One thing a majority of wrestling fans can agree on is that Mercedes Moné, WWE name Sasha Banks, is one of the best and most influential women’s wrestlers of this generation. She has had moments and matches that have shifted the culture of pro wrestling more than once. Yet there are still many who forget how great she is especially when comparing her to her closest peers. With all due respect to what each of the four women has accomplished in the industry, Moné just stands above the rest. Mercedes has transcended the conversation of being the best in a generation with a strong case of being the greatest women’s wrestler of all time. Starting with her spectacular work in NXT that helped establish the brand as must-watch television on the WWE Network, to the amazing matches she has had recently in Stardom and New Japan Pro Wrestling. There are very few who can compare to her and the separation started early on.
Formerly Known As
From the moment the “Legit Boss” Sasha Banks character debuted in NXT, pro wrestling fans realized something great and unique was being presented. It was a character that had its influences, but the way it was done and by whom made it feel special. For the first time in wrestling, we saw a flashy, confident, black woman with a swag rarely ever seen in wrestling. Add to it that her real-life cousin is Snoop Dogg, it was almost impossible for her not to become a star. The colored hair, the big chain with her initials, and the grand entrances coming out of the presidential trucks with security made her look like a big-time star even in developmental. It did not stop there though because her in-ring skills were every bit as noticeable. From 2014-15, the 4 horsewomen of NXT; Banks, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Bayley made the NXT Women’s Championship feel like the most important championship in WWE at the time. Those 4 women earned their name by going to war with each other in the early days of “Black and Gold NXT.”
Any combination of those 4 women was guaranteed to be a banger of a match. Fatal 4-way matches as well as Banks' match with Charlotte Flair to win the title really helped spread the buzz about what NXT was becoming. Her matches with Bayley though defined what NXT was. Sasha Banks and Bayley had maybe the greatest feud in NXT history. It was one that gave us two matches that would truly expose wrestling fans not tapped into NXT at the time just how good the product was. It won the Rolling Stone 2015 Title Feud of the Year Award for a reason. First came what many consider one of if not the best matches in women’s, NXT, and even WWE history. At NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, Banks and Bayley put on the performance of a lifetime. Many of those who were only watching main roster television became fans of NXT because of that match. It was also a match that proved when given the chance women can give a historic performance on a major show. It did not stop there though as they would run it back again at Takeover: Respect in the main event, in the first-ever 30-minute Iron Woman match. It was the first time two women headlined a major WWE event. They absolutely killed it in the match, even with it also being the longest women’s match in company history at the time.
The firsts did not stop when moving to the main roster though. She became the first ever to do so many things it should’ve been seen as her gimmick. She went on to main event another major show on the main roster making her part of the first ever main roster WWE pay-per-view headlined by women. The match type was also a first for the women’s division with it being a Hell In A Cell Match. This match with Charlotte was part of an excellent feud they had through 2016 that won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Year. This was the first time a women’s only feud won this award from the publication. She is also the first and only woman to win the award twice after winning it again with Bayley in 2020. Another piece of history Banks and Bayley accomplished together was becoming the first-ever women’s tag team champions. In 2020 Banks was also able to win the OVERALL Sports Illustrated Wrestler of the Year Award. She finished in front of stars like Jon Moxley, and Drew McIntyre who won the Royal Rumble and WWE Championship that year.
Lastly, before leaving the WWE on her own terms, she had one of the greatest WrestleMania moments and matches of all time. Banks and Bianca Belair would face each other in the main event of night one of WrestleMania 37. This would be the first time two black women would main event the “show of shows”. To top it off they had one of the best matches on the whole card of the two-night event and of that whole year across any promotion. Once leaving though, Banks would just continue to make history.
Bring in the Moné
Since leaving WWE the former Sasha Banks, now Mercedes Moné, has been on a tear. Her run in Japan has been nothing short of special. She has been very instrumental in the resurgence of New Japan Pro Wrestling this year since the COVID-19 pandemic stalled business for them. To start, she helped to drive the biggest overseas viewing numbers ever for an NJPW event at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Off a rumor! She debuted letting her intentions known right away to the then IWGP Women’s champion KAIRI (formerly known as Kairi Hojo and Kairi Sane).
In her first official match for New Japan, she would beat KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Championship to become the second-ever champion. After losing the championship to the STARDOM Icon, Mayu Iwatani, she would compete on New Japan’s Strong brand in a tournament to become the inaugural NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion. She would lose in the finals, which was the main event of the NJPW STRONG Resurgence show to Willow Nightingale after suffering an ankle injury mid-match. Another time being one of two black women to main event a major show of a wrestling company for the first time. No matter where she goes Moné is a game changer.
GOAT Conversations
Over the years there are many who have tried to deny Moné’s star power. Whether it is because they think other women are above her, or they are upset she left their favorite company. Truth is though there is no one truly on her level. She has changed the landscape of professional wrestling more than once in her career. She has done it at every level too. Starting from the WWE developmental system, to the main roster, to betting on herself and going to Japan. She has sustained success and popularity from 2015 through now even with injuries and some questionable booking at times. At the end of the day though she is undeniably one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever grace a ring. I’m not just talking amongst women either. She has put herself in the conversation as not just the greatest woman to ever do it, but one of the best regardless of gender. If you don’t believe me, just look at all the accomplishments she has earned already:
• WWE Women’s Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion
• 3x Women’s tag team champion
• 6x Smackdown and Raw women’s champion, 1x NXT women’s champion
• 2020 Sports Illustrated Wrestler of the Year
• 2015 Rolling Stone Future Diva of the Year
• 2015 Rolling Stone Match of the Year (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn vs Bayley)
• 2015 Title feud of the year (NXT Women’s Championship vs Bayley)
• 2020 Sirius XM Wrestler of the Year
• 2020 Sirius XM Tag Team of the Year w/Bayley
• 2015 PWI Woman of the Year
• 2016 and 2020 PWI Feud of the Year (Charlotte Flair & Bayley)
• 2020 PWI Tag Team of the Year w/Bayley
• 2020 CBS Sports Tag Team of the Year w/Bayley
2021 ESPY for Best WWE Moment w/ Bianca Belair at WM 37 main event
And she still has much more to go. So to make a long story short… RESPECT THE GOAT!!!
