Multi-time WWE Women's Champion Sasha Banks recently appeared on the Just Women’s Sports podcast with Kelly O’Hara, where she spoke about how she got her "Sasha Banks" in-ring name. Sasha Banks said that it just came randomly when Sara Del Rey gave her the name. Sasha also talked about her mom's reaction to the name.
Sasha Banks said:
“The name came really just randomly.” “They asked me to put a long list of names, and I always remember putting Sasha with a different last name and Banks with a different first name. And I remember just debuting at a house show for WWE and I needed a name. I was kind of just Mercedes KV. Finally Sara Del Rey came into the room and said ‘we got you a name.’ I go ‘oh what is it?’ She goes ‘it’s Sasha Banks.’ I’m like ‘oh! I love it. That sounds really really good!’"
“I texted my mom. I said ‘hey mom, I got a WWE name. It’s Sasha Banks.’ She ended up calling me and goes ‘that’s a porn star name! Tell them to change it!’ I go ‘mom I can’t tell WWE to change the name.’ That’s how my mom is. She’s come around to the name. She’s like Mama Banks now.”
Sasha Banks then talked about her major storyline rivalries when she was brought to the main roster.
Sasha Banks said:
“The first storyline came together was with Charlotte Flair.” “She’s the daughter of Ric Flair, who is one of the most legendary Hall of Famers of all time. Everybody knows who Ric Flair is and this is his daughter. I was like ‘wow!’ I’m just already so shocked and amazed because of the name alone and I just know the legacy and bloodline she just had to have. But that made for competition. I’m like ‘okay, you’ve got a last name honey. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make one for myself.’"
“So that’s where the real life competition came in just wanting to really have the same goal of putting the real life competition to come to play. To show the audience and the guys in the back and the company that ‘hey, women can make noise just like the guys. We want to be on PPV just like the guys. Actually we want to headline just like the guys.’ I’m just so thankful for women like Bayley and Charlotte and Becky and all the women I got to train with. We all had the same initial goal of wanting to make this division the best division that we possibly could. Where we didn’t have to make anything different from who was a superstar, who was going to main event.”
