Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Sasha Banks.
She previously wrestled on the independent circuit, most notably for Chaotic Wrestling, where she once held the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. Between WWE and their developmental brand NXT, Banks has had four championship reigns - being a former NXT Women's Champion and a three-time Raw Women's Champion. Her match against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect on October 7, 2015 was the first women's match to ever headline a WWE event, the first women's Iron Man match, and the longest women's match in WWE history at the time with a length of 30 minutes. Their match was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) as the "Match of the Year", with Banks being voted as the "Woman of the Year" as well, while their NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015 won the NXT Year-End Award for "Match of the Year".
In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair became the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view event and the first to compete in a Hell in a Cell match (both at Hell in a Cell in October 2016), the first women to main event Raw in a women's match since 2004, and the first women to win the Pro Wrestling Illustrated award for "Feud of the Year".
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Early life
Kaestner-Varnado was born in Fairfield, California, and later moved to various places, including Minnesota, to find schools and hospitals for her disabled brother, before settling in Boston, Massachusetts, where she began her professional wrestling career. She went to school online, and grew up watching All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW). She is of African-American and German descent.
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Professional wrestling career
Chaotic Wrestling (2010-2012)
Kaestner-Varnado began training at Chaotic Wrestling (CW), based in Woburn, Massachusetts, in 2008. She made her in-ring debut, under the ring name Mercedes KV, on October 1, 2010 in an intergender tag team match, where she teamed with Nikki Roxx in a losing effort to Alexxis and Danny E. KV and Roxx quickly formed an alliance, teaming together regularly and accompanying each other to ringside. On October 22, KV lost her debut singles match to Danny E., and lost a rematch to him on November 13.
On January 7, 2011, KV earned her first victory when she and Roxx defeated Alexxis and Mistress Belmont in a tag team match. On February 11, KV took part in a five-woman gauntlet match to determine the inaugural Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion, but was unsuccessful. KV continued competing in singles matches throughout the remainder of 2011, and on December 2 she defeated Alexxis in a "I Quit" match to win the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship for the first time.
KV made her first successful title defense against Barbie on January 6. KV faced Luscious Latasha with the championship on the line on January 27, where KV retained the title. KV successfully defended the championship against Alexxis in a rematch. She then successfully defended the championship twice against Nikki Roxx. On June 1, KV defeated Alexxis, Barbie and Mistress Belmont in a fatal four-way match to retain the championship, after which she became the longest reigning Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion in history by breaking Alexxis's previous record of 182 days. KV went on to defend and successfully retain the championship against Barbie on June 24, against Aida Marie on July 20, and on August 17 against Kasey Ray. KV made her final appearance for Chaotic Wrestling on August 18, where she lost to Ivy Fit in a non-title match. On August 18, the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship was declared vacant after Kaestner-Varnado signed a contract with WWE, thus ending her reign at 260 days.
Independent circuit promotions (2010-2012)
On August 8, 2010, KV made her debut in New England Championship Wrestling (NECW), teaming with Ivy to defeat the team of Ariel and Sammi Lane. She returned to the NECW on September 4, 2011, again teaming with Ivy, defeating Mistress Belmont and Veda Scott. On September 23, KV defeated Mistress Belmont in a singles match. KV once again returned to the promotion on July 14, 2012 at the Red White and Bruised event, where she was defeated by Adrianna by countout.
KV, under the ring name Miss Mercedes, debuted for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) on November 19, 2010, where she faced Julian Starr in a losing effort. On the following two nights, Mercedes defeated Sheik Ali and Nick Fahrenheit in singles matches. Mercedes began to feud with The Great Cheyenne, losing to her on several occasions. On August 9, she wrestled her last match for the NWA, defeating Arlene in a singles match.
WWE
NXT Women's Champion (2012-2015)
In June 2012, Kaestner-Varnado participated in a WWE tryout camp and on August 18 it was announced that she had been signed to a contract. She was assigned to NXT, WWE's developmental territory, where she adopted the ring name Sasha Banks, and made her televised debut on NXT on December 12, losing to Paige. Banks' first televised win on NXT was on the January 23, 2013 episode against Alicia Fox. Banks then entered a storyline where she received letters from a secret admirer, who was eventually revealed to be Audrey Marie, who returned and attacked Banks on the February 20 episode of NXT, due to Marie's jealousy of Banks' success. Marie went on to defeat Banks in a match later that episode. Banks' feud with Marie came to an end on the April 3 episode of NXT, when Banks teamed with Paige to defeat Marie and Summer Rae. On the June 19 episode of NXT, Banks competed in the NXT Women's Championship tournament to determine the inaugural champion, but lost to Rae in the first round.
