History Wrestling / SashaBanks

* LovableAlphaBitch: Despite being a Heel, she's loved by many fans both for her sass and for being genuinely BadassAdorable. The original meanings for the Team BAD acronym, Beautiful Alpha Divas, almost lampshades this--though ironically this was the version Naomi came up with ''before'' Sasha joined the gang. In-universe she's also shown that she ''is'' capable of showing a softer side -- notably her tearful interview after winning the title or her sincere hugging of Charlotte after a hard-fought match. Now a proper one after her face turn.
* MoodWhiplash: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um-3UZZ14nw In an interview after winning the title]], she was initially in-character, boasting that the belt only proved that she was the best, as she had been saying all along. When Renee Young discretely asked for Mercedes-the-person's reaction (essentially phrasing it as "Okay, so if that's how ''Sasha Banks'' feels, how do ''you'' feel?"), she quickly burst into TearsOfJoy and talked about how it's a dream come true.

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: On July 16, 2018, her and Wrestling/{{Bayley}} -- while enemies -- were paired in a tag-team match against Wrestling/AliciaFox and Wrestling/DanaBrooke. When Fox began targeting Bayley, Sasha attacked both team members to save her. In a subsequent backstage segment, once confronted by Bayley she admitted that she saw herself as this for her.

* PhraseCatcher: Wrestling/MichaelCole has an affinity for saying "It's Boss time!" whenever her music hits.

Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and is currently signed onto Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling. She is best known for her time in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where she wrestled under the name Sasha Banks.

After controversially walking out on WWE in 2022 along with her then-tag team partner Wrestling/{{Naomi|Wrestler}}, Mercedes's status with the company was in question for the rest of the year. However, on January 4, 2023, she made her first appearance for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at ''Wrestle Kingdom 17'', joining the roster of their women's promotion Wrestling/WorldWonderRingStardom under the name Mercedes Moné. She would defeat Kairi to become IWGP Women's Champion for the first time on February 18, 2023. On the 13th of March, 2024 she debuted for AEW at ''Dynamite: Big Busine$$'', a special episode effectively named for her.

After controversially walking out on WWE in 2022 along with her then-tag team partner Wrestling/{{Naomi|Wrestler}}, Mercedes's status with the company was in question for the rest of the year. However, on January 4, 2023, she made her first appearance for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at ''Wrestle Kingdom 17'', joining the roster of their women's promotion Wrestling/WorldWonderRingStardom under the name Mercedes Moné. She would defeat Kairi to become IWGP Women's Champion for the first time on February 18, 2023.

* EarlyBirdCameo: Her first appearance to the main roster WWE audience outside of NXT was as one of the scantily-clad concubines accompanying Wrestling/TripleH's epic entrance at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XXX''.

After controversially walking out on WWE in 2022 along with her then-tag team partner Wrestling/{{Naomi|Wrestler}}, Mercedes' status with the company was in question for the rest of the year. However, on January 4, 2023, she made her first appearance for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at ''Wrestle Kingdom 17'', joining the roster of their women's promotion Wrestling/WorldWonderRingStardom, under the name Mercedes Moné. She would defeat Kairi to become IWGP Women's Champion for the first time on February 18, 2023.

Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where she wrestled under the name Sasha Banks.

* ShesBack: After losing the Women's Tag Team Championship at ''[=Wrestling/WrestleMania 35'' left her visibly distraught, she all but disappeared from the company until making a surprise [[FaceHeelTurn heel]] return on August 12, 2019.

* TownGirls: Team BAD fit this. Wrestling/{{Tamina|Snuka}} as the butch - presented as something of a BrawnHilda of the group and is also the muscle of the team. Sasha herself as the femme - with her love of rhinestones and accessories. Wrestling/{{Naomi}} meanwhile as the neither.

* UnPerson: Subverted after their walkout in 2022, she, along with Wrestling/{{Naomi}}, are no longer mentioned or appears on camera, and their merchandise was discontinued, that compares to Wrestling/CMPunk's level back in 2014. Despite that, they retained their WWE.com profiles.

