Sasha Banks and WWE are apparently no more as reports state that she was released from her contract and is no longer with the company.
On the May 16th episode of SmackDown, Banks alongside her tag team partner Naomi reportedly walked out of the arena in protest against booking plans they didn’t agree with.
Their actions resulted in the duo being indefinitely suspended by the company and now it seems as though Banks is done with the promotion. The Boss leaves a remarkable legacy behind her. She is a member of the hugely influential Four Horsewomen, she is a Grand Slam Champion, and crossover Superstar.
Banks signed with WWE in 2012 and became an NXT innovator and game-changing member of the brand. Her involvement in the evolution of women’s wrestling cannot be understated as she followed in the footsteps of Paige and continued to raise the profile of the female roster.
Her run as the NXT Women’s Championship and feud with Bayley was one of the main reasons the product soared into prominence and her main roster tenure saw multiple history-making moments, and title wins with highs, lows and controversy along the way.
Over the years Banks evolved into a megastar throughout her WWE career. Her incredible presence, character and in-ring work all shined in unison to put her up in the higher echelons of the company.
A trailblazer such as Banks possesses a myriad of top moments so, here are the top 10 of her career in WWE.
10. Introducing the Women’s Tag Team Titles
Sasha Banks has played a major part in multiple history-making moments throughout her WWE career and becoming the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Bayley was just one of them.
After the elevation of the women’s division, thanks to Banks and company there was much speculation surrounding the creation of women’s tag team titles. In 2018 WWE announced it was introducing the Women’s Tag Team Championships for a new generation with Banks and Bayley openly expressing their desire to become the first team to hold them.
Their wish would come true in February of 2019 when they defeated five other teams inside the Elimination Chamber to lift the new titles for the first time. The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection outlasted the IIconics, Fire & Desire, The Riott Squad, Carmella & Naomi and Nia Jax & Tamina in a fun and historic outing.
Banks and Bayley as inaugural champions instantly legitimised the titles and gave them kudos. It was clear titles meant a lot to the duo as they wore them with pride and vowed to defend across all three brands. Unfortunately, the reign never really got going and they dropped the championships just 49 days later at WrestleMania 35.
Despite the titles not living up to the expectations, becoming the inaugural women’s tag team champions with her longtime friend, Bayley will go down as a great moment for the Boss.
9. The Boss of NXT
NXT’s women’s division had been making some noise for a while. Each and every week the women of NXT were taking the opportunities given to them and thriving. This Fatal Four Way Match at TakeOver: Arrival put four of the best in the ring at the same time all fighting for the brand’s top prize.
This was the match that showed everyone what the Women’s Revolution was all about. Four wrestlers, on the precipice of greatness, all ready to show the world why everyone was talking about NXT’s women’s division. A perfect dynamic with Charlotte as the confident champion, Banks the heel challenger, Bayley the plucky babyface and Lynch the spirited underdog.
Each competitor played their part perfectly, which made for an excellent match. Their chemistry and styles gelled making for some dramatic, intense, and incredible action. NXT had been growing a strong women’s division for some time and this match was the product of that growth.
Banks emerged as the winner taking the title away from Charlotte and proving she was as good as she said she was. In the year leading up to this match, Banks was criticized by some as lacking star power, charisma and mic skills. But the creation of the Boss character changed all that and 2014 was truly the year she broke out and continued to do so for the years that followed.
8. WrestleMania 32 Entrance and Match
The Wrestlemania 32 Triple Threat Match was a watershed moment for the division as it was the WWE Women’s Championship was on the line. WWE Hall of Famer, Lita unveiled the new championship during the pre-show while retiring the Divas Championship in the process. A new champion would be crowned at the show and usher in a new era for women’s wrestling.
Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Banks, the three ladies who spearheaded the WWE’s “Women’s Revolution” were given the chance to go one-on-one-on-one on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. The seeds for this match were planted in the summer of 2015 when all three made their unexpected debuts on RAW and instantly elevated the division.
Charlotte ended Nikki Bella’s longest-ever Divas Championship reign before turning her back on her former Team PCB mate Becky Lynch, who was out to get her revenge. Heading into the match Banks was unbeaten and was in a prime position to get her first taste of main roster gold.
