Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an Americanprofessional wrestler and actress. As a wrestler, she has been signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) since January 2024[update], where she performs under thering nameMercedes Moné (muh-NAY) and is the currentAEW TBS Champion in her first reign. She also appears inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and its sister promotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the current and longest-reigningStrong Women's Champion in her first reign, as well as inRevolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where she is the currentUndisputed British Women's Champion in her first reign. Varnado became widely known for her time inWWE from 2012 to 2022, where she performed under the ring nameSasha Banks. She is the first and only female professional wrestler to win championships across WWE, AEW, and NJPW.
In June 2012, Kaestner-Varnado participated in aWWE tryout camp and on August 18, it was announced that she had been signed to a contract.[25] She was assigned toNXT, WWE'sdevelopmental territory, where she adopted the ring nameSasha Banks, and made her televised debut onNXT on December 12, losing toPaige.[26][27] Banks then entered astoryline where she received letters from a secret admirer, who was eventually revealed to beAudrey Marie, who returned and attacked Banks on the February 20 episode ofNXT, due to Marie's jealousy of Banks' success.[28][29] Marie went on to defeat Banks in a match later that episode.[30] Banks' feud with Marie came to an end on the April 3 episode ofNXT, when Banks teamed with Paige to defeat Marie andSummer Rae.[31][32] On the June 19 episode ofNXT, Banks competed in theNXT Women's Championshiptournament to determine the inaugural champion, but lost to Rae in the first round.[33]
After weeks of influence by Summer Rae to make herself relevant, Banks was defeated by the NXT Women's Champion Paige on the September 11 episode ofNXT, after which she attacked Paige after the latter attempted to console her, Banks turned heel.[34] Two weeks later onNXT, Banks defeatedBayley, while accompanied by Rae.[35] After the match, Banks cut apromo with Rae and debuted a newgimmick as "The Boss".[36] Banks and Rae, who dubbed themselves The Beautiful, Fierce Females (BFFs), faced Paige andEmma on the October 16 episode ofNXT, where they emerged victorious.[37] On the November 13 episode ofNXT, the BFFs defeated Bayley andCharlotte in a tag team match, when Charlotte attacked Bayley and aligned herself with Banks and Rae.[38] In mid-January 2014, as Rae moved up to WWE's main roster, Banks and Charlotte began a rivalry with Bayley, who had aligned herself withNatalya, and lost in both singles and tag team matches.[39][40][41] On April 6, Banks made an appearance atWrestleMania XXX as a part ofTriple H's entrance.[42] In May, Banks entered atournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship, defeating Bayley in the first round, but losing to Natalya in the semi-finals.[43][44] On the July 3 episode ofNXT, Banks and Charlotte defeated Bayley andBecky Lynch, only for Charlotte to leave Banks after the match to get attacked by Bayley, with Banks officially disbanding the BFFs in a backstage segment later that night.[45]
On the August 14 episode ofNXT, Banks lost to Bayley in a match to determine the number one contender to the NXT Women's Championship.[46] AtNXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on September 11, Banks attacked Bayley after her title match with Charlotte, before Charlotte stopped her.[47] Becky Lynch turned on Bayley and aligned herself with Banks on the October 23 episode ofNXT after Banks defeated Bayley in a singles match.[48] Banks promptly began feuding with NXT Women's Champion Charlotte, leading to a match between the two atNXT TakeOver: R Evolution on December 11 with Charlotte's championship on the line, which Banks lost.[49] Banks received a rematch on the December 25 episode ofNXT, where she was once again unsuccessful.[50] Banks first appeared on WWE's main roster on the December 30, 2014, episode ofMain Event, where she lost to Charlotte in a non-title match.[51] On January 21, 2015, Banks received another title match against Charlotte, which she lost after Becky Lynch attacked Charlotte, causing adisqualification, which led to dissension between Banks and Lynch.[52]
On February 11, 2015, atNXT TakeOver: Rival, Banks won the NXT Women's Championship bypinning Charlotte in a fatal four-way match that also involved Lynch and Bayley.[53] Banks successfully retained the championship against Charlotte twice,[54][55]Alexa Bliss,[56] and Becky Lynch.[57]
