was with WWE, and they own the IP Sasha Banks and um it was time for me to grow and to to be more and to be more like I legit wanted to find myself and it's so hard to be a different identity and a different name for 10 years having someone call you by a different name and pretending for you to be this character that they want you to be so for me I

wanted more for women's wrestling. I wanted more for myself. And I said, where can I do that? How can I do that? And that was jumping the ship and going to AEW. Where did the Sasha Banks name come from? It came from WB. They tell everybody when you get signed to give up a list of names,

and I gave them Sasha with a different last name and Banks with a different first name. And they were like, Sasha Banks, here's your name. Was it never an option for you to be like, I want to own the IP of Sasha Banks, or that's just how it goes? It was never the option. Not with that company.

No, no, no. But with AEW, now I own my name, and I own my brand, and it's the best it's ever been for myself and my career. It's the best. Do you ever feel like you was losing yourself in the caricature of Sasha Banks?

Absolutely, because you have to play her 24 seven. Being a wrestler is, is role-playing online. It's role-playing offline. It's once you're off the flight, you gotta be on. Cause once I put on that wig, I'm on, I'm Sasha Banks. And it's just like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not her. I'm Mercedes. I'm Mercedes Monet. And I really felt like it was time to be that and to own that brand. So what's the difference between, you think, Mercedes Monet and Sasha Banks? Well, Sasha was a legit boss. And now Mercedes, she leveled up. She is the CEO of her own life.

She is the CEO of the women's division. And she is the best of the game. She won't let anybody tell her no. And with Sasha Banks, I was told what to do tell her no um and with Sasha Banks I was told what to do I was told what to say I was told where to be and now really I get to be the CEO of my own life and let people know where I want to be you know why uh I know that you're a person who's willing to bet on yourself you don't see people leave the WWE no to go to a company like AEW so I would I would think it's like the other way around. WWE is like the top of the top, right?

That's usually how it used to be, but now it's not. Wrestling has become bigger than ever. And now that there's a second brand like this, like AEW, who's here to disrupt this industry, disrupt the business, it's been amazing. Next week, we're going to be celebrating

five years of AEW. We're beating out WCW, and fans online are getting mad about that every single day, but it's the best it's ever been, and it's the most talked about that professional wrestling has ever been talked about in this industry of the world. So it's the best time to be a fan and to be a professional wrestler in the sport.

Why did you leave WWE, though? I left for many different reasons. A lot of personal stuff happened with myself and the chairman at the time. And I didn't like how he talked to me and how I was, you know, just talked down to. And I was like, you know what, it's time to legit listen to your soul and your heart. There was a light that came to me one day and I just left WWE. And my guides told me and I'm guided to being a two-time champion at AEW.

So you see somebody like Vince McMahon, he's got the sexual abuse suit, if I'm not mistaken? I'm not the lawyer. I don't know. Someone like that. But he used to talk to you crazy? Yeah. A little crazy. That day he would talk to me a little crazy.

Yeah. Yeah. And that was enough to be like, I'm out. It was enough for my source of light to come into my body and be like you know what if you stay that's not okay this is for the rest of your life and uh what are you going to teach your kids what are you going to teach just people if you're feeling like this from words after being here for 10 years you got to stand up for yourself and that's what I did the same light that came to me when I was

10 years old being like this is your sole purpose this is what you're gonna do another light came to me and being like you gotta walk away and do something better for yourself and there was no protection for you guys for wrestlers especially for female wrestlers at all no but we're changing that everyday I'm changing that everyday for women's wrestling

so there was no human resources out there that could be like, you can complain? We went to everybody. And no, we wasn't. Where'd y'all go after WWE? You went to Japan, right? I went to Japan. And I won the IWGP Women's Championship.

Trinity went to TNA and became the knockout champion. And now here I am as the New Japan Strong Women's Champion. I've done a lot of things just leaving wb i i walked the runways i did a movie um i just really just tapped in finding out who mercedes really is because i was sasha for so long are you going to get to do whatever that collab was supposed to be with magda saiyan not right now not unfortunately no what was that supposed to be? Something fun? Either a tag team match, a wrestling match, something.

When she's wrestling with you? I would like some. Either wrestle with me or wrestle against me. But there was talks of doing something fun with her. But now she's doing the opening theme song for SmackDown, which is awesome. But is it because, like, you can't because you were with WWE before and now you're not? Or is it just like right now brand-wise you just don't want to be attached because she's attached to WWE?