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 of NXT, after which she attacked Paige after the latter attempted to console her, leading to Banks turn into a villainess. Two weeks later on NXT, Banks defeated Bayley, while accompanied by Rae. After the match, Banks cut a promo with Rae and debuted a new gimmick as "The Boss". Banks and Rae, who dubbed themselves the Beautiful, Fierce Females, faced Paige and Emma on the October 16 episode of NXT, where they emerged victorious. On the November 13 episode of NXT, the BFFs defeated Bayley and Charlotte in a tag team match, when Charlotte attacked Bayley and aligned herself with Banks and Rae. 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 with Natalya, and lost in both singles and tag team matches. On April 6, Banks made an appearance at WrestleMania XXX as a part of Triple H's entrance. In May, Banks entered a tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship, defeating Bayley in the first round, but losing to Natalya in the semi-finals. On the July 3 episode of NXT, Banks and Charlotte defeated Bayley and Becky 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.
On the August 14 episode of NXT, Banks lost to Bayley in a match to determine the number one contender to the NXT Women's Championship. At NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on September 11, Banks attacked Bayley after her title match with Charlotte, before Charlotte stopped her. Becky Lynch turned on Bayley and aligned herself with Banks on the October 23 episode of NXT after Banks defeated Bayley in a singles match. Banks promptly began feuding with NXT Women's Champion Charlotte, leading to a match between the two at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution on December 11 with Charlotte's championship on the line, which Banks lost. Banks received a rematch on the December 25 episode of NXT, where she was once again unsuccessful. Banks first appeared on WWE's main roster on the December 30, 2014 episode of Main Event, where she lost to Charlotte in a non-title match. On January 21, 2015, Banks received another title match against Charlotte, which she lost after Becky Lynch attacked Charlotte, causing a disqualification, which led to dissension between Banks and Lynch.
On February 11 at NXT TakeOver: Rival, Banks won the NXT Women's Championship by pinning Charlotte in a fatal four-way match that also involved Lynch and Bayley. Banks successfully retained the championship against Charlotte in a rematch on the March 4 episode of NXT, and against Alexa Bliss on March 25. At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable on May 20, Banks defended and retained the title against Becky Lynch. On the July 8 episode of NXT, Banks teamed with Charlotte to defeat Emma and Dana Brooke, after which Charlotte challenged Banks to an NXT Women's Championship match, which Banks accepted. They had their championship match the following week on the July 15 episode of NXT, in which Banks retained the championship and the two shared a hug, with Charlotte raising Banks's hand as a sign of respect.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22, Banks dropped the NXT Women's Championship to Bayley, thus ending her reign at 192 days. After the match, Banks celebrated with Bayley and former rivals Becky Lynch and Charlotte. The match was highly praised by critics and would win Match of the Year at the NXT Year-End Awards. On the September 16 episode of NXT, NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Bayley would defend the title against Banks in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Respect in the first ever women's 30-minute Iron Man match in WWE history. At the event on October 7, Bayley defeated Banks, scoring the win with 3 falls to 2 in what would be her last match in NXT.
Women's Revolution (2015-2016)
Banks made her official debut on the July 13, 2015 episode of Raw along with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, after Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas division and while Lynch and Charlotte allied with Paige, who was feuding with Team Bella (Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella), Banks would ally with Naomi and Tamina, who later dubbed themselves as Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous), leading to a brawl between the three teams. In her WWE pay-per-view debut on July 19 at Battleground, Banks competed in a triple threat match against Charlotte and Brie Bella, which Charlotte won. Banks went on to defeat Paige twice, first by submission on the July 20 episode of Raw, in a tag team match where Banks teamed with Naomi for the first time, and again on the July 27 episode of Raw in a singles match. After defeating the Divas Champion Nikki Bella by submission in a non-title match on the August 17 episode of Raw, Banks participated in the first ever Divas number one contender's Beat the Clock challenge match, in which she fought Paige to a time limit draw and Charlotte was named the number one contender. Following this, Banks rekindled her rivalry with Paige and defeated her twice on the September 7 and 14 episodes of Raw, and fought to a no contest on the September 10 episode of SmackDown. Although she lost in a fatal four-way number one contender's match for Charlotte's Divas Championship in November, Banks was not pinned and she started a winning streak, defeating the likes of Brie Bella Alicia Fox, and Becky Lynch.
