Mercedes Justine Kaestner Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Mercedes Moné (muh-NAY) and is the current AEW Women's World Champion in her first reign. She also appears for AEW's partners Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as promotions on the independent circuit. Varnado rose to prominence during 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. She signed with WWE in 2012 under the ring name Sasha Banks and was assigned to the developmental territory NXT, later winning 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 and the first iron woman match in WWE history. Their match was named "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI), with Varnado also being named "Woman of the Year".
In 2015, Varnado was promoted to WWE's main roster, where she won the WWE Raw Women's Championship five times. In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair became the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view event, compete in a Hell in a Cell match, and win PWI's Feud of the Year. She won the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Bayley, and in 2020, won the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship, becoming a Grand Slam Champion and Triple Crown Champion. That year, Sports Illustrated named her "Wrestler of the Year". In the main event of WrestleMania 37 – Night 1, Varnado and opponent Bianca Belair became the first two African Americans to headline WrestleMania, WWE's flagship event.
After creative issues in 2022, Varnado left WWE, debuting as Mercedes Moné in NJPW/Stardom at Wrestle Kingdom 17, becoming a one-time IWGP Women's Champion, and signed with AEW in 2024. In her AEW in-ring debut, she won the AEW TBS Championship, her reign with which is the longest in the title's history. In 2025, she was named "Woman of the Year" by PWI for a second time, ranked No. 1 in the PWI Women's 250, and became the most simultaneously-decorated wrestler of all time, at one point holding 13 belts comprising 11 championships. In 2026, she won the AEW Women's World Championship, making her the only wrestler to become world champion across the major promotions of WWE, AEW, NJPW, and CMLL.
Outside of wrestling, she portrays the recurring character Koska Reeves in the second and third seasons of the Disney+ space western series The Mandalorian.
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Early life
Mercedes Justine Kaestner Varnado was born on January 26, 1992, in Fairfield, California. Her mother Judith (née Kaestner) is of German descent, while her father Reo Varnado was African American. Her family moved to various places around the United States, including Minnesota, to find schools and hospitals for her autistic brother Joshua, while she attended online schooling; they ultimately settled in Boston, where she would launch her professional wrestling career. Varnado was an early fan of professional wrestling and grew up watching All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), and idolizing Manami Toyota, Aja Kong, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. She had a particular affinity for Guerrero, and was overjoyed in October 2005 to win tickets to a live WWE Monday Night Raw taping on November 13 in which Guerrero was scheduled to appear. When 13-year-old Varnado arrived at the show she was informed that Guerrero had died days previously. Varnado recalls having no idea until that moment, and weeping into her mother's arms. Later in life, Varnado would frequently pay tribute to Guerrero during her matches.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2010–2012)
Varnado began training in 2008 with independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling in Woburn, Massachusetts. Among her trainers was fellow future WWE wrestler Todd "Ivar" Smith; she has alluded to her training regimen being harsh. Varnado made her debut on August 8, 2010, working under the ring name "Mercedes KV". Her first official match, put together by Smith, was a tag-team bout at the National Guard Armory in Quincy, Massachusetts, before a crowd of roughly 70 people. Varnado spent the next two years wrestling in the independent circuit, primarily for Chaotic Wrestling, New England Championship Wrestling (NECW), and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). She recounts being highly self-critical and competitive in her performances.
In December 2011, Varnado won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship by defeating Alexxis in a "I Quit" match. She held the title for 378 days, vacating it in December 2012 after signing a contract with WWE.
WWE (2012–2022)
In June 2012, 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 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 Banks turned heel in September, she started a new gimmick, calling herself "The Boss". Under that gimmick, Banks wrestled Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte, being known as the 4 Horsewomen.
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 wrestled Charlotte twice for the title, but was defeated both times.
On February 11, 2015, 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 twice, Alexa Bliss, and Becky Lynch.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22, Banks dropped the NXT Women's Championship to Bayley, thus ending her reign at 192 days. The match was highly praised by critics and won Match of the Year at the NXT Year-End Awards. At NXT TakeOver: Respect on October 7, Banks was defeated by Bayley in the main event in the first women's 30-minute iron man match in WWE history, losing two falls to three.
