In June 2012, Kaestner-Varnado participated in a
WWE tryout camp and on August 18, it was announced that she had been signed to a contract.[22] She was assigned to
NXT, WWE's
developmental territory, where she adopted the ring name Sasha Banks, and made her televised debut on NXT on December 12, losing to
Paige.[23][24] Banks then entered a
storyline where she received letters from a secret admirer, who was eventually revealed to be
Audrey Marie, who returned and attacked Banks on the February 20 episode of NXT, due to Marie's jealousy of Banks' success.[25][26] Marie went on to defeat Banks in a match later that episode.[27] Banks' feud with Marie came to an end on the April 3 episode of NXT, when Banks teamed with Paige to defeat Marie and
Summer Rae.[28][29] On the June 19 episode of NXT, Banks competed in the
NXT Women's Championshiptournament to determine the inaugural champion, but lost to Rae in the first round.[30]
After weeks of influence by Summer Rae to make herself relevant, Banks was defeated by the NXT Women's Champion Paige on the September 11 episode of NXT, after which she attacked Paige after the latter attempted to console her, Banks turned heel.[31] Two weeks later on NXT, Banks defeated
Bayley, while accompanied by Rae.[32] After the match, Banks cut a
promo with Rae and debuted a new
gimmick as "The Boss".[33] Banks and Rae, who dubbed themselves The Beautiful, Fierce Females (BFFs), faced Paige and
Emma on the October 16 episode of NXT, where they emerged victorious.[34] On the November 13 episode of NXT, the BFFs defeated Bayley and
Charlotte in a tag team match, when Charlotte attacked Bayley and aligned herself with Banks and Rae.[35] In mid-January 2014, as Rae moved up to WWE's main roster, Banks and Charlotte began a rivalry with Bayley, who had aligned herself with
Natalya, and lost in both singles and tag team matches.[36][37][38] On April 6, Banks made an appearance at
WrestleMania XXX as a part of
Triple H's entrance.[39] In May, Banks entered a
tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship, defeating Bayley in the first round, but losing to Natalya in the semi-finals.[40][41] On the July 3 episode of NXT, Banks and Charlotte defeated Bayley and
Becky Lynch, only for Charlotte to leave Banks after the match to get attacked by Bayley, with Banks officially disbanding the BFFs in a backstage segment later that night.[42]
NXT Women's Champion (2014–2015)
On the August 14 episode of NXT, Banks lost to Bayley in a match to determine the number one contender to the NXT Women's Championship.[43] At
NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on September 11, Banks attacked Bayley after her title match with Charlotte, before Charlotte stopped her.[44] Becky Lynch turned on Bayley and aligned herself with Banks on the October 23 episode of NXT after Banks defeated Bayley in a singles match.[45] Banks promptly began feuding with NXT Women's Champion Charlotte, leading to a match between the two at
NXT TakeOver: R Evolution on December 11 with Charlotte's championship on the line, which Banks lost.[46] Banks received a rematch on the December 25 episode of NXT, where she was once again unsuccessful.[47] Banks first appeared on WWE's main roster on the December 30, 2014, episode of Main Event, where she lost to Charlotte in a non-title match.[48] On January 21, 2015, Banks received another title match against Charlotte, which she lost after Becky Lynch attacked Charlotte, causing a
disqualification, which led to dissension between Banks and Lynch.[49]
On February 11, 2015, at
NXT TakeOver: Rival, Banks won the NXT Women's Championship by
pinning Charlotte in a fatal four-way match that also involved Lynch and Bayley.[50] Banks successfully retained the championship against Charlotte twice,[51][52]Alexa Bliss,[53] and Becky Lynch.[54]
Banks made her official debut on the July 13, 2015, episode of Raw along with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, after
Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the
WWE Divas division. While Lynch and Charlotte allied with
Paige, who was
feuding with
Team Bella (
Alicia Fox,
BrieandNikki Bella), Banks allied with
Naomi and
Tamina, who later dubbed themselves as
Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous), leading to a brawl between the three teams.[58] In her
WWE pay-per-view debut on July 19 at
Battleground, Banks competed in a
triple threat match against Charlotte and
Brie Bella, which Charlotte won.[59] Banks went on to defeat Paige twice, first by
submission on the July 20 episode of Raw, in a
tag team match where Banks teamed with Naomi for the first time,[60] and again on the July 27 episode of Raw in a singles match.[61] After defeating the
Divas ChampionNikki Bella by submission in a non-title match on the August 17 episode of Raw,[62] Banks participated in the first-ever Divas number one contender's
Beat the Clock challenge match, in which she fought Paige to a
time limit draw and Charlotte was named the number one contender.[63] Following this, Banks rekindled her rivalry with Paige and defeated her twice on the September 7 and 14 episodes of Raw.[64][65] Although she lost in a fatal four-way number one contender's match for Charlotte's Divas Championship in November,[66] Banks was not pinned and began a winning streak, defeating the likes of Brie Bella,[67] Alicia Fox,[68] and Becky Lynch on various shows.[69][70][71]