After a month off television, Banks returned at the Royal 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. Prior to a match with Lynch on the February 1 episode of Raw, 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 a fan favorite in the process. The feud between Banks and Naomi and Tamina would continue throughout February, and would lead to a tag team match at Fastlane on February 21, where Banks allied with Lynch to defeat the two. Banks and Lynch went on to compete in two matches to determine the number one contender for Charlotte's Divas Championship at WrestleMania 32, with the first bout ending in a draw after a double pin occurred, and the second in a no contest after both Banks and Lynch were attacked by Charlotte. As a result, a triple threat match between Banks, Lynch and Charlotte for the Divas Championship was announced for WrestleMania. At the event on April 3, after it was announced during transmission that the Divas Championship would be withdrawn and it would be replaced with the new WWE Women's Championship, with all three women competing for it in the triple threat match, in which Banks was unsuccessful in capturing the new title at her WrestleMania in-ring debut.
After a hiatus, Banks returned to WWE television in early June, defeating Summer Rae on Main Event, before reigniting her feud with Charlotte over the WWE Women's Championship after an attack along with Paige on the June 20 episode of Raw. This led to a tag team match the following week on the June 27 episode of Raw, where Banks and Paige scored the victory. Followed by multiple attacks and matches between Banks and Dana Brooke, it was announced that they would face off in a tag team match on July 24 at Battleground, where Banks and her mystery partner Bayley defeated Charlotte and Brooke.
Raw Women's Champion (2016-2017)
After being drafted to Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft which took place on July 19, Banks made her first appearance for the brand on July 25, where she defeated Charlotte to win the WWE Women's Championship for the first time. Five days later it was announced that Banks would face Charlotte in a rematch for the title at SummerSlam. On the August 1 episode of Raw, Banks was defeated by Charlotte in an mixed tag team match after being distracted by Dana Brooke, which led to Banks defeating Brooke in a non-title match a week later on the August 8 episode of Raw, and as result she was barred from ringside at SummerSlam. At the event on August 21, Banks dropped the championship back to Charlotte, ending her reign at 27 days; the title was then renamed to Raw Women's Championship following the creation of the SmackDown Women's Championship. The next night on Raw, Charlotte announced that she had injured Banks's back, and would be out of action.
On September 25, Charlotte successfully retained the championship against Banks and Bayley in a triple threat match at Clash of Champions. Banks was granted a one-on-one rematch on the October 3 episode of Raw, where she would defeat Charlotte in the main event to capture her second Raw Women's Championship. Banks challenged Charlotte to compete for the championship in the first ever women's Hell in a Cell match at the titular Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on October 30, which was then announced as the main event, making it the first time any women had received the last match of a pay-per-view card in WWE. Banks came out on the losing end, thus ending her reign at 27 days for the second time. On November 20, Banks was part of Raw's women's team for Survivor Series, during which she was eliminated by Natalya, but Banks' team proceeded to win the match. On the November 28 episode of Raw, after invoking her rematch clause a week prior, Banks defeated Charlotte in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win the Raw Women's Championship for the record-tying third time. A 30-minute Iron Man match between the two was scheduled for Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18, which resulted in a 2-2 draw, but Banks lost to Flair 3-2 in sudden death overtime, thus ending their long-time feud since it was stipulated that Banks could not invoke her rematch clause.
