"Welcome back Sasha," "CEO" - WWE Universe erupts after big moment on SmackDown

Earlier tonight on WWE SmackDown, a certain star seemingly referenced Mercedes Moné (FKA Sasha Banks) before their match. The fans saw this and had some interesting reactions on social media.

The CEO has been on an extraordinary run since signing with AEW. She is a triple crown champion, holding titles from the Tony Khan-led promotion, NJPW, and RevPro. Mercedes is also undefeated in singles competition for quite some time, and this has been the case since her debut in May last year.

Earlier tonight on SmackDown, Zelina Vega was in action against Piper Niven. After making her entrance, Vega was in the center of the ring waiting for her opponent to come out, and she seemingly did The CEO's dance moves. This was accompanied by her wearing her new Women's United States Championship in a manner that looked identical to Moné.

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Fans also noticed this and they began talking about this on social media. Some fans immediately compared her to Mercedes, and it seems that most fans ended up choosing Zelina over the AEW star. A fan even called her the "ZEO."

Fans react to the moment tonight on SmackDown (Credit: Fan reactions on X)

Mercedes Moné shows support for another WWE Superstar

The TBS Champion has always shown her support for her friends in WWE, despite being in rival companies now. The reverse has also happened as they have shown support for her time in AEW.

On X/Twitter, Naomi posted a brief message for all her enemies in the locker room. Mercedes responded to this and backed her friend in her cause. She wanted her to hit them where it hurt, as shown by the GIF she used to reply.

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Mercedes Moné has also been working as a heel in AEW, where she sports an overconfident, self-absorbed persona as of late. However, her performance has spoken for itself, and she is untouchable so far. It remains to be seen who can take her down.

About the author

Enzo is a Pro Wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda, reporting on AEW. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Multimedia Studies, which influenced his decision of taking up sports writing professionally, and has been an avid fan of the athletic theater since childhood. He believes readers deserve authentic and unique content and aims to report in a manner which pro wrestling fans can easily relate to.

Growing up, Enzo admired former world champions like AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, Bryan Danielson, Triple H, and Randy Orton for their finishing moves. As an adult, he started to appreciate their character work, as they juggled between heel and babyface gimmicks.

If allowed to produce one final storyline involving his idols, he would have Orton lock horns with John Cena, would be their one last big feud as both of them seem to be approaching the tail end of their careers.

Other than pro wrestling, Enzo enjoys keeping up with Basketball, Football, and Formula One. He also loves watching films, playing video games, and listening to music.

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Edited by Harish Raj S