No, just brand-wise she did a song with WWE and I'm with AEW, so I just think we can't do anything together. But are y'all still homegirls? Y'all still talk? She's not my best friend or anything, but she wants to be my homegirl, absolutely. We only met a couple of times and she's really awesome. You just had your CEO hat on when you were trying to put that together. I did. I was trying to get her

on the board. That's exactly right. Didn't Sexy Ray do something with AEW? She did something with AEW, not AEW, NXT.

NXT? Yeah, which is part of WWE. Wow, wrestling, it's so much going on. It's a lot of different, yeah. Jesus Christ.

Who else would you want to wrestle in the celebrity world? Because I love when I've seen Floyd do it. I love when I've seen Shaq do it. Who else was it? It was a... Oh, yeah, Shaq did it. Your tone artist did it, too, as well. Did a great job.

Who else would you want to wrestle, if possible? Ooh. Russell? I would like my tag team partner to be Nicki Minaj because I love her. And who would I want to wrestle? Hmm. I might have to wrestle like a Kim Kardashian or even just a Beyonce to see if she can even throw it down.

Oh, my God. You would wrestle Beyonce? I would have to wrestle Beyonce. Uh-uh, girl. The queen of it all. You can't wrestle Beyonce. You take her down the wrong way. I think your career is over.

Yeah, you'd have to take a dive. Yeah. You'd have to let her beat you up. I would let her do that. Yeah, yeah. I would let her take the championship, you know? Now, wrestling is not fake, but it is predetermined, right? It is a little predetermined.

So how do y'all figure out, like, do you know if you're going to lose or win the next match, or do you just walk into a room and they be like, you're losing today? Something like that. Usually when we get to the show, we have a card, and our agent or our coach will be like, well, today this match is going to be this, and Mercedes is over, and this is how we want her to win. Last year when I was supposed to win this New Japan Strong Women's Championship, I got injured and I had to change the match on the fly and make the other girl win.

So when I say it's predetermined, you really don't know what's going to happen. We can get injured, we can get concussed and maybe not kick out, maybe my opponent won't remember the move and it'll be like, what's next? So yeah, it's predetermined, but it's so real. You never know what's going to happen in that ring. How often do wrestlers go role-based? Like, you know what, I'm not losing today.

All the time, I feel like. Really? If they're not mad about losing, they're mad about not getting that many moves into the match or they want to look the best out of the match. They want to do extra stuff. I wrestled people like that who've done a little extra to me that we haven't talked about. I'm just like.

Is there fines for that though? Like I'm supposed to win. I get body slammed three times, but you just say just effing you up in that ring. I wish there was more fines, but you just have to give them a seat in their ring. Snug them back. That's crazy. Is AEW going to be screaming on HBO Max? I don't know.

There's rumors of that. There's definitely rumors of us joining Discovery and HBO Max, which would be huge. But I'm not sure if that deal is done yet, but I hope so for wrestling. How do you feel about that as opposed to it being on TBS and TNT? Because, you know, growing up, I grew up in South Carolina, so that's all I used to watch was TBS and TNT. Oh, it's still very much going to be on TBS and TNT every you know growing up I grew up in South Carolina so that's all I used to watch was TBS and TNT oh it's still very much gonna be on TBS and TNT every single week I'm the TBS champion for

a reason I'm the face of TBS so I got it's all the same company it's all the same it's I'm still gonna be on TBS so it's not going anywhere I'm gonna be on TNT and TBS for a very long time what do you feel about Raw going from three hours to two hours? I think that sucks for the wrestlers. If you lose a whole hour, that's a whole opportunity of performing in front of a live audience and in front of millions watching at home. I think just the move to Netflix is so

huge for them that they're going to gain so much more opportunities in so many different other ways. Does having that one less hour really make a difference for a wrestler? Would you think adding an hour to your show would add or take away? You'd be tired. Yeah, we did it during COVID. It was a lot during COVID.