Various feuds and storylines (2017-present)
The next night on Raw, Banks called Flair out to congratulate her on her victory, but instead out came Nia Jax, who went on to assault her. This led to a match between the two at the Royal Rumble pre-show on January 29, 2017, where Banks was defeated. On the February 13 episode of Raw, Banks helped Bayley defeating Charlotte Flair and winning the Raw Women's Championship in the main event. After defeating Jax at Fastlane on March 5 to end their feud, Banks once again helped Bayley to defeat Flair and retain the championship. On April 2, Banks was unsuccessful in recapturing the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 33 after she was eliminated from a fatal four-way elimination match, which also included Bayley, Flair, and Jax. At Extreme Rules, Banks teamed up with Rich Swann to defeat Alicia Fox and Noam Dar in a mixed tag team match. In the main event of the June 26th, episode of Raw, Banks was the last competitor to enter the first ever female Gauntlet match in WWE history, successfully eliminating Nia Jax (who had eliminated all four previous participants) to earn a title shot against WWE Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss at Great Balls of Fire. Banks eventually won, but since it was via count-out she didn't win the championship.
Other media
Banks made her video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K17.
Personal life
Kaestner-Varnado is a first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg, who helped develop her in-ring persona. She is also a first cousin of music producer Daz Dillinger and singers Brandy Norwood and Ray J. She is a fan of K-pop music and the anime Sailor Moon. In December 2016, she revealed that she provided vocals for her own entrance music.
Kaestner-Varnado married Sarath Ton, better known as Kid Mikaze, a fellow professional wrestler who works for WWE as a costume designer, on August 4, 2016.
Kaestner-Varnado has cited Eddie Guerrero as her favorite wrestler. She was in attendance at Guerrero's memorial episode of Raw on November 14, 2005 in Minneapolis, and she also revealed that she was unaware that Guerrero had died before she arrived at the arena.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- As Mercedes KV
- Roundhouse kick
- Wheelbarrow bulldog
- As Sasha Banks
- Bankrupt (Straight jacket neckbreaker slam) -- 2013-2014; used as a signature move thereafter
- Bank Statement (Bridging crossface, often transitioned from a double knee backbreaker, or as a counter to a roll-up) -- 2014-present
- As Mercedes KV
- Signature moves
- Diving double knee drop to an opponent trapped between the turnbuckles
- Meteora, sometimes while running
- Frog splash - adopted from and used as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero
- High knee to a cornered opponent
- Japanese arm drag
- Monkey flip
- Multiple forehand chops
- Multiple pinning variations
- Crucifix
- Roll-up, sometimes while bridging
- Small package
- Wheelbarrow victory roll
- Reverse chinlock with bodyscissors
- Springboard arm drag
- Straight jacket, sometimes preceded by a double knee backbreaker
- Suicide dive
- Superplex
- Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown
- Nicknames
- "The (Legit) Boss"
- Entrance themes
- "Fastest Girl Alive" (instrumental) by David W. Ayers (NXT; 2013 - 2014)
- "Sky's the Limit" by CFO$ (NXT/WWE; August 28, 2014 - present)
- "Amazing" by CFO$ ft. Trinity Fatu (WWE; July 13, 2015 - January 9, 2016; used as a member of Team B.A.D.)
- "Unity" by CFO$ ft. J-Frost (WWE; January 9, 2016 - February 1, 2016; used as a member of Team B.A.D.)
Championships and accomplishments
- Chaotic Wrestling
- Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship (1 time)
- Independent Wrestling Entertainment
- IWE Women's Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Feud of the Year (2016) vs. Charlotte Flair
- Match of the Year (2015) vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect
- Woman of the Year (2015)
- Ranked No. 2 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2016
- Ring Wars Carolina
- RWC No Limitz Championship (1 time)
- Rolling Stone
- Future Diva of the Year (2015)
- NXT Match of the Year (2015) vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
- Title Feud of the Year, NXT (2015) vs. Bayley for the NXT Women's Championship
- Teen Choice Awards
- Choice Female Athlete (2017) (nominated, results pending)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Worst Feud of the Year (2015) Team PCB vs. Team B.A.D. vs. Team Bella
- WWE
- WWE Raw Women's Championship1 (3 times)
- WWE NXT
- NXT Women's Championship (1 time)
- NXT Year-End Award for Match of the Year (2015) vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
1 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 the 2016 brand extension draft, and it was renamed to Raw Women's Championship after SmackDown created the SmackDown Women's Championship.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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