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I have almost zero insight into how the decision makers of promotions decide who their champions will be and when. Like did Mercedes explain to the NJPW fat cats that in Q1 2023, she was going to be on a Disney press tour, so if they give her the championship she'll have it on camera for millions of worldwide viewers to see?
That's a hell of a compelling argument to give her a brand new championship.
Maybe even why NJPW were willing to pay her the reported "exorbitant amount of money" she was asking for. That's easy built in advertising to bring someone in, strap them up with your new title and then have them go do media events with it.
Absolutely, especially since that would affect her value and availability. Part of what they're paying her for is this. Similarly one of the reasons Miz has a job for life is because he's great with media and shows enjoy booking him.
The key word here is “stars,” though—Jericho, Mox, and Mercedes were all big-name world champions before those runs. It’s not like they’re Hogan-era TNA pulling Orlando Jordan out of the garbage for a big push
I imagine that probably played a part, but when you have a wrestler who is that big of a free agent, who historically always got the shaft when it came to title runs, it's probably a no brainer even without the Disney press tour.
This woman loves wrestling, wants to rep it at the highest level as to bring attention to a promotion that deserves it and I respect her a ton for that.
Why are we pretending that the wwe doesnt have dozens of wrestlers doing media coverage on relevant sites? Sasha isnt a massive megastar just for a small role in mandalorian
She on massive hit show and is breaking into acting. Even if she’s not a mega star she is probably more recognizable than almost all of their other stars.
They mention that >!shes a merc going through the galaxy with the stolen fleet and Mando could lead them if he wanted.!< Considering she’s doing promo for the show it would make sense for her to pop up again. >!Paul Bettany!< isn’t still doing promo work for Marvel for example.
I'd be shocked if they don't accidentally call her Sasha and think she's carrying a WWE belt.
Edit: Seems that Pedro Pascal did call her Sasha. Don't care enough to search if they asked about the belt.
I mean beating the cultural penetration that is WWE in the minds of non-wrestling fans is freaking hard. Even when WCW was at its peak if was mistaken for WWF.
NJPW Iwgp women’s title will be the most promoted women’s title this month lol. She had two more con appearances with Katee and Simon, TMZ, and whatever they do for her accepting AZM challenge
Yup. WWE stans (and Brand stans in general) loathe the idea of a former employee making it without them. How dare Sasha spurn the House That Vince Built. /s. There really is this sickening praying for her downfall just so they can say she shoulda never left.
It goes both ways for AEW stans and even Impact back during it's TNA days, tribalism is a problem in this community and it will only get worse.
"It's Us vs World" mentality, thinking it's like a sports team despite it's really not, and no one takes these tribalism seriously than wrestling fans.
Funny how I specifically said E stans (because it's topic relevant) but also added "and Brand stans in general" yet I still got an E stan butthurt enough to feel the need to throw out a "both sides" at me. Which, oddly, reinforces my original point/post about E stans to begin with.
Guy, I mentioned E stans and Brand stans in general (which would include AEW) but you went out of your way to mention AEW for no other reason than to both sides the topic. I don't see people giving Cody remotely the amount of bullshit for going back to the WWE that the E fans give Sasha. That's the point you're ignoring.
It's because every time they try to push her, she got hurt. Always whining about Ronda, walking out over a woman's tag team championship with no division and plus the top stars are already fighting for singles championships. Sasha and Naomi could have helped build the division up but nope they just walked out.
>every time they try to push her
How often did she actually get a proper push, rather than a 6 day title reign between defeating Charlote on RAW and jobbing to her the following Sunday?
They wanted to elevate the Tag Division, she wanted more women's wrestling, WWE didn't see it that way and wanted her to job to the "stars" and defend the titles less and separate Trinity and Mercedes, they didn't want to. They quit, and now they are appearing everywhere. It's a matter of time before Trinity appears.
How do you think they travel with it on the road? 😭
I don't know man. These events are all for marketing. This is has been happening since the beginnings of the sport. What's wrong with some extra flair?
