Sasha Banks has discussed how she pursued an opportunity in WWE when she felt she was being overlooked for a chance in the company.
Speaking to WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin on ‘The Broken Skull Sessions’ on the WWE Network, Banks detailed how she would be passed over when WWE would look for local talent to work their shows.
The WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion was asked by Austin how WWE had found her. Banks revealed that it was in fact, the other way around.
Banks explained:
“I found them. WWE would come to town and they would ask for extras. The owner of Chaotic [Bank’s local promotion] would choose a couple of guys because he said that he was friends with people in WWE and he’d choose. And I’m like ‘how come you didn’t choose me’, and I saw the people he chose and I was like.. ‘no way, these – him? Him? Over me?’ So I was like ‘okay, screw that’, went on Google and was like ‘who is talent relations in the WWE.'”
“I saw the email, clicked it. [I] wrote him an email saying ‘I would love to be an extra, whatever you guys need blah blah blah’. He was like ‘done’ – an hour later. Nobody can tell me where I need to be. I’m letting you know where I want to be and I’m going to get there. I’m not going to sit back when I see people who can’t do it like me and get chosen over me. That’s a problem for me.”
Sasha Banks made her WWE debut in October 2012 on an NXT live event. Banks would still be using her independent wrestling name of Mercedes KV. In February of 2015 Banks would win her first title on the black and gold brand becoming NXT Women’s Champion.
In October 2020 Sasha Banks would become the third ‘Women’s Grand Slam’ winner in WWE. Banks achieved this feat when she captured the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship for the first time.
Banks has been aligned with 2021 women’s Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair in recent weeks. There has been no confirmation as of yet as to which title Belair will challenge for at WrestleMania.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Steve Austin, Banks also discussed what it meant to her to be labelled one of the ‘Four Horsewomen.’