After a month off television,[72] Banks returned at the
Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 24, 2016, attacking Charlotte and Becky Lynch after their championship match, showing her intentions to gain the Divas Championship.[73] Prior to a match with Lynch on the February 1 episode of Raw, Banks claimed that she was "on her own", signaling that she had moved on from Team B.A.D., only to be attacked by Naomi and Tamina during the match, turning Banks into a
fan favorite in the process.[74] The feud between Banks and Naomi and Tamina continued throughout February,[75][76][77][78] and led to a tag team match at
Fastlane on February 21, where Banks
allied with Lynch to defeat the two.[79] Banks and Lynch went on to compete in two matches to determine the number one contender for Charlotte's Divas Championship at
WrestleMania 32,[80] with the first bout ending in a
draw after a double pin occurred as both of their shoulders were down for the count,[81] and the second in a
no contest after both Banks and Lynch were attacked by Charlotte.[82] As a result, a triple threat match between Banks, Lynch and Charlotte for the Divas Championship was announced for WrestleMania.[83][84] At the event on April 3, the Divas Championship was
retired and replaced with the new
WWE Women's Championship,[85] with all three women competing for it in the triple threat match; Banks was unsuccessful in capturing the new title at her
WrestleMania in-ring debut.[86][87]
Raw Women's Champion (2016–2017)
After a hiatus, Banks returned to WWE television in early June,[88] and later reignited her feud with Charlotte over the WWE Women's Championship after an attack along with Paige on the June 20 episode of Raw.[89][90] This led to a tag team match the following week, on the June 27 episode of Raw, where Banks and Paige scored the victory.[91] Following multiple attacks and matches between Banks and
Dana Brooke,[92][93][94] Banks and her mystery partner
Bayley defeated Brooke and Charlotte in a tag team match on July 24 at
Battleground.[95]
After being drafted to the
Raw brand as part of the
2016 WWE draft on July 19, 2016,[96][97] Banks made her first appearance for the brand on July 25, where she defeated
Charlotte to win the
WWE Women's Championship for the first time.[98] On August 21 at
SummerSlam, Banks
dropped the championship back to Charlotte, ending her reign at 27 days. Around that time, the title was renamed the Raw Women's Championship following the creation of the
SmackDown Women's Championship.[99] On September 25, Charlotte successfully retained the championship against Banks and
Bayley in a
triple threat match at
Clash of Champions.[100] Banks was granted a one-on-one rematch on the October 3 episode of Raw,[101] where she defeated Charlotte in the main event to capture her second Raw Women's Championship.[102] Banks challenged Charlotte to compete for the championship in the first ever women's
Hell in a Cell match at the titular
Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on October 30,[103][104] which was then announced as the main event, making it the first time women had received the last match of a
pay-per-viewcard in WWE.[105] At the event, Charlotte defeated Banks, again ending her reign at 27 days.[106] A few weeks later, on November 20, Banks was part of Raw's women's team for
Survivor Series, during which she was eliminated by
Natalya, but Team Raw was ultimately victorious.[107] On the November 28 episode of Raw, after invoking her rematch clause a week prior,[108] Banks defeated Charlotte in a
falls count anywhere match to win the Raw Women's Championship for the record-tying third time.[109] A 30-minute
iron man match between the two took place at
Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18,[110] which resulted in a 2–2 draw, but Banks lost to Flair 3–2 in
sudden death overtime. With the loss, the feud between the two ended, since it was stipulated that Banks could not invoke her rematch clause if she lost.[111][112] On the February 13 episode of Raw, Banks helped Bayley defeat Flair to win the Raw Women's Championship.[113] At
WrestleMania 33, Banks participated in a
fatal four-way elimination match for the title, where Bayley retained the championship.[114]
Months later, Banks faced
Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship. Bliss retained the title at
Great Balls of Fire,[115] but Banks won it at
SummerSlam.[116] Eight days later, Banks dropped the title back to Bliss on Raw.[117] At
No Mercy on September 24, Banks received her rematch for the title as she took part in a
fatal five-way match which was won by Bliss.[118]
On the March 26 episode of Raw, after weeks of animosity between the two, including Bayley betraying Banks during their matches,[123][124] they brawled backstage and had to be separated.[125][126] Banks and Bayley faced off in mid-April but their match ended in a
no-contest after
The Riott Squad (
Ruby Riott,
Sarah Logan, and
Liv Morgan) interfered and attacked them both.[127] In the following weeks, Banks competed in different singles[128] and tag team matches in both winning and losing efforts.[129][130] In June, after she defeated Ruby Riott in the finals of a gauntlet match for the last spot,[131][132] Banks competed in a
