Mercedes Moné facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mercedes Moné
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Moné in 2024
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| Born |
Mercedes Justine Kaestner Varnado
January 26, 1992 Fairfield, California, U.S.
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| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) |
Sarath Ton
(m. 2016; div. 2024) |
| Relatives | Snoop Dogg (cousin) Brandy Norwood (cousin) Ray J (cousin) Daz Dillinger (cousin) |
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Professional wrestling career
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| Billed height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Billed from | Boston, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Trained by |
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| Debut | August 8, 2010 |
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is known by her ring name Mercedes Moné (/moʊˈneɪ/ MOH-nay). She currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). There, she is the AEW TBS Champion. She also wrestles in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom. She is the current Strong Women's Champion and Undisputed British Women's Champion.
Before this, she was very famous in WWE from 2012 to 2022. She was known as Sasha Banks there. Mercedes Moné is the first and only female wrestler to win championships in WWE, AEW, and NJPW.
She started her wrestling journey in 2010. She wrestled for smaller groups like Chaotic Wrestling. She won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. In 2012, she joined WWE and went to their training brand, NXT. She later won the NXT Women's Championship. Her match against Bayley in 2015 was a big moment. It was the first women's match to be the main event at an NXT TakeOver show. It was also the first iron woman match in WWE history. This match lasted 30 minutes, which was the longest women's match at that time. Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) called it the "Match of the Year." They also named her "Woman of the Year."
In 2015, she moved to WWE's main shows. She won the WWE Raw Women's Championship five times. In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair made history. They were the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view event. They were also the first to compete in a Hell in a Cell match. PWI gave them the "Feud of the Year" award. In 2019, she won the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with her partner, Bayley. In 2020, she won the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. This made her a WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion and WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion. Sports Illustrated named her "Wrestler of the Year" that year. At WrestleMania 37, she and Bianca Belair were the first two Black women to main event WrestleMania. She left WWE in 2022 after some disagreements.
She joined NJPW/Stardom in January 2023 as Mercedes Moné. She won the IWGP Women's Championship once. After her contract ended, she signed with AEW. She debuted in March 2024 on Dynamite. She won the AEW TBS Championship in her first AEW match in May 2024.
Outside of wrestling, she is an actress. She plays Koska Reeves in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Wrestling
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado was born on January 26, 1992, in Fairfield, California. Her mom is German, and her dad was African American. Her family moved a lot to find good schools and hospitals for her brother. They finally settled in Boston. This is where she started her wrestling career.
She loved wrestling from a young age. She watched a lot of Japanese women's wrestling. She also went to school online.
Training and First Matches
Mercedes started training in 2008 at Chaotic Wrestling. This was in Woburn, Massachusetts. One of her trainers was Todd Smith. She has said her training was very tough.
She had her first official match on August 8, 2010. She used the name "Mercedes KV." It was a tag-team match in front of about 70 people. For the next two years, she wrestled for different independent groups. She was very critical of her own performances. She always wanted to be her best.
In December 2011, she won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She held the title for 378 days. She gave it up in December 2012 when she signed with WWE.
Her Time in WWE (2012–2022)
Becoming Sasha Banks and "The Boss"
In June 2012, she tried out for WWE and signed a contract. She was sent to NXT, which is WWE's training ground. There, she became Sasha Banks. Her first TV match was in December 2012.
She later joined a group called The Beautiful, Fierce Females (BFFs). This group included Summer Rae and Charlotte. She started using a new character called "The Boss." She was a "heel," meaning she played a bad guy.
Winning the NXT Women's Championship
Sasha Banks became a champion at NXT TakeOver: Rival in February 2015. She won the NXT Women's Championship in a four-way match. She held the title for 192 days. She defended it against wrestlers like Charlotte and Becky Lynch.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015, she lost the NXT Women's Championship to Bayley. This match was highly praised. It won "Match of the Year" at the NXT Year-End Awards. Her last match in NXT was against Bayley. It was the first 30-minute iron woman match in WWE history.
Joining the Main Roster and Team B.A.D.
Sasha Banks joined WWE's main roster in July 2015. She was part of a "revolution" for women's wrestling. She teamed up with Naomi and Tamina. They called themselves Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous). She started winning many matches.
In January 2016, she returned at the Royal Rumble. She showed she wanted to win the Divas Championship. She then left Team B.A.D. and became a "fan favorite." She teamed with Becky Lynch. They faced Charlotte for the Divas Championship at WrestleMania 32. The Divas Championship was replaced by the new WWE Women's Championship at this event. Sasha did not win the new title.
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Multiple Raw Women's Championship Reigns
In July 2016, Sasha Banks was drafted to the Raw brand. She defeated Charlotte to win the WWE Women's Championship for the first time. She held it for 27 days before losing it back to Charlotte. The title was then renamed the Raw Women's Championship.
She won the Raw Women's Championship two more times from Charlotte in 2016. Their match at Hell in a Cell was historic. It was the first women's Hell in a Cell match. It was also the first time women main evented a WWE pay-per-view. She lost the title to Charlotte again. She won it a third time in November 2016. Their rivalry ended after a 30-minute iron man match.
At WrestleMania 33, she competed for the Raw Women's Championship. She later won the Raw Women's Championship from Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam. She lost it back to Bliss eight days later.
