AEW's Mercedes Mone Talks 'Wrestling Newbie Culture,' Learning From Tamina Snuka

In the present day, "The CEO" Mercedes Mone is believed to be one of, if not the, highest paid women in professional wrestling history. Back in 2015, though, Mone was a newbie to the "WWE Raw" roster, where she was expected to pay her dues, both financially and physically. In a recent edition of the "Mone Mag" newsletter, Mone opened up about the culture surrounding wrestling rookies, which once resulted in her driving through a snowstorm to get to "Raw" with main roster veterans Summer Rae and Cameron.

"The thing about being a wrestle newbie is that you more or less need to be doing everything to support the vets and the show," Mone wrote. "You try to offer to pay for gas and even hotels, and you do things like drive the veterans the entire way. It's more or less a rite of passage — or at least it was. These [wrestling] traditions are unwritten and have been passed down from veterans through the decades."

During her early days on the "Raw," Mone looked to former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Tamina Snuka for the unofficial traditions guide. According to Mone, Snuka specifically taught her how to be a leader on the road while also having respect for industry culture. In contrast to other veterans, though, Snuka also emphasized the importance of good deeds.

"She taught me to always pay it forward — and to pay it forward with kindness," Mone wrote. "I'm not sure how many wrestling veterans passed those sentiments down, but Tamina sure did. She was so unique that she, 'the veteran' actually paid for me, 'the newbie.' I remember her covering my hotel because even though I was an NXT Superstar. I didn't have the money! I'll always be grateful for that and the lessons."