AEW's Mercedes Mone Shares Most Memorable Praise She Got From Vince McMahon In WWE

AEW star Mercedes Mone has fondly recalled the two occasions when former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon praised her for her in-ring work.

Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, seems to have had a polarizing relationship with McMahon, previously stating that she had a great relationship with him even going as far as calling McMahon her best friend, but also laid the blame on him for her exit from WWE. The AEW TBS Champion, in a recent edition of her "Mone Mag" newsletter, revealed that McMahon praised her match with Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015, while she was also commended by him after her match with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 37.

"At the NXT Brooklyn takeover match against Bayley, Vince came up to me and gave me a huge hug, saying how great our match was," recalled Mone. "But probably, the most memorable best praise I ever received from Vince was after WrestleMania and my main event with Bianca. He gave me the biggest hug, and I honestly think he was teary-eyed. He was so happy with our performance and said that we deserved the main event. It felt incredible inside to hear those words."

Mone walked away defeated on both occasions, losing the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn and the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship on night 1 of WrestleMania 37 in 2021. While McMahon has received brickbats from the pro wrestling community over his alleged sexual misconduct, Mone hasn't been shy of speaking in glowing terms about her former boss, calling him a "crazy genius" in the same newsletter.