Banks made her official debut on the July 13, 2015, episode ofRaw along with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, afterStephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in theWWE Divas division. While Lynch and Charlotte allied withPaige, who wasfeuding withTeam Bella (Alicia Fox,BrieandNikki Bella), Banks allied withNaomi andTamina, who later dubbed themselves asTeam B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous), leading to a brawl between the three teams.[61] In herWWE pay-per-view debut on July 19 atBattleground, Banks competed in atriple threat match against Charlotte andBrie Bella, which Charlotte won.[62] Banks went on to defeat Paige twice, first bysubmission on the July 20 episode ofRaw, in atag team match where Banks teamed with Naomi for the first time,[63] and again on the July 27 episode ofRaw in a singles match.[64] After defeating theDivas ChampionNikki Bella by submission in a non-title match on the August 17 episode ofRaw,[65] Banks participated in the first-ever Divas number one contender'sBeat the Clock challenge match, in which she fought Paige to atime limit draw and Charlotte was named the number one contender.[66] Following this, Banks rekindled her rivalry with Paige and defeated her twice on the September 7 and 14 episodes ofRaw.[67][68] Although she lost in a fatal four-way number one contender's match for Charlotte's Divas Championship in November,[69] Banks was not pinned and began a winning streak, defeating the likes of Brie Bella,[70] Alicia Fox,[71] and Becky Lynch on various shows.[72][73][74]
Banks hitting a frog splash during the triple threat women's title match atWrestleMania 32
After a month off television,[75] Banks returned at theRoyal Rumble pay-per-view on January 24, 2016, attacking Charlotte and Becky Lynch after their championship match, showing her intentions to gain the Divas Championship.[76] Prior to a match with Lynch on the February 1 episode ofRaw, Banks claimed that she was "on her own", signaling that she had moved on from Team B.A.D., only to be attacked by Naomi and Tamina during the match, turning Banks into afan favorite in the process.[77] The feud between Banks and Naomi and Tamina continued throughout February,[78][79][80][81] and led to a tag team match atFastlane on February 21, where Banksallied with Lynch to defeat the two.[82] Banks and Lynch went on to compete in two matches to determine the number one contender for Charlotte's Divas Championship atWrestleMania 32,[83] with the first bout ending in adraw after a double pin occurred as both of their shoulders were down for the count,[84] and the second in ano contest after both Banks and Lynch were attacked by Charlotte.[85] As a result, a triple threat match between Banks, Lynch and Charlotte for the Divas Championship was announced for WrestleMania.[86][87] At the event on April 3, the Divas Championship wasretired and replaced with the newWWE Women's Championship,[88] with all three women competing for it in the triple threat match; Banks was unsuccessful in capturing the new title at herWrestleMania in-ring debut.[89][90]
After a hiatus, Banks returned to WWE television in early June,[91] and later reignited her feud with Charlotte over the WWE Women's Championship after an attack along with Paige on the June 20 episode ofRaw.[92][93] This led to a tag team match the following week, on the June 27 episode ofRaw, where Banks and Paige scored the victory.[94] Following multiple attacks and matches between Banks andDana Brooke,[95][96][97] Banks and her mystery partnerBayley defeated Brooke and Charlotte in a tag team match on July 24 atBattleground.[98]
Banks in September 2016
After being drafted to theRaw brand as part of the2016 WWE draft on July 19, 2016,[99][100] Banks made her first appearance for the brand on July 25, where she defeatedCharlotte to win theWWE Women's Championship for the first time.[101] On August 21 atSummerSlam, Banksdropped the championship back to Charlotte, ending her reign at 27 days. Around that time, the title was renamed the Raw Women's Championship following the creation of theSmackDown Women's Championship.[102] On September 25, Charlotte successfully retained the championship against Banks andBayley in atriple threat match atClash of Champions.[103] Banks was granted a one-on-one rematch on the October 3 episode ofRaw,[104] where she defeated Charlotte in the main event to capture her second Raw Women's Championship.[105] Banks challenged Charlotte to compete for the championship in the first ever women'sHell in a Cell match at the titularHell in a Cell pay-per-view event on October 30,[106][107] which was then announced as the main event, making it the first time women had received the last match of apay-per-viewcard in WWE.[108] At the event, Charlotte defeated Banks, again ending her reign at 27 days.