Sasha Banks

Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado (January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand as Sasha Banks. She is a four-time WWE Women's Champion and also a former NXT Women's Champion. She is also known for her time on the Northeastern United States independent circuit.

Chaotic Wrestling (2010–2012)
Mercedes KV started her wrestling career in Chaotic Wrestling, where she was trained. She made her in ring debut 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. Mercedes and Roxx quickly formed an alliance, teaming together regularly and accompanying each other to ringside. On October 22, Mercedes lost her debut singles match to Danny E., and lost a rematch to him on November 13.

On January 7, 2011, Mercedes got her first victory when she and Roxx defeated Alexxis and Mistress Belmont in a tag team match. On February 11, Mercedes took part in a five-women gauntlet match to determinate the inaugural Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion, but was unsuccessful. She continued competing in singles matches throughout the remainder of 2011, and on December 2, Mercedes defeated Alexxis in an "I Quit" match to win the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship for the first time.

KV made her first successfully title defense against Barbie on January 6. KV faced off against Luscious Latasha with Women's Championship on the line on January 27, where KV successfully defended the title. KV successfully defended Women's Championship against Alexxis in a rematch. She successfully defended the Women's Championship twice against Nikki Roxx. On June 1, Mercedes defeated Alexxis, Barbie and Mistress Belmont in a fatal four–way match to retain the championship. Following her win, Mercedes became the longest reigning Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion in history by breaking Alexxis's previous record of 182 days. On June 24, KV successfully defended the Women's Championship against Barbie. On July 20, Mercedes KV defeated Aida Marie to successfully retain the Women's Championship. KV faced off against Kasey Ray with Women's Championship on the line on August 17, where KV successfully defended the title. 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 Women's Championship was declared vacant after Mercedes signed a contract with WWE, ending her reign at 260 days.

Other promotions (2010–2012)
On August 8, 2010, Mercedes made her debut in New England Championship Wrestling (NECW), teaming with Ivy in a winning effort defeating the team of Ariel and Sammi Lane in a tag team match. She returned to the promotion 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 via countout.

KV under the ring name Miss Mercedes, debuted for National Wrestling Alliance on November 19, 2010, where she faced Julian Starr in an losing effort. On the following two nights, Miss Mercedes defeated Sheik Ali and Nick Fahrenheit in singles matches. Miss Mercedes began to feud with The Great Cheyenne, losing to her on several occasions. On August 9, Mercedes faced Arlene in a singles match, where Mercedes emerged victorious.

NXT (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 sent to NXT Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory, where she adopted the ring name Sasha Banks. She made her television debut on WWE NXT on December 12, 2012, losing to Paige. Banks' first televised win on NXT was on the January 23, 2013 episode over defeating Alicia Fox.

Banks then entered a storyline where she would receive letters from a secret admirer, who was eventually revealed to be the villainous 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. On the March 7 episode of NXT, Banks teamed up with The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) to defeat Marie, Alicia Fox and Aksana in six-diva tag-team match. Banks' feud with Marie ended 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 Summer Rae in the first round.

After weeks of influence by Summer Rae to make herself relevant, on the September 11 episode of NXT, Banks was defeated by NXT Women's Champion Paige. After the match, Paige would attempt to console Banks leading to Banks attacking Paige and turning heel in the process. She wrestled her first match as a villain on the September 25 episode of NXT, defeating Bayley with Rae in Banks' corner. After the match, Banks would cut a promo with Rae and debut a new gimmick — "The Boss of NXT". Banks and Rae, now known as the “BFFs (Beautiful, Fierce Females)”, faced Paige and Emma on the October 16 episode of NXT, where the BFFs emerged victorious when Rae pinned Paige. On the October 23 episode of NXT, Banks defeated Emma after capitalizing on a distraction provided by Rae. On the November 13 episode of NXT, The BFFs defeated Bayley and Charlotte in a tag team match when Charlotte attacked Bayley allowing Banks to pin Bayley. After the match, Charlotte officially turned heel and aligned herself with Banks and Rae. On the December 11 episode of NXT, Banks and Rae defeated Bayley and Natalya in a tag team match. In mid-January 2014, as Rae had moved up to the main roster, the BFF's started a rivalry with Bayley, who had aligned herself with Natalya, and lost in both singles and tag team matches.

