In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair became 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 win the PWI award for Feud of the Year.

[9][10] In 2022, after having issues with management and feeling disrespected, Varnado and her close friend Naomi (tag team champions at the time) walked out of WWE a few hours before the May 16 episode of Raw and ultimately left the company.

She made her debut for NJPW/Stardom at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023 under the ring name Mercedes Moné and became a one-time IWGP Women's Champion.

[15] Her family moved to various places around the United States, including Minnesota, to find schools and hospitals for her autistic brother Joshua;[16] they ultimately settled in Boston, where she would launch her professional wrestling career.

[20] Among her trainers was Todd Smith, who is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Ivar; she has alluded to her training regimen being harsh.

Her first official match, put together by Smith, was a tag-team bout at the National Guard Armory in Quincy, Massachusetts, before a crowd of roughly 70 people.

[36] 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.

[38] 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.

[6][60] 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.

[67][68] Although she lost in a fatal four-way number one contender's match for Charlotte's Divas Championship in November,[69] Banks was not pinned and began a winning streak, defeating the likes of Brie Bella,[70] Alicia Fox,[71] and Becky Lynch on various shows.

[112] A 30-minute iron man match between the two took place at Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18,[113] which resulted in a 2–2 draw, but Banks lost to Flair 3–2 in sudden death overtime.

[142][143][144] After a short hiatus from the ring due to an undisclosed injury, Banks returned to WWE television in October,[145][146] 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.

[149][150] On January 27, 2019, at the Royal Rumble, after she defeated Nia Jax to earn herself a title match,[151][152][153] Banks unsuccessfully challenged Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship.

[157] At WrestleMania 35 on April 7, Banks and Bayley lost the championship to The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) in a fatal four-way tag team match, ending their reign at 49 days.

[175][176][177] 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.

[189][190] A week later at Payback, Banks and Bayley dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.

[192] The feud between the two eventually culminated in a Hell in a Cell match at the eponymous pay-per-view,[193][194][195] where Banks submitted Bayley to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time in her career.

[198] At the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event on December 20, Banks defeated Carmella by submission to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship.

[199] 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.

[206][207][208] 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.

[216] 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.

[237] At Resurgence on May 21, Moné participated in a tournament to crown the inaugural Strong Women's Champion, defeating Stephanie Vaquer to advance to the finals, before losing to Willow Nightingale.

[248] In February 2024, Fightful and Andrew Zarian of Mat Men Radio reported that Moné had signed with AEW the previous month.

[249] Moné officially debuted for AEW on March 13, 2024, on a special episode of Dynamite titled Big Business as a babyface, which took place at the TD Garden in her adopted hometown of Boston.

[253] Moné would retain the TBS Championship against wrestlers like Britt Baker at All In,[241] (during which feud she turned heel and introduced Kamille as her bodyguard, working with her until November),[254][255][256][257] Hikaru Shida at All Out,[258] Kris Statlander twice at Full Gear and Worlds End,[259][260] and Harley Cameron at Grand Slam Australia.

[267][268] In her final appearance as Sasha Banks, she was a celebrity contestant on an episode of the USA Network game show Barmageddon, which aired on January 2, 2023.

[269][270] On January 13, 2023, it was reported that Varnado, alongside Paul Ben-Victor, had been cast for the 2023 action-thriller film The Collective, playing a character named Nikita.

[271] "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.

"[280] She also described entering a "spiral of depression" due to personal guilt and backlash from fans after she accidentally seriously injured Saraya Bevis at a WWE show in late 2017.

[283] On August 4, 2016, Kaestner-Varnado married retired professional wrestler and WWE costume designer Sarath Ton, widely known by his ring name Mikaze;[284] the two met while they were both wrestling on the independent circuit.