“That Could Have Been the Moment”: WWE Legend Points Why Sasha Banks Missed Out on a Fairy-Tale NJPW Debut

Professional wrestler Sasha Banks was the talk of the town during her time at WWE. This five-time Raw Women’s Champion holds a lot of accolades.

A new feather in her cap is her signing with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Therefore, she has now changed her stage name to Mercedes Mone. Consequently, fans have gone berserk over her debut on 4th January.

However, Booker T had other thoughts. On his “The Hall of Fame” podcast, he spoke about Banks at length. While he praised Mone for her skills and talent, he had some other things to say too.

In this match, Mercedes Mone took on the IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI. Mercedes and KAIRI were fighting for a title match. Despite this interesting match, Booker T pointed out some important details about Mone.

What did Sasha Banks do wrong?

During the fight, Booker T felt that there was a gap between Sasha Banks and the crowd. This is because the audience was unable to understand her. This language barrier didn’t let the fight reach its full potential.

“It had a good look… nothing bad about it or anything like that, but just one thing, the crowd, man. It’s just hard to navigate that Japanese crowd because it was quiet, it was silent. You know they don’t understand what you’re saying,” Booker T suggested.

Furthermore, he also believed that some of it was Mone’s fault. He stated that she should have put in more effort when it came to knowing the language.

While it is impossible to learn Japanese so quickly, some words and phrases would’ve helped. Not doing so worked as a disadvantage for her. Due to this, the crowd was silent. There was some lack of understanding and appreciation.

ALSO READ: ‘Big L for HHH’: WWE’s First Move After Sasha Banks’ NJPW Debut Draws Hostile Reactions From Fans

“If she just would have knew a few Japanese words, if she just would have studied in Japanese what she wanted to say, or maybe not what she wanted to say. Say the first part in English, but just the outline in Japanese. Give me some of that.”

Why Banks left WWE

Towards the end of the podcast, Booker T also stated that she had everything to make it to the top. Fans are well aware of the time when Sasha Banks and Naomi quit WWE Raw.

This happened on 16th May 2022, and the two wrestlers walked out from there. Reports suggest that this was due to creative differences and lack of negotiation.

Take a look at how NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 turned out that night. Let us know what you think about the match in the comments below!