Sasha Banks Reportedly Planned To Be A Surprise For NJPW

Sasha Banks, who is now going by her real name Mercedes Varnado, is believed to be in Japan ahead of her rumored appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January. However, that is something neither New Japan Pro-Wrestling nor STARDOM has advertised or announced. The reasoning behind this, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, is that they want her appearance to be a surprise on the night. 

Of course, Varnado's reported NJPW appearance was leaked a while back, so it won't come as a shock to many wrestling fans who watch the event. Right now, however, she's supposedly in Japan to market herself in the country ahead of the big show. While the decision can be changed to pre-announce her, that isn't the plan at the moment.

It is unknown what type of role Varnado is going to have on the show and whether or not she will end up getting physical in any capacity. However, her time with WWE reportedly ended back in the summer, freeing her up to work elsewhere — even though her profile remains on the active section of WWE.com. The company hasn't made an official announcement about her status since she and Naomi walked out of a "WWE Raw" taping due to creative differences with officials. 

Wrestle Kingdom will see KAIRI defend her IWGP Women's Championship against Tam Nakano, which is expected to be how Varnado ends up debuting for the company. Meanwhile, there has also been talk of her potentially competing for AEW as Saraya's mystery partner on the 1/11 episode of "AEW Dynamite," but that remains to be seen.