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Mark Henry Suggests WWE Should Trade Disgruntled Sasha Banks to AEW for Its Unhappy Superstar MJF
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
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On this week’s Busted Open podcast, Sunday Masters Class co-hosts and pro wrestling legends Mark Henry, Tommy Dreamer, and Bully Ray (fka Bubba Ray Dudley) did an episode called “Trade Machine.” During the show, the three wrestlers proposed hypothetical trades between AEW and WWE. Sasha Banks was involved in one of these trades, and, ultimately, Mark Henry suggested a fascinating swap involving “The Boss” and AEW’s unhappy MJF.
A Sasha Banks for MJF trade makes sense for all involved
In honor of the MLB trade deadline’s blockbuster Juan Soto trade and the impending fantasy football season, Mark Henry, Tommy Dreamer, and Bully Ray busted out the imaginary pro wrestling trade machine on a fun Sunday episode of the Busted Open podcast.
These three pro wrestling luminaries discussed trades like Roman Reigns for Chris Jericho and other hypothetical swaps.
When it was Mark Henry’s turn to suggest a deal, he initially proposed WWE superstar Sasha Banks for AEW’s Women’s TBS Champion Jade Cargill.
Sasha Banks hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since she and her tag-team partner, Naomi, walked out of Monday Night Raw after the show had started on May 16, 2022. The pair was reportedly unhappy over the creative direction for their characters and left in protest.
Trading a disgruntled superstar for an up-and-coming prospect is a classic sports trade trope, which is why the Banks for Jade Cargill deal would make a lot of sense. However, it would be hard for AEW CEO Tony Khan to give up a rising talent like the 30-year-old Cargill.
Later in the episode, Tommy Dreamer suggested AEW should trade Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) for The Miz. MJF, like Banks, is reportedly unhappy with his current company.
MJF’s beef seems to be over money, though. The young star ended an incredible program with Wardlow earlier this year and then delivered what wrestling fans are calling his “Pipe Bomb Promo” in a nod to a WWE promo by CM Punk years earlier.
In the (seemingly) unscripted and profanity-laced promo, MJF crushed and cursed out his AEW boss Tony Khan, asking him to fire him. The wrestler hasn’t been on AEW programming since that June 1 night.
After the group discussed that trade, Henry made an even more interesting suggestion.
Combining his and Dreamer’s ideas while allowing for Bully Ray’s point that the companies wouldn’t want to give up something valuable for an unhappy wrestler, Henry suggested a Sasha Banks for MJF swap.
“Then what about this, guys?” Henry asked. “Let’s change ours. Let’s say Sasha Banks and MJF. They both have issues. They both want different circumstances. How about sweetening the deal one way or the other and making that change?”
It was a great idea from Henry, and one wrestling fans will have fun pondering until Banks, and MJF’s situations are finally worked out.
But MJF going after his old AEW pal Cody Rhodes or having an arrogance-off with Theory in WWE would be phenomenal. And Sasha Banks would also be excellent, challenging the likes of Jade Cargill and Thunder Rosa while adding some much-needed charisma to the AEW Women’s division.
Pro wrestling fans can now dream of this thanks to Mark Henry.
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