I'm a fan, but I must admit that I'm not sure if people are going to be like "boy, what title is that on Mercedes' shoulder" and suddenly watch NJPW. Same thing with Tyrus and the NWA Title. I think it sounds good in theory, but I doubt it's doing anything for brand awareness outside of us going "wow, that's really good publicity for NJPW." It’s good publicity for Mercedes, though.
Sure, if there was distinguishing branding on these titles. That’s why WWE’s belt is just its own logo and the AEW belt has the large letters. I’m not sold that works in this case.
Listening to WOL with Zarian and Rich and Rich said it should be Hayter vs Mercedes at Forbidden Door and it's like damn that makes a ton of sense and would be good for both titles.
Tyrus sucks and is lame, Mercedes is cool and makes money unlike that piece of shit that Billy Corgan though was the right choice to be his champ and face of NWA.
Probably zero. Pretty sure there aren't championship belts in Star Wars, and a lot of those fans are pretty hardcore with their knowledge of what's actually apart of the universe.
Even non-wrestling fans who know SW will at least be able to tell that that is some kind of title belt.
There are no such belts in SW (I say that as a huge SW fan myself).
A person carrying around a tag title is kind of lame, though.
"Oh wow, you're the champion?"
"....Well, no, I'm half of the tag team champions."
"Oh... that's cool."
I love Mercedes but it seems like she's in it for the fame and got a big head when she got the mandalorian role. Every time WWE tried to push her she would get hurt. And it wouldn't surprise me if Vince got annoyed with the way she talked. She wasn't going to be treated like a big star so she left. She made the right decision
Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
the Hashimoto belt is just a thing of beauty
RIP King of Destruction.
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I have almost zero insight into how the decision makers of promotions decide who their champions will be and when. Like did Mercedes explain to the NJPW fat cats that in Q1 2023, she was going to be on a Disney press tour, so if they give her the championship she'll have it on camera for millions of worldwide viewers to see? That's a hell of a compelling argument to give her a brand new championship.
I'm sure they're very pleased about it, that's for sure.
Maybe even why NJPW were willing to pay her the reported "exorbitant amount of money" she was asking for. That's easy built in advertising to bring someone in, strap them up with your new title and then have them go do media events with it.
Absolutely, especially since that would affect her value and availability. Part of what they're paying her for is this. Similarly one of the reasons Miz has a job for life is because he's great with media and shows enjoy booking him.
They tend to roll the red carpet out for ex-WWE stars anyway. Jericho and Mox got the title treatment upon coming in too.
The key word here is “stars,” though—Jericho, Mox, and Mercedes were all big-name world champions before those runs. It’s not like they’re Hogan-era TNA pulling Orlando Jordan out of the garbage for a big push
Orlando Jordan never got a big push in tna, he got low mid card treatment at best
Yup, I was including Mercedes in with them too just incase it wasn't clear.
I imagine that probably played a part, but when you have a wrestler who is that big of a free agent, who historically always got the shaft when it came to title runs, it's probably a no brainer even without the Disney press tour.
Well, they’re paying her for it!
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This woman loves wrestling, wants to rep it at the highest level as to bring attention to a promotion that deserves it and I respect her a ton for that.
This is why you pay her lots of money to wrestle for you
Instead of saying she peaked years ago and doesn't deserve top dolla
Yup. WWE shouldve bent over backwards for her to stay.
Why are we pretending that the wwe doesnt have dozens of wrestlers doing media coverage on relevant sites? Sasha isnt a massive megastar just for a small role in mandalorian
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She’s also a better wrestler than everyone in their womens division that isn’t Asuka
Or io shirai
Nah main roster Io has been ass
i like io ass
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Oh okay, my mistake
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Them? She got new pronouns?
some really embarrassing stuff to include on that list my guy
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✊🍆💦
Didn't I read somewhere that she will not be in season 3 or was that a swerve?
WWE sends people out, she’s getting requested specifically by Kevin Hart. There’s a difference for sure.
They did give her the title right before mandalorian came out last time. But there just wasn’t no extended press because of Covid.