I think for performers, it's great, just like I said, to give more opportunity, and especially for women as well. We're only given five to eight minutes, so it's like we need that extra hour we need that time tell a story yeah i read that you were the highest paid woman in pro wrestling correct i hope so okay i think i would like to think so i don't know other people's bank accounts but i like that title do you feel like your pay is based on your value in the company or do you feel like you should be making more money like you feel like there should be more money allotted to

you and just other women oh I definitely want to make more money um absolutely I guess I'm asking you do you think you're getting what you deserve right now I I am I am and it's so I don't even want to say it's crazy it's just it's beautifully deserved and earned and it's something that I worked so hard for for such a long time yeah um and it's something that I want women to work for it's like i finally got something that as women were like no you can't even see those numbers you can't even talk about those numbers you can't even walk into the room and even ask for a raise or to ask for a bonus or anything so to get what i feel like i deserve plus i feel like i deserve so much more and i'm going to get that um It's so amazing. I think that gives people a chance to dream more that they can make more too

if they put in the hard work. What do you think? What are some ways that AEW can close the gap with WWE? I was looking at Forbes, and they had these five ways that AEW can close the gap with WWE. What do you think? I don't know what it means to close the gap. I feel like it's always going to be a weird competition,

but it's just... AEW's only been around for five years. WWE has been around for 30 plus. I don't know what kind of gap you can close with that. It's such a big gap of who's been around for so long. I think just AEW just has to keep on being its own brand and being AEW and being we're the best wrestler. That's our slogan and that's where legit

the greatest wrestlers are signed there. The best performers are signed there. And you get to see that every week on TBS and TNT. We have the greatest performers from all over the world. And I think that's just what makes us different. I don't think there's any gap that we have to close. I think we just have to keep on standing out and being our own brand.

As what Force said, embrace being an underdog and an alternative to WWE. Assign top talents who will make a difference. Balance the incredible in-ring action with quality storylines. Utilize the talented AEW roster to the fullest.

And continue spotlighting the women's division. They're doing that. They're doing that every single day. I have a question. I know you are the highest paid woman in pro wrestling, right? Yeah. If me and Lauren want to give you just a couple of dollars to hit Charlamagne, to

knock him out, how much would you charge us? Ooh. You want to do community write-offs? I don't. Can I just get a bag each? What do you want me to do to him tap him out no i want him to fill it for like at least a month after a month that's easy i just say a tap out is good to talk why do you guys not like him what do you do to him you know there's like the villain in the storyline all the time yeah you should you should recommend it to somebody in this room i'm not not going to say who. He's a hater.

That's not you. It hasn't been him for a very long time and that's why he's angry. You know how men are about letting their hairline go. I can teach you a couple moves. You don't have to pay me for that. I'll teach you a couple moves. You felt it. You see what I mean? I felt that, yes. We appreciate you for joining us tonight.

8pm on TBS, Grand Slam Dynamite, and then Grand Slam Collision comes on Saturday, 8 p.m. on TNT. What's the difference between Dynamite and Collision? Dynamite is every Wednesday on TBS, and Collision is every Saturday on TNT. How often do you wrestle? Do you wrestle every week? I pretty much defend my championship every month.

I don't wrestle every week. I got to look cute. It's different here in AEW. I got to sit next to my chairman, my EVPs, and I got to look beautiful. I got to defend these championships at the pay-per-views. But I'm always looking good on Dynamite every Wednesday because I am the face of TBS. Would you ever go back to WWE if they offered you, like, the right bag and they said, Hey, we're going to let you have your real name.

We'll give you back the rights to Sasha Banks. After the way that AEW has been treating me? Yeah. I don't know. I don't think so. I feel like I have the best relationship with AEW right now, and it's legit. I'm living my dreams,

and it's the best place I've ever been mentally and physically. And to be able to have new dreams after being in the industry for 14 years it's the best feeling in the world so AEW is my home right now dope and how is dating life for you how do do men approach you are they nervous are they scared um right now I'm not dating because I'm so busy and I yeah I would assume so they're nervous and scared yeah you did like you wouldn't do dating apps, right? No, no way. If you were to date, how do you meet people?

She needs advice. She needs advice. I don't know. She needs advice, Mercedes. I am not on Christian Mingle. I'm asking you that because guys. I'm not dating anybody. I don't know.

I can't give you any advice. Guys be into wrestling and stuff, so they would know instantly who you are. I don't know if I want a wrestling fan. Mercedes, you're not dating because you don't want to. Right, yes. She's not dating because she doesn't have a choice. See? After this?

Are my nails too long to put them on? No, those are perfect. Okay, all right. Okay. Scratch him. Top of mouth. Ladies and gentlemen, the CEO, Mercedes Monet. Thank you for joining us so much.

Thanks for having me. It's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up. In the morning. The Breakfast Club. Good morning.