Banks made her official debut on the July 13, 2015, episode of Raw along with Naomi and Tamina, being known as Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous) and feuding with Team Bella (Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella). 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, Following this, Banks rekindled her rivalry with Paige and defeated her twice on the September 7 and 14 episodes of Raw. 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 began a winning streak, defeating the likes of Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, and Becky Lynch on various shows.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling / World Wonder Ring Stardom (2023–present)
After months of speculation, Varnado made her debut appearance for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Now going by the ring name Mercedes Moné, she confronted and subsequently attacked reigning IWGP Women's Champion Kairi and announced that she had joined both NJPW and its sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, establishing herself as a heel. This led to a title match between the two at Battle in the Valley on February 18, in which Moné defeated Kairi to win the title. In her first title defense at Sakura Genesis on April 8, Moné defeated AZM and Hazuki in a three-way match. After the match, Mayu Iwatani challenged Moné to a title match Stardom All Star Grand Queendom. At the event, Moné lost the IWGP Women's Championship to Iwatani, ending her reign at 64 days. At Resurgence on May 21, Moné participated in a tournament to crown the inaugural Strong Women's Champion, defeating Stephanie Vaquer to advance to the finals, before losing to Willow Nightingale. Moné sustained an ankle injury during the match against Nightingale. In December 2023, it was reported that Moné was no longer under contract with NJPW.
On June 30, 2024, at Forbidden Door, Moné defeated Stephanie Vaquer to win the Strong Women's Championship in a Winner Takes All match that also involved Moné's AEW TBS Championship. She successfully defended her title against Momo Watanabe at Capital Collision and Hazuki at Strong Style Evolved. Moné then defeated Mina Shirakawa in a Winner Takes All match at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5, 2025, retaining the Strong title and winning Shirakawa's Undisputed British Women's Championship. With the TBS Championship, this made her a triple champion across three promotions. On May 9 at Resurgence, Moné lost the Strong Women's Championship to AZM in a three-way match also involving Shirakawa.
All Elite Wrestling (2024–present)
In August 2023, Moné made a cameo appearance as an audience member at the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) pay-per-view event All In. In February 2024, Fightful and Andrew Zarian of Mat Men Radio reported that Moné had signed with AEW the previous month. Moné officially debuted for AEW on March 13, 2024, on a special episode of Dynamite titled Big Business as a babyface, which took place at the TD Garden in her adopted hometown of Boston. At the end of the episode, Moné came to the ring to save Willow Nightingale from an attack by Julia Hart and Skye Blue.
Within the span of 35 days, Moné made her in-ring debut at on May 26 at Double or Nothing, where she defeated Nightingale to win the AEW TBS Championship and later won the Strong Women's Championship from Stephanie Vaquer on June 30 at Forbidden Door, becoming a double champion in the process. Moné would spend the rest of 2024 retaining the TBS Championship against wrestlers like Britt Baker at All In (during which time she turned heel and introduced Kamille as her bodyguard, working with her until November), Hikaru Shida at All Out, and Kris Statlander twice at Full Gear and Worlds End.
On February 15, 2025, Moné successfully defended her title against Harley Cameron at Grand Slam Australia. On March 9 at Revolution, Moné successfully defended her title against Momo Watanabe. On the March 29 episode of Collision, Moné announced her entry into the women's bracket of the 2025 Owen Hart Cup, a tournament where the winner will receive an AEW Women's World Championship match at All In. After gaining victories over Julia Hart at Dynasty in the quarterfinal round and Athena at Dynamite: Spring BreakThru in the semifinal round, Moné defeated co-finalist Jamie Hayter at Double or Nothing on May 25 to win the tournament and earn a shot against "Timeless" Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship on July 12 at All In. At the event, Moné was defeated by Storm, suffering her first singles loss in AEW. On August 24 at Forbidden Door, Moné successfully defended the TBS Championship in a four-way match against Alex Windsor, Bozilla, and Persephone. At All Out on September 20, Moné defeated Riho to retain the TBS Championship. On October 17, Moné reached 509 days as TBS Champion, breaking Jade Cargill's record for the longest reign with the title. At WrestleDream on October 18, Mina Shirakawa answered an open challenge issued by Moné, putting her Interim ROH Women's World