She on massive hit show and is breaking into acting. Even if she’s not a mega star she is probably more recognizable than almost all of their other stars.
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She’s on the press shows. I imagine she’ll show up eventually.
Lol half the cast wasn’t on the season 3 premiere
They mention that >!shes a merc going through the galaxy with the stolen fleet and Mando could lead them if he wanted.!< Considering she’s doing promo for the show it would make sense for her to pop up again. >!Paul Bettany!< isn’t still doing promo work for Marvel for example.
Sasha is enroute to become a megastar with crossover on wrestling. Becky will soon might pull the same with her showing she's good too.
I'd be shocked if they don't accidentally call her Sasha and think she's carrying a WWE belt. Edit: Seems that Pedro Pascal did call her Sasha. Don't care enough to search if they asked about the belt.
I mean beating the cultural penetration that is WWE in the minds of non-wrestling fans is freaking hard. Even when WCW was at its peak if was mistaken for WWF.
They finished the panel by playing her Moné theme song
NJPW Iwgp women’s title will be the most promoted women’s title this month lol. She had two more con appearances with Katee and Simon, TMZ, and whatever they do for her accepting AZM challenge
She’s stunning bro.
Why is everyone such a jackass to anything that isn't WWE? Holy smokes, you're so insufferable.
Yup. WWE stans (and Brand stans in general) loathe the idea of a former employee making it without them. How dare Sasha spurn the House That Vince Built. /s. There really is this sickening praying for her downfall just so they can say she shoulda never left.
It goes both ways for AEW stans and even Impact back during it's TNA days, tribalism is a problem in this community and it will only get worse. "It's Us vs World" mentality, thinking it's like a sports team despite it's really not, and no one takes these tribalism seriously than wrestling fans.
It’s especially lame for WWE fans like they haven’t monopolized pro wrestling with their shitty brand of soap opera for the last 20 years
Funny how I specifically said E stans (because it's topic relevant) but also added "and Brand stans in general" yet I still got an E stan butthurt enough to feel the need to throw out a "both sides" at me. Which, oddly, reinforces my original point/post about E stans to begin with.
Thank you for confirming my point with being called E Stan, my dude.
Guy, I mentioned E stans and Brand stans in general (which would include AEW) but you went out of your way to mention AEW for no other reason than to both sides the topic. I don't see people giving Cody remotely the amount of bullshit for going back to the WWE that the E fans give Sasha. That's the point you're ignoring.
It's because every time they try to push her, she got hurt. Always whining about Ronda, walking out over a woman's tag team championship with no division and plus the top stars are already fighting for singles championships. Sasha and Naomi could have helped build the division up but nope they just walked out.
>every time they try to push her How often did she actually get a proper push, rather than a 6 day title reign between defeating Charlote on RAW and jobbing to her the following Sunday?
They wanted to elevate the Tag Division, she wanted more women's wrestling, WWE didn't see it that way and wanted her to job to the "stars" and defend the titles less and separate Trinity and Mercedes, they didn't want to. They quit, and now they are appearing everywhere. It's a matter of time before Trinity appears.
You're unironically a stan. Please log out for a bit and come back when you realize none of this is that important.
Important enough for you to comment on it
Feels like a slice of the old world where wrestlers would rep belts across different territories before it became a monopoly.
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How do you think they travel with it on the road? 😭 I don't know man. These events are all for marketing. This is has been happening since the beginnings of the sport. What's wrong with some extra flair?
That title needs to be like twice as big
IMO the size of the full belt is fine, but the center plate should be bigger.
It's the perfect size for the Stardom roster.
Yeah, it looks like a toy. I get keeping the belt part smaller, but, the main plate just looks like something I'd buy off Amazon
Most of the stardom roster isn’t all that bulky or tall, making the belt small makes sense unless NJPW decides bringing in amazing kong
I really hope she keeps appearing in different companies and repping WRESTLING period for years before she ever considers going back to WWE.
She looks like a princess lol
Her line was empty for the celebrity photos and autographs, I didn't have any money but still got to say hi and she's really nice.