** Sasha was added to Team BAD by Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon when Wrestling/{{Naomi}} demanded that she and Wrestling/TaminaSnuka get to take part in the battle for control in the main roster Divas's division between Team Bella (the Wrestling/BellaTwins and Wrestling/AliciaFox) and Team PCB (Wrestling/{{Paige}}, Wrestling/BeckyLynch, and Wrestling/{{Charlotte|Flair}}).

** She later joined Wrestling/TaminaSnuka and Wrestling/{{Naomi}} as Team '''B.A.D.''' This originally stood for Best At Dominating, but was changed to Beautiful Alpha Divas (at least on Naomi's Twitter the week before Sasha showed up) and then to Beautiful And Dangerous—all three names being similar to the above team names Sasha's associated with, making her connection to the group feel like FridgeBrilliance.

After controversially walking out on WWE in 2022 along with her then-tag team partner Wrestling/{{Naomi}}, Mercedes' status with the company was in question for the rest of the year. However, on January 4, 2023, she made her first appearance for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at ''Wrestle Kingdom 17'', joining the roster of their women's promotion Wrestling/WorldWonderRingStardom, under the name Mercedes Moné. She would defeat Kairi to become IWGP Women's Champion for the first time on February 18, 2023.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: On ''both'' sides of this trope. She's talented enough that multiple wrestlers have rated either her or [[{{Wrestling/KANA}} Asuka]] as the top women's wrestler out there. However, in 5 years on the main (Raw/Smackdown) WWE roster, she's never been scripted to have a successful singles title defense in any of her first 5 reigns as Raw Women's Champion, and is currently on track to have the worst track record at Wrestling/WrestleMania of all WWE Superstars, also at 0 wins, 6 losses, as of Wrestlemania 37. FINALLY earned her first victory albeit in a tag team match at Wrestlemania 38.

* AssKicksYou: Whenever she is caught by her opponent from behind, she would thrust her rear backwards in order to knock her away. There was also a stinkface she delivered to Emma at a WWE live event.

* BeingEvilSucks: There's some fairly strong subtext that underneath the bling and the attitude, she wishes she could have the same happy and lovable personality that Bayley does. By summer 2016 she's let loose a bit more after a few months as a {{face}} on the main roster and even acknowledged the likes of Bayley and [[Wrestling/EnzoAndCass Enzo Amore]] as friends.

* BetaBitch: To Wrestling/SummerRae, and later, to Charlotte. When the Beautiful Fierce Females split, Sasha went out on her own. She eventually evolved into an AlphaBitch in her own right.

* BrokenWinLossStreak: She ended up breaking two of her losing streaks in late 2020. First was finally winning a match in the Hell In The Cell structure when she defeated Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship at the eponymous PPV. The next was finally making a successful title defense on the main roster against Bayley, much to fans' surprise.

** She is also 1-6 at Wrestling/WrestleMania, and 0-2 inside Wrestling/HellInACell, going into her third match in the structure. She finally broke the latter streak with a (depending on who you ask) cathartic win over Wrestling/{{Bayley}} to capture her first Smackdown Women's Title. She managed to defend the title successfully, but has largely been ignored as champion, barely getting TV time, with it instead going mostly to her former bestie Bayley, Wrestling/{{Carmella}} and Wrestling/BiancaBelair.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When she first turned heel, she was a generic BetaBitch to Summer Rae. As time went on, she adopted the familiar look of sunglasses, rhinestones and tacky outfits. After turning face on the main roster, the character became a goofier, sassier version of her real life personality.

** Mercedes has made no secret that she's a HUGE Eddie Guerrero fan, and her character is inspired by his as a heel and her wrestling is definitely inspired by him and other WCW-style cruiserweights. She's even mentioned that she'd use a Frog Splash at Mania[[note]]She did.[[/note]].

** Made her surprise return for the first time since ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 35'' by attacking Natalya and Becky Lynch, notably interrupting Natalya's heartfelt message about her late father and brutally assaulting Becky with a steel chair.