On April 6, Banks, along with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte, made an appearance at WrestleMania XXX as a part of Triple H's entrance for his match against Daniel Bryan. 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. After a four-month absence from the show, Summer Rae returned on the June 6 episode of NXT, distracting Bayley and allowing Charlotte to get the victory. After the match, The BFFs would attempt to attack Bayley, only to be chased away by Emma and Paige. This led to a six-Divas tag team match on the June 12 episode of NXT, which The BFFs lost after Bayley pinned Charlotte. On the July 3 episode of NXT, Charlotte would get retribution over Bayley in a tag team match, where she and Banks defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch. After the match, Charlotte left Banks to get attacked by Bayley, with Banks officially disbanding the team in a backstage segment.

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, Banks attacked Bayley after her title match with Charlotte, before Charlotte pulled Banks away and the two shared a staredown. Becky Lynch turned on Bayley and aligned herself with Banks on the October 23 episode of NXT, after Banks defeated Bayley. After defeating Alexa Bliss on November 13, Banks challenged Charlotte to a match at NXT Takeover: R Evolution for the NXT Women's Championship, but she was defeated. Banks was defeated by Charlotte in a title rematch on the December 25 edition of NXT.

Banks received another title opportunity on the January 21, 2015 edition of NXT, but lost via DQ after Becky Lynch entered and attacked Charlotte. At NXT Takeover: Rival on February 11, Banks defeated Charlotte, Lynch, and Bayley in a Fatal Four Way match to capture the NXT Women's Championship. Banks would continue to hold the title, up until NXT Takeover: Brooklyn where she lost to Bayley in a critically acclaimed match. Banks would unsuccessfully challenge Bayley for the title at Takeover: Respect in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.

Main Roster (2015-present)
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. 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 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 WWE 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, in which she fought Paige to a time limit draw and Charlotte was named the number one contender. Following this, Banks began a short 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 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 WWE Divas Championship at WrestleMania 32, with the first bout ending as a no contest, after a double pin occurred, and the second as well, 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, after it was announced during transmission that the Divas Championship would be withdrawn and it would be replaced with the new Women's Championship, with all three women competing for it in the triple threat match, in which she was unsuccessful in capturing the new title in her WrestleMania in-ring début.

After some hiatus due to injury, Banks returned on the May 31 episode of Main Event and defeated Summer Rae then on the June 20th episode of Raw attacking Charlotte and Dana Brooke with the help of Paige, raising the Women's Championship hinting at a rematch for the championship since WrestleMania. 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. At the event, Banks and her mystery partner, Bayley, defeated Charlotte and Brooke. On July 25 the episode of Raw, Banks defeated Charlotte to win the WWE Women's Championship for the first time. Banks lost the Women's Championship to Charlotte at Summerslam. After unsuccessfully dethroning Charlotte at Clash of Champions in a Triple Threat Match also involving Bayley, Banks regained the title from Charlotte in the main event of the October 3 edition of Raw. 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. However, 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. The next week it was announced that Banks will face Charlotte at Roadblock: End of the Line in a 30-minute Iron Man match for the Championship. At the event, Flair scored the victory by going 3-2 over Banks in overtime, ending their long feud. The next night on Raw, Banks called Flair out to congratulate her on her victory. Instead, out came Nia Jax, who went on to assault her.

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 cites Eddie Guerrero as her favorite wrestler, and she was in attendance at Guerrero's memorial episode of Raw on November 14, 2005, in Minneapolis. 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)
 * Bank Statement (Double knee backbreaker transitioned into a crossface)
 * Signature moves
 * Bow and arrow stretch
 * Camel clutch
 * Diving double knee drop to a trapped opponent across the turnbuckles
 * Headscissors takedown
 * Japanese arm drag
 * Monkey flip
 * Multiple forehand chops
 * Multiple pinning variations
 * Roll-up, sometimes while bridging
 * Crucifix
 * Small package
 * Wheelbarrow victory roll
 * Reverse chin lock with bodyscissors
 * Running high knees, to an opponent in the corner
 * Springboard arm drag
 * Straight jacket hold
 * Hurricanranna


 * Tag teams and stables
 * Beautiful Fierce Females (w/ Summer Rae & Charlotte)
 * Team B.A.D. (w/ Naomi & Tamina Snuka)


 * Nicknames
 * "The Boss"


 * Entrance themes
 * "Sky's the Limit" by CFO$ (NXT; August 28, 2014–present)
 * "Unity" by CFO$ (January 15, 2016 – present; used with Team B.A.D.)

Championships and accomplishments

 * Chaotic Wrestling
 * Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship (1 time)


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Match of the Year (2015) vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect
 * PWI ranked her #3 in the 2015 PWI Top 50 Females
 * PWI ranked her #2 in the 2016 PWI Top 50 Females


 * Ring Wars Carolina
 * RWC No Limitz Championship (1 time)


 * WWE
 * NXT Women's Championship (1 time)
 * WWE Raw Women's Championship (4 times)