[109] A few weeks later, on November 20, Banks was part of Raw's women's team forSurvivor Series, during which she was eliminated byNatalya, but Team Raw was ultimately victorious.[110] On the November 28 episode ofRaw, after invoking her rematch clause a week prior,[111] Banks defeated Charlotte in afalls count anywhere match to win the Raw Women's Championship for the record-tying third time.[112] A 30-minuteiron man match between the two took place atRoadblock: End of the Line on December 18,[113] which resulted in a 2–2 draw, but Banks lost to Flair 3–2 insudden death overtime. With the loss, the feud between the two ended, since it was stipulated that Banks could not invoke her rematch clause if she lost.[114][115] On the February 13 episode ofRaw, Banks helped Bayley defeat Flair to win the Raw Women's Championship.[116] AtWrestleMania 33, Banks participated in afatal four-way elimination match for the title, where Bayley retained the championship.[117]
Months later, Banks facedAlexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship. Bliss retained the title atGreat Balls of Fire,[118] but Banks won it atSummerSlam.[119] Eight days later, Banks dropped the title back to Bliss onRaw.[120] AtNo Mercy on September 24, Banks received her rematch for the title as she took part in afatal five-way match which was won by Bliss.[121]
On the March 26 episode ofRaw, after weeks of animosity between the two, including Banks betraying Bayley during their matches,[126][127] they brawled backstage and had to be separated.[128][129] Banks and Bayley faced off in mid-April but their match ended in ano-contest afterThe Riott Squad (Ruby Riott,Sarah Logan, andLiv Morgan) interfered and attacked them both.[130] In the following weeks, Banks competed in different singles[131] and tag team matches in both winning and losing efforts.[132][133] In June, after she defeated Ruby Riott in the finals of a gauntlet match for the last spot,[134][135] Banks competed in aMoney in the Bank ladder match for the first time in her career, that was ultimately won by Alexa Bliss.[136] Throughout mid-2018, after Banks and Bayley continued to attack each other,[137][138] they were told to attend counsellor meetings to help maintain their friendship.[139][140][141] In July, the two reconciled and created atag team, known as "The Boss 'n' Hug Connection".[142][143][144]
After a short hiatus from the ring due to an undisclosed injury, Banks returned to WWE television in October,[145][146] and took part in the first-ever all women's pay-per-viewEvolution, where she teamed with Bayley andNatalya in a winning effort against The Riott Squad.[147][148] In November, Banks again competed atSurvivor Series as part of Team Raw, where she was the last woman from the team that was eliminated byAsuka after an attack by teammateNia Jax.[149][150] On January 27, 2019, at theRoyal Rumble, after she defeated Nia Jax to earn herself a title match,[151][152][153] Banks unsuccessfully challengedRonda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship.[154] During the match with Rousey, Banks suffered a separated shoulder.[155]
The following day, Banks cancelled an appearance on the morning talk showWendy at the last minute.[159] Throughout the week, speculation fromdirt sheets emerged that she was looking to quit the company due to her longstanding frustrations with WWE. Banks held the impression that she andBayley were going to have a long title reign to bring credibility to theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship, with the two allegedly not being informed until the last minute that they would bedropping the titles atWrestleMania.[160][161] Her talk show cancellation was reported to be due to a personal matter.[159] As she had been dealing withdepression, she askedVince McMahon for her release. While McMahon denied her request, he granted Banks time off to reconsider her career.[162]
After a four-month hiatus, Banks returned[163] and was paired with Bayley, both asheels.[164][165] Upon her return, Banks reignited her feud with Raw Women's ChampionBecky Lynch, leading to a Raw Women's Championship match atClash of Champions.[164] At the event, Banks took a win via disqualification, however, Lynch retained.[166] Their feud eventually led to the second ever women'sHell in a Cell match at thetitular event,[167] in which Banks was unsuccessful in winning the title.[168] After she was drafted to theSmackDown brand as part of the2019 draft,[169] she then went on another brief hiatus from TV due to injuring her tailbone.[170] When she returned, she was named captain of the SmackDown women's team, leading intoSurvivor Series.[171] At the pay-per-view, Banks was the last woman standing for the SmackDown brand in the Women's Survivor Series match, but was pinned byRhea Ripley from TeamNXT, who won the match.[172][173] AtWrestleMania 36, she participated in afatal five-way elimination match for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship, where the champion retained.[174]
