Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress.
She currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) using the ring name Mercedes Moné. She is also known for her time in the WWE from 2012 to 2022. In the WWE, she performed under the ring name Sasha Banks. After leaving the WWE, she wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2023 to 2024.
Mercedes Mone | |
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Born | Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado January 26, 1992 Fairfield, California, U.S. |
Occupations |
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Spouse | Sarath Ton (m. 2016) |
Relatives | Snoop Dogg (cousin) Brandy Norwood (cousin) Ray J (cousin) Daz Dillinger (cousin) |
Ring name(s) |
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Billed height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
Billed from | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Trained by |
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Debut | August 8, 2010 |
Varnado started her wrestling career in 2010 on the independent circuit. She has won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She signed with the WWE in 2012, wrestling under the ring name Sasha Banks in NXT. She is a former NXT Women's Champion. Her match against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect in October 2015 was the first women's match to be the last match of an NXT TakeOver event. It was also the first iron woman match in WWE history and the longest women's match in WWE history at the time. The match lasted 30 minutes. Their match was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) as Match of the Year. Varnado was voted as Woman of the Year.
In 2015, Varnado stared wrestling on 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 main event a WWE pay-per-view even and the first women to wrestle in a Hell in a Cell match. It was also the first time that the PWI award for Feud of the Year was won by women. In 2019, she won the first WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with her tag team partner, Bayley. In 2020, she won the SmackDown Women's Championship at Hell In a Cell. This made her the third-ever WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion. That year, she was named Wrestler of the Year by Sports Illustrated. At WrestleMania 37, Varnado and Bianca Belair became the first black women to main event WrestleMania. She was the third most tweeted about female athlete in 2021.
In May of 2022, Varnado left the WWE. She then made her debut for NJPW/Stardom at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023 under the ring name Mercedes Moné, attacking the IWGP Womens Champion Kairi. She went on and won the title against Kairi at Battle in the Valley. On April 23rd she had a match against Mayu Iwatani at "Stardom All Star Grand Queendom", Mayu defeated Moné for the title. Moné went on and tried to capture the new NJPW Strong Women's Title. Even though she was set to win the match, she injured her ankle, making her unable to win.
On March 10, 2024, Varnado made her debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) at Big Business. The special episode of Dynamite took place in her hometown of Boston.
Outside of wrestling, Varnado began an acting career in 2020. Her first role was the character Koska Reeves in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Television | |||
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Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2015 | WWE 24 | Herself | Episode 4: Documentary about the experiences of various performers at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn |
2015 | Unfiltered | Herself | Episode 18: Interview show with Renee Young |
2016 | WWE 24 | Herself | Episode 9: Documentary about the experiences of various performers at WrestleMania 32 |
2017 | Smashing Glass Ceilings | Herself | Episode 1 |
2019 | WWE Chronicle | Herself | Episode 12: Documentary about Sasha Banks and her return to WWE following a four-month hiatus |
2020 | WWE Untold | Herself | Episode 14: Sasha Banks and Bayley tell behind-the-scenes stories about their classic match from NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn |
2020–present | The Mandalorian | Koska Reeves | Credited as Mercedes Varnado 5 episodes |
2021 | Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions | Herself | Episode 13: Interview show with Stone Cold Steve Austin |
2022 | WWE Evil | Herself | Episode 3: Exploring the intricacies and impact of Sasha Banks' heel persona in WWE |
2023 | Barmageddon | Herself | Episode 5: Brie Bella vs. Sasha Banks |
Film | |||
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Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2023 | The Collective | Nikita | Film debut |
Through her father, Varnado is a first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg, who helped make 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 Japanese anime Sailor Moon. Varnado calls Eddie Guerrero her favorite wrestler and inspiration. She was in attendance at Guerrero's memorial episode of Raw on November 14, 2005, in Minneapolis, and she also said she did not know Guerrero had died before she arrived at the arena.
On August 4, 2016, Varnado married retired professional wrestler Sarath Ton. The two met while they were both wrestling on the independent circuit. Ton, who is known by his ring name Mikaze, works as a costume designer for WWE.
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
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2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Female Athlete | — | Nominated | |
2022 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Female Sports Star | — | Nominated |
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