Charlotte Flair Calls Mercedes Mone's Transition From WWE To NJPW 'Inspiring'

Mercedes Mone bet on herself and has officially began working with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, making her debut at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in attacking KAIRI. Mone defeated KAIRI less than two months after her debut, winning the IWPG Women's Championship in the process — her first singles title since holding the "WWE SmackDown" Women's Championship in April 2021. While with WWE, Mone, under the name Sasha Banks, found massive success, including main eventing WrestleMania, being half of the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, and winning six singles titles on the main roster.

Mone helped change the game for women's wrestling in WWE, along with Charlotte Flair, Bayley, and Becky Lynch — a group known as the Four Horsewomen. While the other three women still remain in WWE, Mone has chosen a different path moving forward, however, the respect towards Mone has seemingly not changed for Charlotte Flair. 

In an interview with Daily Mail, "SmackDown" Women's Champion Flair addressed Mone's decision to leave the company and her thoughts on the Four Horsewomen's legacy in WWE history. "I think it's cool whenever someone follows their heart, and that's inspiring," Flair said. "There will never be another group like the Four Horsewomen, ever."

While she was in WWE, Mone and Flair fought many times, including their rivalry in the latter half of 2016, which saw them trade the "Raw" Women's Championship back and forth several times on "Raw" and premium live events.