After WrestleMania 36, Banks and Bayley would begin teasing a potentialfeud between the two, with the emphasis being put on the narrative that Banks is the reason for Bayley's success and that Bayley is responsible for most of Banks' losing efforts.[175][176][177] Despite their brewing dispute, Banks and Bayley reclaimed theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the June 5 episode ofSmackDown by defeatingAlexa Bliss andNikki Cross.[178][179] During the reign, Banks and Bayley began feuding with Raw Women's ChampionAsuka, leading to a Raw Women's Championship match between Banks and Asuka atThe Horror Show at Extreme Rules,[180] which ended in a controversial finish.[181] A rematch took place eight days later onRaw,[182] where Banks defeated Asuka to win the Raw Women's Championship for a record-setting fifth time.[183] With the win, Banks and Bayley became the first female tag team—and the fifth overall—in history to hold singles and tag team titles simultaneously.[184] Throughout August, Asuka and Banks continued their feud,[185][186][187][188] which culminated in a title match atSummerSlam on August 23, where Banksdropped the Raw Women's Championship back to Asuka.[189][190] A week later atPayback, Banks and Bayley dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship toNia Jax andShayna Baszler.[191]
On the September 4 episode ofSmackDown, after losing a rematch to Jax and Baszler, Bayleyturned on Banks by brutally attacking her in the ring, thereby turning the latterface in the process and disbanding their team.[192] The feud between the two eventually culminated in aHell in a Cell match at theeponymous pay-per-view,[193][194][195] where Banks submitted Bayley to win theSmackDown Women's Championship for the first time in her career. With the win, Banks became the thirdWomen's Grand Slam and fourthTriple Crown Champion.[196] On the November 6 episode ofSmackDown, Banks defeated Bayley in a SmackDown Women's Championship rematch to retain the title,[197] thus ending her drought of unsuccessful defenses with a main roster singles title.[198] At theTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event on December 20, Banks defeated Carmella by submission to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship.[199]
At theRoyal Rumble pay-per-view on January 31, Banks defeated Carmella in a rematch fromTLC to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship.[200] Later on in the night,Bianca Belair would go on to win thewomen's Royal Rumble match, thereby granting her an opportunity to challenge for awomen's championship of her choice atWrestleMania 37.[201] In the weeks to follow, Banks and Belair would proceed to build up to the reveal of Belair's opponent of choice onSmackDown,[202][203][204] up until the February 26 episode of the aforementioned show, when Belair officially chose to face Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the event.[205] Over the following month, the two would team up to challengeNia Jax andShayna Baszler for theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship at theElimination Chamber andFastlane pay-per-view events, but were unsuccessful.[206][207][208] On April 9, WWE announced that the bout between Banks and Belair would main event Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, thus marking the first time in the company's history that twoAfrican-American women will have faced each other in a marquee match.[209] Furthermore, the two were the first African-American wrestlers inWrestleMania history to have faced each other in the main event of the show.[210] At the event, Banksdropped the SmackDown Women's Championship to Belair, ending her reign at 167 days.[211]
After Banks' return in July,[212] she was booked to face Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship atSummerSlam,[213] but was ultimately pulled from the event.[214] She had the title match atCrown Jewel on October 21, but as a triple threat match also involving new championBecky Lynch,[215] where Banks was unsuccessful at regaining the title.[216] AtSurvivor Series in November, Banks was captain of the SmackDown women's team, where she was eliminated viacountout following interference from her teammates.[217]
On January 2, 2022, Varnado sustained acalcaneus injury during ahouse show match againstCharlotte Flair.[218] She would make her return on the January 28 episode ofSmackDown, where she declared herself an entrant for the women's Royal Rumble match.[219] At thenamesake event, Banks entered first, eliminatingMelina andKelly Kelly before being eliminated byQueen Zelina.[220] On the February 25 episode ofSmackDown,Naomi announced that she and Banks were going to challenge for theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[221] At Night 2 ofWrestleMania 38, Banks and Naomi won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship for the first time as a team, the first time for Naomi, and a record-tying third time for Banks.[222]