Before the match had even started this had a big match feel. Banks came out looking every bit the megastar. Snoop Dogg, her cousin, accompanied her to the stage to add an extra rap verse to her theme and star power to her entrance. To add to the moment, she was decked out in Eddie Guerrero-inspired gear as a tribute to her childhood hero.
The match itself was a show-stealing affair with all three performers giving it their own to add further magnitude to the ground-breaking match. Banks, Lynch and Charlotte brought all of the hard-hitting intensity that made them famous in NXT to the main roster and the biggest stage of them all. For years the women’s WrestleMania were underwhelming outings, but this title bout changed it all.
7. Iron Woman
Sasha Banks vs Bayley is a feud that will go down as one of NXT’s greatest rivalries. The story, character work and in-ring chemistry they produce when going head-to-head was always top-notch. Their ground-breaking match at Brooklyn was an exceptional display of these talents and what happened two months later was another splendid showing.
The match was a rematch from their said Brooklyn classic, but this time they would meet in a historic 30-minute Iron Man Match in the main event. It was given all of the pomp and circumstance it deserved and had Lita, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Stephanie McMahon at ringside.
Before the bell “Women’s Wrestling!” and “This is Awesome!” chants break out adding to the monumental occasion. The match is a riveting affair with excellent storytelling, intense action and a beautiful heel-and-face dynamic.
Banks thrived as the dastardly heel doing everything she could to humiliate and defeat her opponent. She even made Bayley superfan Izzy break down in tears when she tore off and threw away her Bayley headband.
This match was Banks’ NXT finale and she made sure she went out in style. In the aftermath, both wrestlers were joined by the entire NXT roster, who assemble at the top of the ramp. Banks is handed a bouquet of flowers as she receives a fond farewell from her peers and the fans.
6. Becoming the Champ Champ
Throughout the majority of 2020 and 2021, WWE held shows in front of zero fans. The Performance Center was transformed into a makeshift television studio where the company produced and filmed all of its content.
The product suffered greatly, but Banks and Bayley made sure their momentum never stopped rolling. Their partnership and storyline carried WWE and they became an integral part of the company during the Performance Center era.
The obnoxious duo named themselves the Golden Role Models and ran the entire WWE women’s division and had great matches with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, the IIconics and the Kabuki Warriors becoming two-time WWE Women’s Champions in the process.
In singles action Banks proved herself to be everything her trio of monikers state. Banks won defeated Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship further proving she is the “Blueprint” and “Standard” of WWE’s women’s division and women’s wrestling.
5. Grand Slam Champion
As proven by her ‘champ champ’ success, 2020 was a great year for the Boss, but she wasn’t quite finished.
Her partnership with Bayley exploded in brutal fashion. The Role Model destroyed Banks leaving her with neck injuries and a thirst for revenge. That revenge would come at Hell in a Cell and the two former friends would clash in another epic encounter between the two.
This match was months if not years in the making. Bayley and Sasha Banks put themselves through hell in a vicious and brutal match to end their fabulous feud.
The match was an epic tale of drama, violence and storytelling as both competitors crafted a beautiful display of destruction and intensity. The action was fierce and furious, as both warriors went at each other with venom and purpose.
Banks would survive Bayley’s onslaught and prevail over her former partner to become the SmackDown Women’s Champion for the first time in her career and Grand Slam Champion in the process.
With the win, Banks became the third women’s Grand Slam Champion having held all of the titles available to her in NXT, RAW and SmackDown.
4. History Making Title Feud
WrestleMania 32 saw Charlotte crowned as the inaugural WWE women’s champion in a brilliant Triple Threat Match against Becky Lynch and Banks. The aftermath of the game-changing outing saw Banks hellbent on getting her share of the spotlight.
Banks’ ambitions put her and Charlotte on a collision course for the title. The two would trade the championship back and forth multiple times making history in the process. The first piece of history came with the reintroduction of the brand split and the creation of the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships.
Two months later at Hell In A Cell Banks and Charlotte would continue to be a part of history when they became the first women to compete inside the steel structure and headline a WWE pay-per-view. It was another landmark moment in the Women’s Revolution and set the precedent that resulted in women’s main event matches becoming the norm.
