Sasha Banks Explains Her Post-WrestleMania 35 Hiatus

The Boss details why she took some time off following 2019's Showcase of the Immortals.

by Andrew Pollard
Sasha Banks
WWE.com

During a recent appearance on the Just Women’s Sports Podcast (as per Wrestling INC), WWE’s Sasha Banks has detailed why she went on hiatus after WrestleMania 35.

At that 2019 edition of the famed Showcase of the Immortals, Banks and Bayley lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships to the IIconics in a four-way bout that also featured Tamina & Nia Jax and Natalya & Beth Phoenix.

Following ‘Mania 35, the Boss would take a leave of absence before returning that August. And now, she’s explained how the intense WWE schedule and years of being Sasha Banks had taken its toll on her.

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“It was from everything. From that gruelling schedule and never getting to take in those wins and understanding those victories, taking my losses really, really hard and just being a baby. I started wrestling when I was 18, got signed when I was 20, straight on the road when I was 23. [I] just had that nonstop career of being Sasha Banks when I was 20 years old, and having my hair colour change and not seeing my real hair for so long, and just losing, kind of, myself, and I lost my name. Not even my mom called me Mercedes.”

The real-life Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado continued:

“My friends didn’t call me Mercedes. They called me either the Boss or Sasha Banks. When I was at home I was really lost and confused. I looked at myself in the mirror and I just was not happy. This girl who was so obsessed with being a WWE superstar, it felt like her dream was coming to an end.”

At the time, reports claimed Banks asked for her WWE release after WrestleMania 35, which Vince McMahon refused and instead gave her some time off. Sasha would return to WWE programming four months later, soon realigning herself with Bayley as the pair embarked on a run as a great heel tandem before the inevitable break-up.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.