Mercedes Justine Kaestner Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. As of January 2024^[update], she is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Mercedes Moné (muh-NAY) and is a former one-time AEW TBS Champion, holding the record for the longest reign in the title's history. She also appears for AEW's partners Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as promotions on the independent circuit. Varnado rose to prominence during her time in WWE from 2012 to 2022, where she performed under the ring name Sasha Banks. She is the only woman to win championships across the major promotions of WWE, AEW, NJPW, and CMLL.

Varnado began her wrestling career in 2010 on the independent circuit, most notably for Chaotic Wrestling, where she won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She signed with WWE in 2012 under the ring name Sasha Banks and was assigned to the developmental territory NXT. She would later win the NXT Women's Championship. Her match against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect in October 2015 was the first women's match to ever headline an NXT TakeOver, the first iron woman match in WWE history, and the longest women's match in WWE history at the time, lasting 30 minutes. Their match was named "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI), with Varnado also being named "Woman of the Year".

In 2015, Varnado was promoted to WWE's main roster, where she went on to hold the WWE Raw Women's Championship five times. In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair became the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view event, the first to compete in a Hell in a Cell match, and the first to win the PWI award for Feud of the Year. In 2019, she won the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with tag team partner, Bayley, at Elimination Chamber. In 2020, she won the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell, becoming a WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion and WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion. That year, she was named "Wrestler of the Year" by Sports Illustrated. In the main event of WrestleMania 37 – Night 1, Varnado and opponent Bianca Belair became the first two African Americans to headline WrestleMania, WWE's flagship event. After creative issues in 2022, Varnado walked out of WWE and ultimately left the company. She made her debut for NJPW/Stardom at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023 under the ring name Mercedes Moné and became a one-time IWGP Women's Champion. After her NJPW/Stardom contract ended in December that year, Varnado signed with AEW the following month and made her debut at Dynamite: Big Business in March 2024, subsequently winning the AEW TBS Championship in her AEW in-ring debut at Double or Nothing two months later; she held the title for a record 584 days. In 2025, she was named "Woman of the Year" by PWI for a second time, ranked No. 1 in the PWI Women's 250, and became the most simultaneously-decorated wrestler of all time, at one point holding 13 belts comprising 11 championships.

Varnado is widely considered to be one of the greatest female professional wrestlers of all time. Outside of wrestling, she portrays the recurring character Koska Reeves in the second and third seasons of the Disney+ space western series The Mandalorian.

Mercedes Justine Kaestner Varnado was born on January 26, 1992, in Fairfield, California. Her mother Judith (née Kaestner) is of German descent, while her father Reo Varnado was African American. Her family moved to various places around the United States, including Minnesota, to find schools and hospitals for her autistic brother Joshua; they ultimately settled in Boston, where she would launch her professional wrestling career. Varnado was an early fan of professional wrestling and grew up watching All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), and idolizing Manami Toyota, Aja Kong, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. She had a particular affinity for Guerrero, and was overjoyed in October 2005 to win tickets to a live WWE Monday Night Raw taping on November 13 in which Guerrero was scheduled to appear. Tragically, a 13-year-old Varnado arrived at the show only to be informed Guerrero had died days previously. Varnado recalls having no idea until that moment, and weeping into her mother's arms. Later in life, Varnado would frequently pay tribute to Guerrero during her matches.

She attended online schooling.

Varnado began training in 2008 with independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling in Woburn, Massachusetts. Among her trainers was Todd Smith, who is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Ivar; she has alluded to her training regimen being harsh. Varnado made her debut on August 8, 2010, working under the ring name "Mercedes KV". Her first official match, put together by Smith, was a tag-team bout at the National Guard Armory in Quincy, Massachusetts, before a crowd of roughly 70 people. Varnado spent the next two years wrestling in the independent circuit, primarily for Chaotic Wrestling, New England Championship Wrestling (NECW), and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). She recounts being highly self-critical and competitive in her performances.

In December 2011, Varnado won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship by defeating Alexxis in a "I Quit" match. She held the title for 378 days, vacating it in December 2012 after signing a contract with WWE.