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Sasha Banks recently sat down with Chris Jericho for his Talk is Jericho podcast, discussing her early love for wrestling, getting to FCW, breaking barriers in NXT, the Diva Revolution and more.
Being told to “wrestle like a Diva” in the early days: She started out with Paige, Summer Rae and Emma. They were told to wrestle like “Divas”: hair-pulling, catfights, no punches, no forearms, no kicking, no striking. But then Sara Del Rey came on as a coach and turned things around, training them like the guys. Sasha says it speaks volumes about Sara’s skills that she was the WWE’s first female coach despite having never worked for the WWE before.
Growing up watching T&A matches: She wasn’t into the era of bra and panties matches and Playboy covers, but she believed she would have to settle for it because she wanted to wrestle for the WWE. When she got to NXT, though, she realized that she couldn’t settle for it. She didn’t know how she would get there, though, because she wasn’t confident in her looks as a kid.
Coming up with her Boss character: She was in the background during the era of Emma, Paige and Summer. She would get frustrated that she wasn’t being used, so she put in work in her character and came up with The Boss. Tyler Breeze told her to make a list of characters and figure out what fit her the best. She drew inspiration from her cousin Snoop Dogg and the likes of Nicki Minaj.
Bonding with Snoop Dogg: Snoop Dogg is her first cousin (their fathers are brothers). They’ve always bonded over wrestling. She used to beg him to take her along to wrestling shows, and he brought her to two WrestleManias and a Raw. Having the connection made her feel cool as a kid – she’d take friends along to his concerts and give them his autographs.
Loving Eddie Guerrero: Sasha found a connection to Eddie Guerrero, as his was the first match she saw. It hooked her to wrestling. She says she wants to be the female version Eddie. When living in Minnesota, she attended the first show after his death and felt it was one of her most heartbreaking moments. She had made a sign for Eddie, went to the arena and found out he had passed by seeing signs that read, “RIP Eddie.” At first, she thought it was some sort of reference to him wrestling The Undertaker, but a fellow fan eventually approached her and told her about his death.
Getting her first training: She had wanted to wrestle since she was 10 years old. She had messaged wrestling schools, looking for someone to train her, but no one would train her until she turned 16 or 18. When she turned 18, she finally got started. She says she had no plan B. She trained in Boston with Chaotic Championship Wrestling, winning three free months of training through a fantasy camp. She was the only girl trainee, so she worked exclusively with guys. She says she was fortunate to win the free training, as she didn’t have a dime to pay for it.
Her first ring name: Her first ring name was Mercedes KV, a shortened version of her real last name Kaestner-Varnado. She had to keep it different from Mercedes Martinez, but wanted to keep the name Mercedes.
Getting on the WWE’s radar: She did extra work for the WWE when they toured Boston and eventually got a tryout for FCW, which led to a contract.
Learning from Dusty Rhodes: Dusty taught her a lot about confidence. He never gave up on her and always believed in her. He was “everybody’s grandpa”.
Coming up with the name Sasha Banks: She had made a list of names, Sasha initially being paired with a different last name and Banks paired with a different first name.
Working with Charlotte: She calls Charlotte one of the most athletic people she knows. She cites her inner strength, recalling how Charlotte returned to the school a week after her brother died. She says Charlotte doesn’t need her dad’s name. She’s made a name for herself.
Women she looked up to: She says she loved watching Jazz, Jacqueline, Molly Holly, Victoria and Trish Stratus when they got to wrestle, but she was really all about Eddie.
Getting called up to the main roster: At the end of her NXT run, it was hard. She says they were spoiled. The hardest thing was knowing that if she gets called up, she might have to downgrade to three minute matches. She says she knew things were going to change, though, because they were changing it. She got a call from Mark Carano the Saturday before she made her debut. She didn’t get her hopes up until she went through the curtain because she knew how fast plans change in wrestling. The WWE kept the segment a secret – they didn’t figure out who would be in the segment until she spotted the rest of the girls at the airport.
The “Sasha’s ratchet” chants: She remembers wrestling Emma and hearing the “Sasha’s ratchet” chants and mishearing it as “Sasha’s rat shit”. She thought the fans were trashing her performance, but people backstage explained to her what they meant. She decided she’d take that over no reaction, and it eventually took off on its own.
Bayley not being part of the Diva Revolution: Bayley texted all of them after their debuts to congratulate them. She says Bayley is incredible and will get her shot as well. Her time will come.
Ronda Rousey influencing the Diva Revolution: The WWE loves to take what’s popular and use it. The fact that she’s main eventing helps the women in the WWE, because the WWE will want to copy it. She believes that the Divas have a chance at main eventing a Pay-Per-View.
Her favorite matches: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio at Halloween Havoc 1997 as well as WrestleMania 21. Sasha says she and Bayley are the two biggest wrestling marks, but claims that she could beat Bayley in a wrestling quiz. Of her own matches, she picks the the Fatal Four-Way match between herself, Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte at TakeOver: Rival.
You can listen to the full interview on PodcastOne.com.
