Sasha Banks
Professional wrestling in the early 2010s was undergoing a significant shift, as promotions began investing more seriously in women's competition and building female performers into genuine marquee attractions. It was in that environment that Mercedes Justine Kaestner Varnado, born on January 26, 1992, in Fairfield, emerged as one of the sport's prominent figures.
Varnado rose to prominence during her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Sasha Banks from 2012 to 2022. That decade-long run placed her at the center of the women's wrestling scene, and she went on to earn both a Slammy Award and an ESPY Award during her career. She also works as an actor, adding another dimension to a professional profile that has extended well beyond any single organization.
After departing WWE, Varnado expanded her reach across the global wrestling landscape in ways that set her apart from her peers. She performs under the ring name Mercedes Moné and has competed for All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, making her the only woman to have won championships across all four organizations — WWE, AEW, NJPW, and CMLL. That cross-promotional record reflects a career that has moved fluidly between the major American promotions and the international independent circuit.
As of January 2024, Varnado is signed to All Elite Wrestling, where she held the AEW TBS Championship. Her reign as TBS Champion stands as the longest in the title's history, a concrete benchmark that marked her time with the promotion. Between her AEW commitments and appearances for NJPW and CMLL, she continues to work across multiple organizations, with her ESPY Award and Slammy Award remaining among the formal honors attached to her name.
Quotes by Sasha Banks
For me, I got to start at FCW and see it turn into NXT, and I remember going to house shows, and there were legit ten fans in the crowd. Now, every weekend where we have a show, there are 300-plus people.
I know that at 'NXT TakeOver' and the fatal four-way, we'll definitely have people saying, 'Oh my God, those were not Divas; those were superstars right there.'
It feels like a whole other brand onto itself, and I know for the girls - and just speaking for myself - being at NXT has been such an amazing experienc, and I feel so accomplished here as wrestling as a woman and just showing fans that women can do it better than the men.
I just remember that when I started at NXT, I had no character. I had nothing. I was just so excited to be here and just to be a wrestler.
I would absolutely love to wrestle Sami Zayn because he's absolutely one of my favorites to watch. I think me and his style would just work. That would definitely be a dream match of mine.
I didn't want to walk into WWE and be someone who just does bikini matches and played second fiddle to the guys. I wanted to stand out, make people excited to see women's wrestling, and show them we can be better than the men.
Back in the day when I started on the independent scene, guys would not watch women's matches, and if they did, they would do it to make fun of us.
I definitely would like to work with Nia Jax; she's something different that I haven't had yet. I didn't have someone like her to work with in NXT, so I think I would like to work with her next. I think that would be a great feud.
First-ever woman to have an iron-man match. It's been such a long time, to be the second woman ever to main event a Raw.