Saraya Says Her WWE Injury Affected Mercedes Mone's Mental Health

With Saraya's comeback in AEW now in full swing, it's sometimes hard to forget that she was gone for over four years, having been forced to retire in 2018 after re-aggravating a neck injury in December 2017. It's also easy to forget that the injury occurred after Saraya took a kick from one Sasha Banks, who like Saraya has since gone on to depart WWE and reinvent herself as Mercedes Mone.

Since that injury, Saraya has made it clear that she holds no ill will towards Mone, and the two have continued to remain friendly and supportive of each other as their careers have gone on. When asked about a potential match between the two by the New York Post, however, Saraya seemed to leave the decision up to Mone and how she feels about it.

"That's only if Mercedes would want to do that," Saraya said. "I would want to do whatever she's comfortable with. That really affected her mental health and I would want her to go through with that. I'm not saying she said no or anything like that. I'm just thinking about how I would feel." Beyond concerns for Mone's mental health, any potential match between Saraya and Mone is on pause due to Mone's physical health. The former IWGP Women's Champion injured her right ankle at NJPW Strong Resurgence while taking on AEW's Willow Nightingale in a match to determine the first-ever NJPW Strong Women's Champion. There is currently no timetable for Mone's in-ring return.