Banks and Naomi's title defense on the May 13 episode ofSmackDown[223] would be their final televised WWE appearance, and their match at aWWE Live event on May 15[224] proved to be Banks' final WWE match, as during the May 16 episode ofRaw, Banks and Naomi reportedlywalked out on WWE due to a creative dispute withVince McMahon.[225] WWE released an official statement claiming that the two "walked into WWE Head of Talent RelationsJohn Laurinaitis' office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out".[226] The two were originally booked for the show's main event, which had to be reworked.[225][227] On the following episode ofSmackDown, it was announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely, thereforevacating the titles.[228][229] In December 2022, it was reported that negotiations over compensation had fallen through during the summer and that Banks was done with WWE.[230]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling / World Wonder Ring Stardom (2023–present)
In August 2023, Moné made a cameo appearance as an audience member at theAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) pay-per-view eventAll In.[248] In February 2024,Fightful and Andrew Zarian ofMat Men Radio reported that Moné had signed with AEW the previous month.[249] Moné officially debuted for AEW on March 13, 2024, on a special episode ofDynamite titledBig Business as a babyface, which took place at theTD Garden in her adopted hometown ofBoston.[250] At the end of the episode, Moné came to the ring to saveWillow Nightingale from an attack byJulia Hart andSkye Blue.[251]
"Song for Sasha Banks", written and performed byThe Mountain Goats, tells the story of Varnado's childhood, watchingChris Jericho onSmackDown, and then becoming a professional wrestler in her own right. It was released as a single digital track on June 18, 2018.[276]
Kaestner-Varnado has publicly discussed facingmental health struggles throughout her career.[162][285] In an exclusive interview withSports Illustrated, she stated that after her first match, "I came back and I just started crying and bawling, just because I thought I did terrible. I cried after every single match when I was in the independents for my first two years. 'Cause I'm like, I suck. I wanna be the best. It wasn't this and that, but it's crazy how much of a competitor I am with myself. We're our own worst critics."[285] She also described entering a "spiral of depression" due to personal guilt and backlash from fans after she accidentally seriously injuredSaraya Bevis at a WWE show in late 2017.[286] Kaestner-Varnado has also come out in support of other professional wrestlers who have publicized their mental health issues.[287]
Kaestner-Varnado has citedEddie Guerrero as her favorite wrestler and inspiration. She attended Guerrero'smemorial episode ofRaw on November 14, 2005 inMinneapolis; she was unaware that Guerrero had died before she arrived at the arena.[288]
On August 4, 2016, Kaestner-Varnado married retired professional wrestler and WWE costume designer Sarath Ton, widely known by his ring name Mikaze;[289] the two met while they were both wrestling on theindependent circuit.[290] Kaestner-Varnado and Ton amicably separated in late 2020, but kept the separation secret as she was concerned that she would face adversebooking from WWE's writers, including then-ownerVince McMahon; they officially filed for divorce in July 2024,[291] and finalized on August 2.[292]
^During Banks' first reign, the championship was called the WWE Women's Championship. Before her second reign, the title became exclusive to Raw as a result of the2016 brand extension draft[100] and it was renamed as the Raw Women's Championship after SmackDown created theSmackDown Women's Championship.[310]
^Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions [E13: Sasha Banks] (Television production). February 21, 2021. Event occurs at 59:55.She separated my shoulder... It happened right at the end of the match. She picked me up, twisted me, and just pulled my shoulder up when I landed at the end.
^Jenkins, Kendall (May 11, 2021)."TOP 5 WWE WRESTLERS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE MARRIED | PWInsider.com".pwinsider.com. RetrievedMay 12, 2021.Sarath Ton is a retired Cambodian-American wrestler who formerly fought for WWE under the ring name Mikaze, who now makes her name as a WWE costume designer.
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