3. The Women’s Revolution
July 13th 2015 is the day that women’s wrestling in WWE changed exponentially. For years, the promotion programmed and conditioned viewers to tune out the Divas segments. Women’s matches were insultingly short, painfully uneventful and vastly unimportant.
One match in particular earlier the year saw Paige and Emma take on The Bella Twins that lasted less than 30 seconds. Disgruntled fans took social media and #GiveDivasAChance began trending worldwide for several days. A major shake-up was required for the Divas division if it was ever going to survive and NXT had the answer.
NXT had created an incredible buzz and had wrestling fans talking. One of the main talking points was the women’s division, which aided by Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte was taking the brand by storm with matches not seen on WWE in years.
Also, there was a groundswell of support across all women’s sports. Ronda Rousey was a marquee name in UFC, the women’s US Soccer team had just won the World Cup, while Venue Williams continued to conquer the tennis world. WWE used this momentum to make much-needed changes and show that these three women were not Divas, they were wrestlers and they were there to change the game.
As WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella stood in the ring gloating about her reign and how she ran the show, Stephanie McMahon stepped in to remind her who really had the power. McMahon then went on to say that they heard the fans, they saw the hashtag, and it’s time to make a change.
Each member of the Four Horsewomen received to huge ovations from the live crowd. As each woman chose a team a brawl broke out that resulted in the new additions to the roster standing tall and Michael Cole stating “Take a look at the future of women’s wrestling”.
2. Changing the game with Bayley in Brooklyn
Bayley vs Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22nd 2015 is one of the best matches in wrestling history. It was a perfect mix of tremendous storytelling, and epic rivalry all of which resulted in a memorable and career-defining outing for both wrestlers.
The match had been building for months and involved all of the Four Horsewomen. Banks had won the title at NXT TakeOver: Rival in an excellent Fatal Four Way match. She went on to successfully defend the championship against Charlotte and Becky Lynch before all three were made their official main roster debuts as part of the Women’s Revolution storyline.
Bayley was the overlooked member of the Four Horsewomen of NXT. All of the other members had been called up to the main roster but Bayley remained in NXT and had the brand’s women’s division placed firmly on her shoulders. Having been sidelined with an injury she returned with an insatiable thirst for championship gold after failing several times.
Tired of being overshadowed by Charlotte, Becky, and NXT Women’s Champion, Banks, it was Bayley’s time to prove herself. And prove herself she did. First by beating Charlotte, then Becky to become the number one contender to challenge a champion that constantly berated her for not being on her level.
Banks was a masterful heel during this period and revelled in Bayley’s title failures and rubbed it in her face every time she got the chance. Banks continually crushed the heart and spirit of her underdog opponent. But Bayley as the ultimate babyface fought on valiantly.
The storytelling was perfect, combined with the raw, organic emotion and excellent in-ring action made for a spectacular match that finally saw Bayley get the recognition she deserved.
Not only the best women’s match but arguably the best match in NXT TakeOver history. This match was so good that it is still talked about today.
1. Headlining WrestleMania 37 Night 1 with Bianca Belair
At WrestleMania 37 Night 1 Sasha Banks realised her childhood dream when she performed in the main event at the “Show of Shows”. The match was made extra special as it was the first time in WWE that two black women had wrestled for a title on WWE pay-per-view.
Emotions were running high as the bell rang, and the superstars got the main event underway. The match started with both wrestlers feeling each other out.
Belair used her power and strength, while Banks used her speed and smarts. The Boss targeted Belair’s braid and used it to counter the EST’s power moves but it would have a huge part to play toward the end of the bout in ear-splitting glory.
This match was incredible, with a perfect ending that meant a lot to all involved. The dynamics were simple, with Banks the heel and Belair the face, which they both played brilliantly. Belair looked every bit the megastar she is destined to be. Her superior power, athleticism and charisma were on full display and expertly delivered on wrestling’s biggest stage.
At WrestleMania 37 proved that she is one of the best wrestlers in the world. She exuded superstardom with her look, actions and tremendous in-ring prowess. She gave the match everything it needed to succeed after a terrible build-up. Her heel antics were effortlessly brilliant and made Beliar shine ever brighter than she already was.
Despite losing the match and the title, Banks this a special moment for her. The footage of her laying at ringside looking up at Belair’s crowning moment, unable to conceal her grin, encapsulates the sheer magic and glory of the moment.