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Mercedes Mone Wants To Face Bayley Again

By Craig Ballantyne • Published 22nd August 2023
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Mercedes Mone has sent a message to Bayley on the anniversary of their classic bout at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

August 22nd, 2015, when Mone was still part of WWE and known as Sasha Banks, she and Bayley stole the show in Brooklyn with an emotional match that is still talked about to this day. After a war between the pair, The Hugger hit a top rope Poisonrana followed by a Bayley-to-Belly to defeat her then-nemesis and win gold for the first time in her career in the form of the NXT Women’s Championship.

The pair fought again two months later, making history by main eventing TakeOver: Respect in a 30-Minute Iron Man Match. The match came down to the wire with both women at two falls each until the last second when Bayley forced The Boss to submit to an Armbar at 29:57.

After that match, Mone became a full-time member of the main roster, with her arch-rival following her the next year. Over the following few years, the pair both fought each other and teamed up as the Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection.

In February 2019, the two became the inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and went on to hold the titles twice.

In May 2022, Mone departed WWE alongside Trinity Fatu, reportedly walking out due to creative issues they were having with the company.

Since then, Mone has saw success in NJPW, debuting at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023 and soon becoming the second IWGP Women’s Champion by defeating KAIRI.

Mercedes Mone marks 8th anniversary of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn match against Bayley

However, she hasn’t forgotten about her friend and rival, and marked the eighth anniversary of the TakeOver: Brooklyn match by posting a photo of them hugging after the bout, saying they should “do this again someday.”