Money in the Bank ladder match for the first time in her career, that was ultimately won by Alexa Bliss.[133] Throughout mid-2018, after Banks and Bayley continued to attack each other,[134][135] they were told to attend counsellor meetings to help maintain their friendship.[136][137][138] In July, the two reconciled and created a
tag team, known as "The Boss 'n' Hug Connection".[139][140][141]
After a short hiatus from the ring due to an undisclosed injury, Banks returned to WWE television in October,[142][143] and took part in the first-ever all women's pay-per-view
Evolution, where she teamed with Bayley and
Natalya in a winning effort against The Riott Squad.[144][145] In November, Banks again competed at
Survivor Series as part of Team Raw, where she was the last woman from the team that was eliminated by
Asuka after an attack by teammate
Nia Jax.[146][147] On January 27, 2019, at the
Royal Rumble, after she defeated Nia Jax to earn herself a title match,[148][149][150] Banks unsuccessfully challenged
Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship.[151] During the match with Rousey, Banks suffered a separated shoulder.[152]
Hiatus and renewed alliance with Bayley (2019–2020)
The following day, Banks cancelled an appearance on the morning talk show Wendy at the last minute.[156] Throughout the week, speculation from
dirt sheets emerged that she was looking to quit the company due to her longstanding frustrations with WWE. Banks held the impression that she and
Bayley were going to have a long title reign to bring credibility to the
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, with the two allegedly not being informed until the last minute that they would be
dropping the titles at
WrestleMania.[157][158] Her talk show cancellation was reported to be due to a personal matter.[156] As she'd been dealing with
depression, she asked
Vince McMahon for her release. While McMahon denied her request, he granted Banks time off to reconsider her career.[159]
After a four-month hiatus, Banks returned[160] and was paired with Bayley, both as
heels.[161][162] Upon her return, Banks reignited her feud with Raw Women's Champion
Becky Lynch, leading to a Raw Women's Championship match at
Clash of Champions.[161] At the event, Banks took a win via disqualification, however, Lynch retained.[163] Their feud eventually led to the second ever women's
Hell in a Cell match at the
titular event,[164] in which Banks was unsuccessful in winning the title.[165] After she was drafted to the
SmackDown brand as part of the
2019 draft,[166] she then went on another brief hiatus from TV due to injuring her tailbone.[167] When she returned, she was named captain of the SmackDown women's team, leading into
Survivor Series.[168] At the pay-per-view, Banks was the last woman standing for the SmackDown brand in the Women's Survivor Series match, but was pinned by
Rhea Ripley from Team
NXT, who won the match.[169][170] At
WrestleMania 36, she participated in a
fatal five-way elimination match for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship, where the champion retained.[171]
SmackDown Women's Champion (2020–2021)
After WrestleMania 36, Banks and Bayley would begin teasing a potential
feud between the two, with the emphasis being put on the narrative that Banks is the reason for Bayley's success and that Bayley is responsible for most of Banks' losing efforts.[172][173][174] Despite their brewing dispute, Banks and Bayley reclaimed the
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the June 5 episode of SmackDown by defeating
Alexa Bliss and
Nikki Cross.[175][176] During the reign, Banks and Bayley began feuding with Raw Women's Champion
Asuka, leading to a Raw Women's Championship match between Banks and Asuka at
The Horror Show at Extreme Rules,[177] which ended in a controversial finish.[178] A rematch took place eight days later on Raw,[179] where Banks defeated Asuka to win the Raw Women's Championship for a record-setting fifth time.[180] With the win, Banks and Bayley became the first female tag team—and the fifth overall—in history to hold singles and tag team titles simultaneously.[181] Throughout August, Asuka and Banks continued their feud,[182][183][184][185] which culminated in a title match at
SummerSlam on August 23, where Banks
dropped the Raw Women's Championship back to Asuka.[186][187] A week later at
Payback, Banks and Bayley dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship to
Nia Jax and
Shayna Baszler.[188]
On the September 4 episode of SmackDown, after losing a rematch to Jax and Baszler, Bayley
turned on Banks by brutally attacking her in the ring, thereby turning the latter
face in the process and disbanding their team.[189] The feud between the two eventually culminated in a
Hell in a Cell match at the
eponymous pay-per-view,[190][191][192] where Banks submitted Bayley to win the
SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time in her career. With the win, Banks became the third
Women's Grand Slam and fourth
Triple Crown Champion.[193] On the November 6 episode of SmackDown, Banks defeated Bayley in a SmackDown Women's Championship rematch to retain the title,[194] thus ending her drought of unsuccessful defenses with a main roster singles title.[195] At the
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event on December 20, Banks defeated Carmella by submission to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship.[196]
At the
Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 31, Banks defeated Carmella in a rematch from
TLC to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship.[197] Later on in the night,
Bianca Belair would go on to win the
women's Royal Rumble match, thereby granting her an opportunity to challenge for a
women's championship of her choice at
WrestleMania 37.[198] In the weeks to follow, Banks and Belair would proceed to build up to the reveal of Belair's opponent of choice on SmackDown,[199][200][201] up until the February 26 episode of the aforementioned show, when Belair officially chose to face Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the event.[202] Over the following month, the two would team up to challenge
Nia Jax and
Shayna Baszler for the
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at the
Elimination Chamber and
Fastlane pay-per-view events, but were unsuccessful.[203][204][205] On April 9, WWE announced that the bout between Banks and Belair would main event Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, thus marking the first time in the company's history that two
African-American women will have faced each other in a marquee match.[206] Furthermore, the two were the first African-American wrestlers in
WrestleMania history to have faced each other in the main event of the show.[207] At the event, Banks
dropped the SmackDown Women's Championship to Belair, ending her reign at 167 days.[208]
After Banks' return in July,[209] she was booked to faced Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at
SummerSlam,[210] but Banks was pulled from the event.[211] She had the title match at
Crown Jewel on October 21, but as a triple threat match also involving new champion
Becky Lynch,[212] where Banks was unsuccessful at regaining the title.[213] At
Survivor Series in November, Banks was captain of the SmackDown women's team, where she was eliminated via
countout following interference from her teammates.[214]
Partnership with Naomi and departure (2022)
On January 2, 2022, Varnado sustained a
calcaneus injury during a
house show match against
Charlotte Flair.[215] She would make her return on the January 28 episode of SmackDown, where she declared for the women's Royal Rumble match.[216] At the
namesake event, Banks entered first, eliminating
Melina and
Kelly Kelly before being eliminated by
Queen Zelina.[217] On the February 25 episode of SmackDown,
Naomi announced that she and Banks were going to challenge for the
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[218] At Night 2 of
WrestleMania 38, Banks and Naomi won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship for the first time as a team, the first time for Naomi, and a record-tying third time for Banks.[219]
Banks and Naomi's title defense on the May 13 episode of SmackDown[220] would be their final televised WWE appearance, and their match at a
WWE Live event on May 15[221] proved to be Banks' final WWE match, as during the May 16 episode of Raw, Banks and Naomi reportedly
walked out on WWE due to a creative dispute with
Vince McMahon.[222] WWE released an official statement claiming that the two "walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations
John Laurinaitis' office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out".[223] The two were originally booked for the show's main event, which had to be reworked.[222][224] On the following episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely, therefore
vacating the titles.[225][226] In December 2022, it was reported that negotiations over compensation had fallen through during the summer and that Banks was done with WWE.[227]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling / World Wonder Ring Stardom (2023)
"Song for Sasha Banks", written and performed by
The Mountain Goats, tells the story of Varnado's childhood, watching
Chris Jericho on SmackDown, and then becoming a professional wrestler in her own right. It was released as a single digital track on June 18, 2018.[254]
Kaestner-Varnado has cited
Eddie Guerrero as 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 revealed that she was unaware that Guerrero had died before she arrived at the arena.[262]
On August 4, 2016, Kaestner-Varnado married retired professional wrestler Sarath Ton.[263] The two met while they were both wrestling on the
independent circuit. Ton, who is widely known by his ring name Mikaze, now works as a costume designer for WWE.[264]
^During Banks' first reign, the championship was called the WWE Women's Championship. Before her second reign, the title became exclusive to Raw as a result of the
2016 brand extension draft[97] and it was renamed as the Raw Women's Championship after SmackDown created the
SmackDown Women's Championship.[282]
^Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions [E13: Sasha Banks] (Television production). February 21, 2021. Event occurs at 59:55. She separated my shoulder... It happpened right at the end of the match. She picked me up, twisted me, and just pulled my shoulder up when I landed at the end.
^Jenkins, Kendall (May 11, 2021).
"TOP 5 WWE WRESTLERS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE MARRIED | PWInsider.com". pwinsider.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021. Sarath Ton is a retired Cambodian-American wrestler who formerly fought for WWE under the ring name Mikaze, who now makes her name as a WWE costume designer.