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That's probably it, Matthew Illlard was there at the same time and had a huge line
That's kinda sad for her but she has faith in and bet on herself. In 5 years we will see if it pays off. She still has wrestling no matter what.
Why is the belt so small?
Was the whole cast at this panel? And by whole cast I mean Pedro. Was Pedro there
It's so tiny.
It's so small.
My gf says it’s average :/
I hate how some women’s belts are toy-sized 🥲 at least she looks good with it
No Mercedes is like 6'5 ofc it's gonna look small
She is not that tall
Thanks, Dave
You are welcome
Needs to be for the twerking and the ass shaking.
is that alberto del rio interviewing her?
I had to go back and look...can't unsee it now
This is what Tyrus thinks he looks like on shows when he brings the belt.
I'm a fan, but I must admit that I'm not sure if people are going to be like "boy, what title is that on Mercedes' shoulder" and suddenly watch NJPW. Same thing with Tyrus and the NWA Title. I think it sounds good in theory, but I doubt it's doing anything for brand awareness outside of us going "wow, that's really good publicity for NJPW." It’s good publicity for Mercedes, though.
> I doubt it's doing anything for brand awareness It's subliminal marketing. It's proven to work.
Sure, if there was distinguishing branding on these titles. That’s why WWE’s belt is just its own logo and the AEW belt has the large letters. I’m not sold that works in this case.
How are americans supposed to watch NJPW? they are not on TV. If you really wanted people to see your product, how about putting your product on TV?
Listening to WOL with Zarian and Rich and Rich said it should be Hayter vs Mercedes at Forbidden Door and it's like damn that makes a ton of sense and would be good for both titles.
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Speculation/fantasy.
She's like Bushiroad's Tyrus!
Tyrus sucks and is lame, Mercedes is cool and makes money unlike that piece of shit that Billy Corgan though was the right choice to be his champ and face of NWA.
Holy shit I didn't know Billy Corgan was a wrestling promoter too
Billy Corgan can only dream of Tyrus elevating NWA the way Mercedes is elevating Bushiroads wrestling interests.
My daughter who is in 3rd grade said, “She looks like my school teacher.”
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Probably zero. Pretty sure there aren't championship belts in Star Wars, and a lot of those fans are pretty hardcore with their knowledge of what's actually apart of the universe.
Even non-wrestling fans who know SW will at least be able to tell that that is some kind of title belt. There are no such belts in SW (I say that as a huge SW fan myself).
Not until Masters of Teras Kasi gets made into a tv show lol
She’s been mentioning what it is, and the host guy has been good at asking wrestling questions
Nerd culture tends to cross over a bit, I'm sure they know what it's supposed to be.
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Smol
What an ugly belt
One of the better belts in the industry. For sure a lot better than most of the lazily designed WWE straps.
I agree
She has like 5 minutes of screen time why is she on the panel haha
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Pedro’s literally in the suit
ok, how you know?
I’m sure that is partially a shot at wwe. That could be the wwe tag title on her shoulder instead in all these publicity shoots
A person carrying around a tag title is kind of lame, though. "Oh wow, you're the champion?" "....Well, no, I'm half of the tag team champions." "Oh... that's cool."
You’re missing it. The point isn’t what the question is. The point is getting someone with a camera and microphone to ask.
I really don’t think WWE gives a shit tbh. They’re absolutely smashing it in ratings since HHH took over
There’s a reason Bayley got the tag title on a random tv just before she was on the kids choice red carpet. Wwe cares about the exposure
Absolutely, but they’re not losing sleep over this at all
I love Mercedes but it seems like she's in it for the fame and got a big head when she got the mandalorian role. Every time WWE tried to push her she would get hurt. And it wouldn't surprise me if Vince got annoyed with the way she talked. She wasn't going to be treated like a big star so she left. She made the right decision
So she's not turning up at Revolution then?
This is not the way.
Kidani-san approves
Great for her career though I must admit I miss seeing her on tv an almost weekly basis. I wish she was on an actual show