Mercedes Moné, an American wrestler and actress, joined All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in March 2024. She gained recognition for her performances in WWE from 2012 to 2022 under the name Sasha Banks. She also appeared as Moné in 2023 for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and its affiliate, World Wonder Ring Stardom.
Mercedes Mone’s WWE Career
In 2008, Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado, also known as Mercedes Mone, began her professional wrestling training at Chaotic Wrestling (CW).
Two years later, she made her first appearance in the ring as Mercedes KV. During this time, she held the title of Chaotic Wrestling Women’s Champion for 259 days before leaving the organization upon signing with WWE.
In 2012, Varnado took part in the WWE Tryout and was later offered a contract. She adopted the name Sasha Banks and made her first appearance on WWE’s NXT brand. Her debut match was against Paige, which she unfortunately lost.
In 2013, Banks switched to a villainous role by launching a surprise assault on NXT Women’s Champion Paige, who had defeated her for the championship.
Shortly after this change, she embraced the persona of “The Boss” and joined forces with Summer Rae to create a group called “The Beautiful Fierce Females (BFFs).” However, their alliance came to an end the next year.
Sasha Banks achieved the title of NXT Women’s Champion in 2015 after defeating Charlotte Flair. She maintained this title for a total of 192 days before ultimately losing it to Bayley.
Despite her attempts to reclaim the championship, she was unsuccessful and was then summoned to make her debut on the main roster.
The year she made her Raw debut, Banks joined the Women’s Revolution and teamed up with Naomi and Tamina to form a group called Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous). When she parted ways with Team B.A.D., Banks gained popularity with fans and became a good guy, or “face.”
Banks achieved success in the company, becoming a five-time Raw Women’s Champion, one-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, and three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.
She earned the titles of third Grand Slam Champion and fourth Triple Crown Champion. In 2022, a dispute led Banks and Naomi to leave the company, ending Banks’ ten-year run.
Mercedes Mone Joins AEW
Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Varnado, joined NJPW in January 2023 and debuted at Wrestle Kingdom 17. During the event, she went by her new ring name and surprised everyone by confronting and attacking Kairi Sane, the IWGP Women’s Champion.
Mone’s success continued at Battle in the Valley, where she claimed the IWGP Women’s Championship. Unfortunately, her reign only lasted 64 days as she lost the title to Iwatani. Recently, Mone has signed with All Elite Wrestling, which is led by Tony Khan.
Although Mercedes Mone is new to AEW, it’s impossible to overlook her accomplishments in WWE. As previously stated, Mone played a vital role in the women’s revolution, which is why many wrestling enthusiasts are hoping for her comeback to the Stamford-based company in the future.
During a recent episode of The Kick Rocks Podcast, Mercedes Mone became emotional while discussing the same topic. She expressed gratitude towards WWE for the opportunities that were provided to her in her career.
Additionally, the 32-year-old mentioned her desire to return to WWE in the future, stating that she still has many goals to achieve in the world of wrestling.
“All I can say is that I handled it like a CEO, like The Boss that I am, with my head held up high, and I can’t say nothing but amazing things about WWE. I am so thankful for the career that they gave me, the fans that they gave me, the life that they gave me, the dreams that they gave me.
So many dreams, and I got to chase and live them all. Like you could do so much more. I know I am gonna be back there one day, okay? So, it is not over. Like I said, I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling.”
Since making her debut for AEW, it will require some time for Mercedes Mone to make a comeback to the Stamford-based promotion. In the meantime, it will be intriguing to witness her accomplishments in her new setting.
