Folks, it's (basically) official: after roughly seven months of will-they, won't-they, it sure sounds like Sasha Banks will be making her professional wrestling re-debut outside of WWE at Wrestle Kingdom 17, when she debuts for New Japan Pro Wrestling under another name, be it Mercedes Mone' or Mercedes Varnado.

But why? Why is WWE really going to allow a 10-time champion and one of their four horsewomen alongside Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Bayley to leave to wrestle in Japan and potentially even AEW as a member of Bullet Club? It surely can't be a financial hangup, as the company is in the midst of one of the richest periods in its history, with record-breaking numbers discussed on seemingly every conference call. No, the real reason why WWE has yet to bring back Banks and may never sign her period is that they simply don't believe her to be the same caliber star as her peers, as Dave Meltzer detailed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“She and WWE did not reach terms for a new contract,” Meltzer wrote h/t Inside the Ropes. “WWE directly wouldn’t say anything about her, but those in the company over recent months had said the sides were not close on money. She and WWE reached an agreement in the summer regarding her leaving and the agreement was they would release her to be a free agent rather than freeze her deal, but she couldn’t do anything with wrestling until the start of 2023. In the fall, with the regime change, she was back in negotiations to return and it was considered that it was close to a done deal, aside from the money figure, and the two sides ended up being far apart.”

“Obviously, New Japan couldn’t pay anywhere close to a WWE deal, as many of the women in the company earn in excess of $1 million per year, and the biggest stars are well above that figure.”

“She was said to be seeking a number along the levels of Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and those internally have said she wasn’t offered numbers close to that. They said that she’s not seen internally as somebody who would be on top for the next five years, but is seen as someone who could get a singles or tag team title run, but has peaked as a star aside from the reality that was acknowledged that if she would return, there would be a “honeymoon” period where people would go nuts for her.”

Wow, Banks has “peaked as a star?” Goodness gracious, that is some seriously tough talk – albeit from Meltzer speaking for WWE – on how both Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque view one of their all-time great performers. At 30, Banks has 12 years of in-ring experience dating all the way back to 2010, when she was working matches for NECW, CW, NWA On Fire, and IWE as Mercedes KV. Still, after roughly a decade working within the WWE system with all of the benefits that entails, it will be incredibly interesting to see how she handles the next phase of her professional wrestling career. Will Banks embrace the freedom NJPW (etc.) have to offer, or will she be wishing to return to WWE like other former performers like Andrade, Miro, and William Regal? The next month could tell a ton about that very situation.

Sasha Banks' post-WWE contract is a huge undertaking for NJPW/Stardom.

While bringing Banks to New Japan is an incredible get on par with signing Chris Jericho back in 2018, the deal reportedly includes at least one additional date outside of the promotion founded by Antonio Inoki, as Meltzer also reported in his December 16th newsletter, and then shared on The Wrestling Observer's website.

“The deal is with New Japan but would include one date for Stardom,” Meltzer wrote. “That would be for a show that is expected in April, but the company had planned for the biggest show in its history, which will tentatively be announced on 12/29 at the Stardom Sumo Hall show, believed to be at a venue near Tokyo.”

“They are hoping that her crossover appeal to WWE fans and Star Wars fans can help them with one major show with the idea of that show to build the perception to the public of the company. Their belief is that with 5.6 million Instagram followers and 2.4 million Twitter followers, far more than any of their talent, that she has gigantic mainstream appeal.”

Which side is correct, NJPW or WWE? Will Banks bring enough of her fans along to make her addition to NJPW/Stardom a financial boon, or will WWE ultimately prove correct in that Banks' mainstream appeal has fallen off from her all-time highs last decade? With Wrestlekingdom 17 roughly three weeks away, fans will get the initial answer soon enough.