After her massive debut last night at Wrestle Kingdom, Sasha Banks is the Wrestling Republic Wrestler of the Day on January 4th.
Sasha Banks Biography:
Birth Name: Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado
Age: 30 (January 26th, 1992)
Height: 5’5
Debut: 2010
Place of Birth: Fairfield, California
Accolades: 1x NXT Women’s Champion, 5x WWE Raw Women’s Champion, 1x WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, 3x WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, #2 on PWI Women’s Top 50 in 2016, #3 on PWI’s Top 50 Tag Teams
On May 16th, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE, not appearing in wrestling for months. Last night, Banks made her first appearance at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom, confronting IWGP Women’s Champion, Kairi. In honor of her return to wrestling, Banks is today’s Wrestler of the Day.
Growing up primarily in Boston, Sasha Banks has been a lifelong wrestling fan. In fact, she was in the audience for Eddie Guerrero’s memorial on Raw in Minneapolis. Banks got her start in the business on the independent scene in the Boston area.
She signed with the WWE in 2012 and was assigned to NXT, where she became a champion. Banks was part of the revolution in the women’s division along with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. Banks quickly became one of the biggest stars in the women’s division, winning six world titles. History was made, when Banks and Bianca Belair became the first black women to main event Wrestlemania.
It wasn’t all good times, however, as she eventually became disillusioned with the creative direction of the tag team titles she had won with Naomi. For months the wrestler formerly known as Sasha Banks was nowhere near a wrestling ring, until recently. Then, in the worst-kept secret since Cody Rhodes, Banks signed with NJPW. Now under the name Mercedes Moné (pronounced money). She will challenge Kairi for the IWGP Women’s Championship at Battle in the Valley.
Photo Credit: NJPW