* TheGlomp: Gave one to ''Bayley'' after the latter defeated her to win the NXT Women's Championship.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Whenever Bayley and Sasha feuded in the main roster, the latter often calls out to Bayley for betrayal and destroying their friendship. However, Sasha often leaves out of the fact that she had betrayed Bayley several times since their NXT days. This is more prominent in the beginning of 2018 where Sasha betrayed Bayley during the ''Royal Rumble'' and ''Elimination Chamber'' matches but has the audacity to complained when Bayley begins to abandon her during tag team matches.

** Speaking of the first example with Bayley, karma eventually bit Sasha back -- albeit post-HeelFaceTurn -- when she tried to be a GracefulLoser after ultimately losing her own feud with Charlotte. Instead, Nia Jax attacked Sasha -- thus worsening her post-''Hell in a Cell 2016'' injuries -- just ForTheEvulz.

* NeverMyFault: After Elimination Chamber 2018, Sasha acted surprise after Bayley started to abandon her during tag team matches and called her out for this, completely forgetting that she betrayed Bayley first during the first two pay-per-views of the year.

* ShesBack: After losing the Women's Tag Team Championship at ''[=WrestleMania=] 35'' left her visibly distraught, she all but disappeared from the company until making a surprise [[FaceHeelTurn heel]] return on August 12, 2019.

* UnPerson: Subverted after their walkout in 2022, she, along with Naomi, are no longer mentioned or appears on camera, and their merchandise was discontinued, that compares to CM Punk's level back in 2014. Despite that, they retained their WWE.com profiles.

* UnPerson: Subverted after their walkout in 2022, she, along with Naomi, are no longer mentioned or appears on camera, and their merchandise was discontinued, that compares to CM Punk's level back in 2014. Despite that, they retained their WWE.com profiles, even though they're still part of the [=SmackDown=] roster.

* ButNotTooBlack: Is fairly light-skinned (on account of her being mixed race). She appears much lighter-skinned on TV than she is in real life (presumably because she doesn't tan) and she also has dark blonde hair. She was eventually presented as a black ghetto girl on adopting The Boss persona.

* ButtMonkey: She has ''never'' successfully defended the Raw Women's Championship. She's won it a then-record ''five times'', yet barely has held it over 100 days...
** She is also 0-6 at Wrestling/WrestleMania, and 0-2 inside Hell In A Cell, going into her third match in the structure. She finally broke the latter streak with a (depending on who you ask) cathartic win over Bayley to capture her first Smackdown Women's Title. She managed to defend the title successfully, but has largely been ignored as champion, barely getting TV time, with it instead going mostly to her former bestie Bayley, Carmella and Bianca Bel-Air.

* MsFanservice: Considered one of the most beautiful female wrestlers of her generation, as described by fans and peers (e.g. Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ChrisJericho, and [[DudeNotFunny infamously]] Sammy Guevara), and frequently flaunts her looks as part of her character (especially in the more narcissistic persona she adopts as a heel).

After controversially walking out on WWE in 2022 along with her then-tag team partner Wrestling/{{Naomi}}, Mercedes' status with the company was in question for the rest of the year. However, on January 4, 2023, she made her first appearance for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling at ''Wrestle Kingdom 17'', apparently joining the roster of their women's promotion Wrestling/WorldWonderRingStardom, under the name Mercedes Moné.

* BareYourMidriff: As usual among the lady wrestlers.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Notable aversion for ''Roadblock 2016''. One of her ''many'' matches against Charlotte saw Charlotte inadvertently nail Sasha in the face with her foot during a kickout. It started with a mild but visible nosebleed and about five minutes lat'''[[http://17r1l63fshd52dy9yakdizhkog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sasha-v-charlotte-road-block.jpg OH DEAR GOD.]]''' Notably, no one stepped in to stop the match, and Sasha finished the rest of her match with the entire lower half of her face covered in blood.