Television Championship on the line in a Winner Takes All match alongside Moné's TBS Championship. Moné was victorious, winning her eleventh concurrent championship and breaking the nearly 30-year record by Último Dragón for most titles held simultaneously. After this, she took to calling herself "Último Moné" as a nod to Dragón. On November 12, Moné competed in the first-ever women's Blood & Guts match at the eponymous event, where her team was victorious. On November 19, Moné defeated lineal champion Red Velvet to become the undisputed ROH Women's World Television Champion. At Full Gear later that week, Moné once again unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW Women's World Championship, getting defeated by Kris Statlander. At the end of 2025, she lost three championships: the ROH Women's World Television Championship at Final Battle against Red Velvet, the Undisputed British Women's Championship against Alex Windsor at Collision: Holiday Bash, and the TBS Championship at Dynamite: New Year's Smash against Willow Nightingale, ending her record-setting TBS Championship reign at 584 days.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2024–present)
Moné made her Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) debut on June 22, 2024, at Fantastica Mania Mexico, where she confronted Stephanie Vaquer ahead of their match at Forbidden Door. On June 18, 2025, at Grand Slam Mexico, Moné defeated Zeuxis to win the CMLL World Women's Championship. Two days later, at Fantastica Mania Mexico, Moné successfully defended the title against La Catalina. On the October 17 episode of Viernes Espectacular, Moné defeated Persephone to retain her title. She would later drop the belt to Persephone at La Noche de las Amazonas on March 6, 2026, ending her reign at 261 days.
Independent circuit (2025–present)
On March 15, 2025, Moné made her debut for House of Glory (HOG) at City of Dreamz, defeating ROW Women's Champion Indi Hartwell in a non-title match. After winning the Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Women's Championship at Wrestle Dynasty in January 2025, she successfully defended it against Kanji at High Stakes and against Safire Reed at Summer Sizzler. On June 6, Moné made a surprise appearance at Pratercatchen, an event produced by the European Wrestling Association (EWA), where she defeated the EWA Women's Champion Lexa Valo to win the title in a three-way match also involving Mila Smidt. On July 27, she made her debut for Polish promotion Prime Time Wrestling (PTW) at a special event called All About The Moné, where she defeated Diana Strong to win both the inaugural PTW Women's Championship and the inaugural BestYa Women's Championship – a title in the Italian promotion BestYa Wrestling. At Global Wars UK on August 22, Moné won Discovery Wrestling's DW Scottish Women's Championship from Emersyn Jayne. In October 2025, Moné captured two titles: the Bodyslam Women's Championship and the WPW Women's Championship. On November 15, at HOG SuperClash, she also won the APAC Women's Championship from Nor 'Phoenix' Diana. After this, Moné would go on a global losing streak up until March 2026, dropping all eight independent titles she'd won in 2025 over the course of four months.
Professional wrestling persona
Varnado developed the persona of "The Boss" Sasha Banks in the mid-2010s, an unshakably confident character who sported shutter‑style sunglasses, ostentatious rings and chains, and a no‑nonsense attitude, all while touting her self‑proclaimed status as NXT's (and later WWE’s) elite performer. Following her departure from WWE and entry into the AEW and NJPW spheres, she evolved her persona into "The CEO" Mercedes Moné, a woman who sees herself as running every division she enters. As Moné, Varnado has focused on incorporating fashion into her character, such as wearing a fur coat reportedly worth $20,000 to the ring during her entrance at AEW Full Gear 2024.
During her matches, Moné often performs the frog splash and "three amigos" triple suplex in tribute to Eddie Guerrero, in addition to often wearing attire patterned after "Latino Heat". In WWE, Sasha Banks' finisher was the "Bank Statement", later called "Statement Maker" in AEW, a Bridging Crossface that often came after a Double knee backbreaker. Following her departure from WWE, Moné began using the "Moné Maker" in NJPW and AEW, a Gory Special swung into a DDT.
Professional wrestling legacy
Many female professional wrestlers have cited Varnado as their inspiration to enter professional wrestling or as their dream opponent; Willow Nightingale and Leila Grey have credited Varnado as why they entered wrestling, while Xia Li has called Varnado her "wrestling idol". In 2025, Bianca Belair credited Varnado as a key mentor and influence early in her WWE career. Several female wrestlers, such as Indi Hartwell, Cora Jade, Billie Starkz, and Britt Baker have specifically cited Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn as the match that drove them to succeed in professional wrestling. Dave Meltzer called Moné the best American women wrestler.