The Boss 'n' Hug Connection
In 2018, Sasha Banks was the first person to enter the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match. She also competed in the first women's Elimination Chamber match. After some disagreements, she and Bayley became friends again. They formed a tag team called "The Boss 'n' Hug Connection."
In February 2019, they made history. They won the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at Elimination Chamber. They held the titles for 49 days. They lost them at WrestleMania 35 to The IIconics.
SmackDown Women's Champion
After a break, Sasha Banks returned in August 2019. She became a "heel" again and teamed up with Bayley. They challenged Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship. Their feud led to another Hell in a Cell match.
In June 2020, Sasha and Bayley won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship again. They became the first female tag team to hold both singles and tag team titles at the same time. They lost the Raw Women's Championship to Asuka at SummerSlam. They also lost the tag team titles.
On September 4, 2020, Bayley attacked Sasha Banks. This turned Sasha into a "face" (a good guy). Their feud ended in a Hell in a Cell match. Sasha won the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time. This made her the third WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion and fourth WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion. She successfully defended the title against Bayley and Carmella.
At WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, Sasha Banks faced Bianca Belair. Their match was the main event of Night 1. This was a huge moment, as they were the first two African-American women to main event WrestleMania. Sasha lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Belair.
Tag Team with Naomi and Departure
In January 2022, Sasha Banks got injured. She returned later that month for the Royal Rumble match. In February, she teamed up with Naomi. At WrestleMania 38, they won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. This was Sasha's third time winning the tag titles.
In May 2022, Sasha Banks and Naomi reportedly left WWE due to creative disagreements. They gave up their tag team titles. In December 2022, it was reported that Sasha Banks had left WWE.
Mercedes Moné in Japan and AEW
New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stardom
On January 4, 2023, Mercedes Varnado debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). She used the name Mercedes Moné. She attacked the IWGP Women's Champion Kairi. She announced she had joined NJPW and World Wonder Ring Stardom.
In February 2023, Moné defeated Kairi to win the IWGP Women's Championship. She defended it successfully against AZM and Hazuki. She lost the title to Mayu Iwatani in April 2023. She later competed for the Strong Women's Championship. She won the title from Stephanie Vaquer at Forbidden Door in June 2024. She also won the Undisputed British Women's Championship in January 2025.
All Elite Wrestling
In August 2023, Moné was seen in the audience at an All Elite Wrestling (AEW) event. In February 2024, it was reported she signed with AEW. She officially debuted on March 13, 2024, on Dynamite. She saved Willow Nightingale from an attack.
On May 26, 2024, Moné had her first AEW match. She defeated Willow Nightingale to win the AEW TBS Championship. She later defeated Britt Baker to keep the TBS Championship. She also defended her title against Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander.
Other Work
Video Games and TV Shows
As Sasha Banks, she appeared in many WWE video games. These include WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K22. She was also in mobile games like WWE SuperCard.
Mercedes Varnado made her acting debut in 2020. She played Koska Reeves in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. She was also a contestant on the game show Barmageddon.
Film and Music
In 2023, she was cast in the action-thriller film The Collective. She played a character named Nikita.
A band called The Mountain Goats wrote a song about her. It's called "Song for Sasha Banks." It tells her story from childhood to becoming a wrestler.
Other Appearances
As Sasha Banks, she was an honorary starter for the 2021 Daytona 500 race. In September 2022, she made her modeling debut. She walked the runway at New York Fashion Week with Naomi.
Personal Life
Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado is a cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg. He helped her create her wrestling character. She loves K-pop music and the Japanese anime Sailor Moon.
She has talked about facing challenges in her career. She said she was very hard on herself. She always wanted to be the best.
She has said that Eddie Guerrero was her favorite wrestler. She was at his memorial show in 2005.
In August 2016, she married Sarath Ton. He was a retired wrestler and WWE costume designer. They separated in late 2020 and officially divorced in August 2024.
Championships and Achievements
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- All Elite Wrestling
- AEW TBS Championship (1 time, current)
- Chaotic Wrestling
- Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship (1 time)
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- IWGP Women's Championship (1 time)
- Strong Women's Championship (1 time, current)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Match of the Year (2015) – vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect
- Woman of the Year (2015)
- Feud of the Year (2016) – vs. Charlotte Flair
- Feud of the Year (2020) – vs. Bayley
- Tag Team of the Year (2020) – with Bayley
- Ranked No. 2 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2016
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- Undisputed British Women's Championship (1 time, current)
- Sports Illustrated
- Wrestler of the Year (2020)
- WWE
- WWE Raw Women's Championship (5 times)
- WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (1 time)
- NXT Women's Championship (1 time)
- WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (3 times, inaugural) – with Bayley (2), and Naomi (1)
- Fourth WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion
- Third WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion
- NXT Year-End Award (1 time)
- Match of the Year (2015) – vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
- Slammy Award (2 times)
- Female Superstar of the Year (2020)
- Double-Cross of the Year (2020) – Bayley attacks Sasha Banks on SmackDown (September 4)
- Bumpy Award (2 times)
- Tag Team of the Half-Year (2020) – with Bayley
- Best Match of the Half-Year (2021) – vs. Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 37
Images for kids
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Sasha Banks in 2018
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Sasha Banks with her cousin Snoop Dogg at WrestleMania 32
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See also
In Spanish: Mercedes Moné para niños
