Mercedes Moné

CTL-E-5988 · Person · other · 1992–present

STRONG EVIDENCE evidence grade — master store (canonical CSV)

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-02683 · provenance: canonical master store (CSV), record CTL-P-0861 + build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-5988. Master record source: CTL seed 2026-10-16 — UNVERIFIED, verify before public citation.

Mercedes Moné, born Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado on 26 January 1992 in Fairfield, California, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling. Her father was African American and her mother is of German descent, and she grew up largely in Boston, where she began training. Wrestling as Sasha Banks in WWE from 2012 to 2022, she helped lead the women's evolution, winning multiple singles and tag team championships and, with Bianca Belair, becoming one of the first two African Americans to headline WrestleMania in 2021. After leaving WWE she debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2023 and joined AEW in 2024, winning the TBS Championship in her first AEW match. A globe-spanning run of title wins followed across several promotions. In August 2026 she defeated Willow Nightingale at All In in London to win the AEW Women's World Championship, and she remained champion in October 2026, defending the title on AEW television ahead of WrestleDream.

The record

• Also known as: Sasha Banks, Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado, Mercedes KV, The Boss, The CEO
• Role(s): professional wrestler
• Known for: As Sasha Banks headlined WrestleMania 37 (2021), the first main event featuring two Black women; now AEW's Mercedes Moné

Notes

Staged 2026-10-16 under CTL-GOV-006 (Census Intake Wave 4 — 747 Program, Wave 10; 40-record packet). Gate A (2026-10-16): no Mercedes Moné entity in the live graph at 3,683 entities (exact / normalized / alias + token containment); ID CTL-E-5988 assigned at assembly. Supply: 747 Supply Ledger, Tier 3 — Famous Birthdays ABSENT census, readiness rank 1152 (Wrestlers list). The census supplied the NAME ONLY; no fact in this record is sourced to it (CTL-GOV-004). SCOPE GATE: PASS — African American descent documented: father Reo Varnado was African American (Wikipedia, Mercedes Moné, citing biographical sources). Vital status: LIVING — current AEW Women's World Champion in October 2026, previewed for Dynamite/Collision on 14 October 2026 and a WrestleDream defense against Thekla (Sports Illustrated, 14 October 2026). STATISTICS (sourced, dated): AEW Women's World Championship 1 reign, current at October 2026; AEW TBS Championship 1 reign, the longest in that title's history; WWE Raw Women's Championship 5 reigns, SmackDown Women's Championship 1, WWE Women's Tag Team Championship 3, NXT Women's Championship 1; IWGP Women's Championship 1 and NJPW Strong Women's Championship 1; Women's Owen Hart Cup winner 2025 and 2026 (Wikipedia championship list, accessed 2026-10-16). MEDIA: photo HELD (candidate on record; no file page read at file-page level — CTL-PHOTO-001; CTL-created graphic is the standing alternative); chart FILLED (charts/chart-ctl-e-5988-mercedes-mone.svg); video HELD (Shorts Link Map checked — no matching CTL Short); audio HELD (no rights basis). MEDIA LAYER (staged 2026-10-16; full per-asset PHOTO-001 records + embed specs in the packet's staged JSON, Drive packet folder): map = N/A (Person records carry no map slot under the media-layer rule; maps attach to places and institutions.) | visual_assets = HELD: | chart = FILLED (CTL-created SVG (black / deep red / gold) built only from this record's sourced facts) | video = HELD (No matching-entity CTL Short in the Shorts Link Map catalog (checked by name and variants), and no official/em) | audio = HELD (No CTL-owned or rights-cleared matching-entity audio at staging; the subject's own recordings/appearances are )

Relationships

• WWE — affiliated with
  STRONG EVIDENCE

Sources

• Wikipedia, "Mercedes Moné" — born Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado, 26 January 1992, Fairfield, California; father African American, mother of German descent; WWE tenure as Sasha Banks 2012–2022; WrestleMania 37 headline with Bianca Belair; NJPW debut 2023; AEW signing 2024 and TBS title win; AEW Women's World Championship in 2026; championship list including five Raw Women's, one SmackDown Women's, three WWE Women's Tag Team, one NXT Women's, one IWGP Women's and one Strong Women's reign — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Moné (build store)
• Sports Illustrated, "AEW Dynamite/Collision Preview (10/14/26)" — Moné listed as current AEW Women's World Champion in October 2026, set for trios action before defending against Thekla at WrestleDream — https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/aew/aew-dynamite-collision-preview-start-time-match-card-how-to-watch-live-stream-oct14 (build store)
• Wrestling Headlines, "Mercedes Mone Captures Women's World Title At AEW All In 2026" — defeated Willow Nightingale at AEW All In: London on 30 August 2026 to win the AEW Women's World Championship — https://wrestlingheadlines.com/mercedes-mone-captures-womens-world-title-at-aew-all-in-london/ (build store)
• https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-roster/ (verification source · master store)

Evidence note (master store)

Listed on AEW's official roster as TBS Champion (allelitewrestling.com/aew-roster, fetched in full 2026-10-17). As Sasha Banks, she headlined WrestleMania 37 (2021) against Bianca Belair — the first WrestleMania main event featuring two Black women — per WWE.com's official Bianca Belair biography (fetched in full 2026-10-17)

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Record CTL-E-5988 · Combined Graph record U-02683 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 4 sources · 1 mapped relationship.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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