Biography
Born in Fairfield, California and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Mercedes Varnado grew up idolising Eddie Guerrero and Japanese women's wrestling before beginning her training in 2008. She debuted in 2010 on the independent circuit and signed with WWE in 2012, where she would spend the next decade becoming one of the most important figures in the history of women's wrestling. Known in WWE as Sasha Banks, she was a cornerstone of the Four Horsewomen alongside Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair — a group that fundamentally changed the landscape of women's wrestling. Her matches with Bayley became landmark moments for the division, and her 2016 rivalry with Charlotte Flair produced a series of historic firsts including the first women's Hell in a Cell match. At WrestleMania 37, she and Bianca Belair became the first two Black women to headline WWE's flagship event. After walking out of WWE in 2022 following creative frustrations, she reinvented herself as Mercedes Moné and took her talents global — debuting in NJPW, capturing the IWGP Women's Championship, and signing with AEW in 2024 where she became the longest-reigning TBS Champion in history. She is the only woman to have won championships across WWE, AEW, NJPW and CMLL. The CEO remains one of the most complete and decorated performers in women's wrestling history.