When she signed with AEW, she became the highest-paid female wrestler in history. Over the course of 2025, Moné won and held 13 belts comprising 11 singles championships simultaneously, surpassing a record set 30 years prior by Último Dragón. Writing for VICE, Haley Miller described Moné's championship quest as helping to bring attention to smaller wrestling promotions and their championships while also elevating Moné herself.
Other media
Video games
As Sasha Banks, Varnado made her video game debut in WWE 2K17, and subsequently appeared in WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20, and WWE 2K22. She also appeared in the mobile games WWE SuperCard and WWE Mayhem, as well as the WWE 2K spin-off, WWE 2K Battlegrounds.
Television
Varnado made her acting debut in the second season (2020) of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, where she portrays Koska Reeves, a Mandalorian who serves under Bo-Katan Kryze as a member of the Nite Owls. In her final appearance as Sasha Banks, she was a celebrity contestant on an episode of the USA Network game show Barmageddon, which aired on January 2, 2023. The episode was filmed before her departure from WWE.
Film
On January 13, 2023, it was reported that Varnado, alongside Paul Ben-Victor, had been cast for the 2023 action-thriller film The Collective, playing a character named Nikita.
Music
"Song for Sasha Banks", written and performed by The Mountain Goats, tells the story of Varnado's childhood, watching Chris Jericho on SmackDown, and then becoming a professional wrestler in her own right. It was released as a single digital track on June 18, 2018.
Others
Varnado, as Sasha Banks, served as honorary starter for the 2021 Daytona 500. In September 2022, Varnado made her modeling debut at New York Fashion Week alongside Naomi. On July 9, 2025, Crunchyroll announced a limited-edition merchandise collaboration with Varnado under her Mercedes Moné persona, featuring anime-inspired designs. On September 11, 2025, Varnado returned to New York Fashion Week to walk the runway for Jeffrey Kelly Design.
Filmography
Personal life
Through her father, Varnado is a first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg, who helped develop her in-ring persona. She is a fan of anime, citing Sailor Moon as one of her favorite series, and is also a fan of K-pop, citing BigBang as one of her favorite groups.
Varnado has publicly discussed facing mental health struggles throughout her career. In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated, she stated that after her first match, "I came back and I just started crying and bawling, just because I thought I did terrible. I cried after every single match when I was in the independents for my first two years. 'Cause I'm like, I suck. I wanna be the best. It wasn't this and that, but it's crazy how much of a competitor I am with myself. We're our own worst critics." She also described entering a "spiral of depression" due to personal guilt and backlash from fans after she accidentally seriously injured Saraya Bevis at a WWE show in late 2017. Varnado has also come out in support of other professional wrestlers who have publicized their mental health issues.
Varnado has cited Eddie Guerrero as her favorite wrestler and inspiration. She attended Guerrero's memorial episode of Raw on November 14, 2005, in Minneapolis; she was unaware that Guerrero had died before she arrived at the arena.
On August 4, 2016, Varnado married retired professional wrestler and WWE costume designer Sarath Ton, also known by his ring name Mikaze; the two met while they were both wrestling on the independent circuit. Varnado and Ton amicably separated in late 2020, but kept the separation secret as she was concerned that she would face adverse booking from WWE's writers, including then-owner Vince McMahon; they filed for divorce in July 2024, and finalized on August 2. In June 2025, Varnado announced that she was dating wrestler The Beast Mortos.
Championships and accomplishments
All Elite Wrestling
AEW Women's World Championship (1 time, current)
AEW TBS Championship (1 time)
Women's Owen Hart Cup (2025, 2026)
APAC Wrestling
APAC Women's Championship (1 time)
BestYa Wrestling
BestYa Women's Championship (1 time, inaugural)
Bodyslam Wrestling
Bodyslam Women's Championship (1 time)
CBS Sports
Tag Team of the Year (2020) – with Bayley
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship (1 time)
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
CMLL World Women's Championship (1 time)
Discovery Wrestling
DW Scottish Women's Championship (1 time)
ESPY Awards
Best WWE Moment (2021) – Banks and Bianca Belair make history as the first Black women to main-event WrestleMania
European Wrestling Association
