Biography
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Mercedes Moné. Varnado also appears in NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. She is best known for her time in WWE from 2012 to 2022, where she performed under the ring name Sasha Banks.
Varnado began her wrestling career in 2010 on the independent circuit, most notably for Chaotic Wrestling, where she won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She signed with WWE in 2012 under the ring name Sasha Banks and was assigned to the developmental territory NXT. She would later win the NXT Women's Championship. Her match against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect in October 2015 was the first women's match to ever headline an NXT TakeOver, the first iron woman match in WWE history, and the longest women's match in WWE history at the time with a length of 30 minutes.[5] Their match was voted by