Mercedes Mone

About Mercedes Mone

Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado is an American performer, active in both professional wrestling and acting. She currently competes under the moniker Mercedes Moné for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Her most significant tenure in wrestling was with WWE from 2012 to 2022, where she was known as Sasha Banks.

Kaestner-Varnado embarked on her wrestling journey in 2010 on the independent scene, making notable contributions to Chaotic Wrestling, a promotion where she secured the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. Her signing with WWE in 2012 led to her assignment to the developmental brand NXT. There, she achieved success by winning the NXT Women's Championship. A landmark moment in her career occurred in October 2015 at NXT TakeOver: Respect, where her match against Bayley became the first women's bout to headline an NXT TakeOver event. It also set a precedent as the first iron woman match in WWE history and, at the time, the longest women's match in the company's history, spanning 30 minutes. This bout earned critical acclaim, being voted Match of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI), with Kaestner-Varnado also receiving the Woman of the Year award from PWI.

In 2015, Kaestner-Varnado was elevated to WWE's main roster. During her time on the main roster, she captured the Raw Women's Championship on five occasions. In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair made history as the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view event, the first to compete in a Hell in a Cell match, and the first to be recognized with the PWI award for Feud of the Year. In 2019, alongside her tag team partner Bayley, she won the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Her championship success continued in 2020 when she claimed the SmackDown Women's Championship at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, thus completing the Women's Grand Slam and Triple Crown accomplishments. Sports Illustrated recognized her achievements by naming her Wrestler of the Year for 2020. At WrestleMania 37, she and her opponent, Bianca Belair, became the first two Black women to headline the grandest stage of them all. Following creative disagreements in 2022, Kaestner-Varnado departed WWE, and a new contract could not be reached. She made her international wrestling debut in January 2023 at Wrestle Kingdom 17 for NJPW/Stardom, appearing as Mercedes Moné.

Beyond wrestling, Kaestner-Varnado has taken on acting roles, portraying Koska Reeves in the second and third seasons of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Her