Various: Mercedes Mone on Walking Out of WWE, Latigo, Arez, & Toxin Confirm AAA Departures, BJ Whitmer Sentenced Over Domestic Violence Arrest

Mercedes Mone on Walking Out of WWE & Making Some “Big Business” Moves

A recent episode of The Kick Rocks Wrestling Podcast featured Mercedes Mone as the guest.

One of the topics discussed included Mone’s thoughts about being told by her doctors that the ankle injury she suffered this past May could have been a career ending injury and her making some “big business” moves during her free agency.

“I’ve always been saying since I got hurt, I’m healing every day and that has progressed my healing so much. What a crazy experience that I’ve never got to talk about. It’s been crazy. Almost 10 months now, from a freak accident, or did Willow (Nightingale) push me? Or did someone pay off the ref and made that top rope slippery? I don’t know but I’ve spent the past 10 months thinking about how much unfinished business I have in wrestling and how much I was on a hunger tour goal. I was so focused and just so ready for my plans to succeed in 2023 and for that to happen to me, it taught me so much about life and it just taught me that I needed to even, I guess, slow down even more and to heal. Because prior to that, a lot happened to me, you know? A lot of hurt happened and a lot of healing needed to happen and I still was just going so fast, but ready because I love wrestling so much and I couldn’t be away from it. But I wasn’t healed inside that I think it was just a message being like, you gotta slow down and figure out what’s next for you and what are your plans. Your plans are good, but I think you need to reevaluate a little bit more and just that whole time I was injured, I couldn’t walk for three months. I got brand new puppies two weeks before I got injured. You’ve got no idea how it is to hop out of the bed, grab your crutches and be like, ‘Please… Why’d you poop everywhere?’ I am like a one-legged — so strong now, it’s insane to see how powerful your mind, your body can just overcome and heal something that is just so traumatic. But I feel more ready and more better than ever and I cannot wait to see all my prior plans of 2023 come into fruition to 2024. I’ve been making some really big moves. Big business moves and big money moves, you know? And just this whole time of healing, I got to work on so many other things that I have such a passion for. I think fans are gonna be really excited and they’re gonna be like, finally! That I’ll be releasing music this year. I am still acting and got some amazing, amazing things in the works and I got to audition for incredible roles in movies so, we gotta keep on manifesting great things about that and I finally think I found a home in a wrestling place. Yeah. So it’s really, really exciting and I’m excited about these big money moves.

Little do people know, I was told that this was a career-ending injury and I screamed at my doctor and surgeon. I said, ‘No, it’s not’ and I’m going to come back really soon and I’m going to have just the greatest time, the greatest matches, the greatest career that I’ve ever had yet because I see it and I feel it and I know it.”

Mone’s also gave her thoughts about her decision to walk out of WWE in May of 2022 over issues with the direction of her career and booking of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

“That’s a big question. That’s a big, big question (Moné responded when asked about her & Naomi’s 2022 WWE departure). I really believe in not only the universe but, I believe in myself and I believe in such a higher power of light that comes over me. Something inside me told me I needed to go do this and stand up for myself. It was a very hard decision because wrestling in WWE has been my whole life. If people don’t know, it’s been my whole life and it’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my whole life. But it’s the most proudest. It’s crazy, because I would not be sitting here living the best version of my life and getting to be everything I’ve ever dreamt of. I get to be everything I’ve dreamt of and more. You have no idea, and it makes me so excited because that moment changed my whole life for the better. I’m so thankful for that moment, I’m so proud of myself, I’m so proud of Trinity, I’m so proud of… just how strong we were, because like you said, everybody wanted to talk about it. Everybody wanted to act like they were in the room. I just know that everybody acted like they were in the room or work there or were backstage or knew what happened or knew what was said. But all I know is that I handled it like it CEO, like the boss that I am, with my head held high and I can’t say nothing but amazing things to WWE. I’m so thankful for the career that they gave me, the fans that they gave me, the life that they gave me, the dreams that they gave me. So many dreams. I got to chase and live them all. I get to do so much more and like I said, I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling in a lot of places.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com


Latigo, Arez, & Toxin Confirmed Their Departures from AAA

As noted before, Los Vipers’ Latigo, Arez, and Toxin are believed to have recently quit Lucha Libre AAA over issues related to AAA head booker Konnan and lack of bookings in the company and lack of help for bookings outside of the company.

Latigo, Arez, and Toxin recently all confirmed the reports of them leaving the company on social media.

Prior to their departures, Latigo had been with AAA since May of 2018, Arez had been with AAA since June of 2018, and Toxin had been with AAA since May of 2021.


BJ Whitmer Domestic Violence Arrest Update – Whitmer Sentenced to 5-Year Probation & House Arrest

As noted before, BJ Whitmer was fired from AEW following his arrest over a domestic violence incident this past June.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Whitmer was sentenced this past Monday to 120 days of home incarceration by the Boone County Criminal Court in Kentucky based on recent court records. Johnson reported that Whitmer had faced the possibility of up to five to ten years in prison for the charge of first degree strangulation, which is a Class C felony in the state of Kentucky. Whitmer had also been charged with second degree burglary as well as part of the charges of his arrest.

Johnson reported that Whitmer was also ordered to complete a Batterer’s Intervention Program and he will be subject to an Interpersonal Protective Order “IPO” for the longest allowable time under Kentucky state law.

Whitmer was also sentenced to five years of probation as part of his sentencing.

Johnson reported that the two sides had agreed to a Alford plea deal, which under Kentucky law means that a defendant in a criminal case maintains their innocence while offering to plead guilty to a charge due to recognizing that there is enough evidence to convict them.