Sasha Banks is one of the most important stars of WWE’s women’s evolution.
Since making her WWE debut in 2012 as part of NXT, Banks has ‘bossed’ every brand she’s been a part of. Notching up five world title reigns and becoming a cornerstone of WWE’s women’s division.
If reports are to be believed and she is set to depart WWE, she lives behind a legacy that only a few in the company can match.
GiveMeSport runs down the best eight matches of The Boss’ WWE career.
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair
Raw Women’s Championship Hell in a Cell match
Hell in a Cell 2016
History was made at Hell in a Cell 2015 as not only did Banks and Flair main event this show – the first time the women got to headline a pay-per-view - but they also became the first women to compete in a Hell in a Cell match. The story of the bout saw hometown baby face champ Banks being dominated by uber heel Flair, to the point where Sasha was almost stretched out in the early goings, only to carry on with the match.
The usual array of weapons were used, with Banks playing the battered underdog for most of the match, and it was her missed table spot that proved to be The Boss’ downfall. After failing with an attempted Powerbomb on Flair, The Queen took advantage by throwing Sasha into a table in the corner and then executing Natural Selection to stun the Boston crowd by taking the title.
Sasha Banks vs Ronda Rousey
Raw Women’s Championship
Survivor Series 2019
Ronda Rousey enjoyed a dominating reign as Raw Women’s Champion during his first run with WWE, and it was Banks who gave the former UFC star one of her best bouts. The clash with Rousey brought out the brasher, more arrogant side out in Banks once again and she look to prove she was the better ‘wrestler’ in a match against the outsider.
The story was told during the match, too, where Banks set it upon herself to show Rousey she could mix it up with The Baddest Women on the Planet, by throwing hands with the champion as well as trying to out-wrestle her. And Rousey, to her credit did the same, making the match a real clever affair. In the end though Rousey got the win via the Pipers Pit slam, leaving Banks visibly frustrated in the centre of the ring.
Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch
Raw Women’s Championship Hell in a Cell match
Hell in a Cell 2019
Banks returned to WWE after four months off with a new hair colour and a new attitude, and immediately set her sights on Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship. In her absence Lynch had rose to the top of WWE as ‘The Man’ and Sasha’s new chip on her shoulder attitude was the perfect foil for the new face of the division.
Inside the steel – Lynch’s first experience of the structure – the two women got brilliantly innovative, with an array of weapons. The spots in which Lynch used kendo sticks to hold up a chair for Banks to sit on and attack and Sasha’s brutal knees to Becky, are two that particularly standout. 2019, though was Becky’s year and she regained her championship after The Boss tapped out to the disharm-her.
Sasha Banks vs Bayley
NXT Women’s Championship Iron Woman match
NXT TakeOver Respect 2015
A first main event at an NXT TakeOver and a first Iron Women match was only fitting for the rivalry between Banks and Bayley and the rematch from their clash in Brooklyn (we’ll get to that). The red-hot heel NXT version of Sasha was on full display here as the women told the perfect comeback story.
During the match Banks shined as a heel and even made a Bayley fangirl cry after taking her headband off at ringside. The Boss went 2-0 up in the match, the first via a sneaky poke to the eye, and then threw Bayley into the entrance wall to gain a second after the champion was counted out. Bayley then rallied, and as was her underdog character of the time, bounced back to grab two clean pinfalls and then tapped Banks out to gain an emotional victory.
Sasha Banks vs Bayley
SmackDown Women’s Championship Hell in a Cell match
Hell in a Cell 2020
Five years after their two classic clashes in NXT, Banks and Bayley met again having established themselves as two of the biggest female stars on the roster. The pair had dominated WWE over the summer as The Golden Role Models, sweeping up all the championships, before Bayley eventually turned on her long-term pal.
That set the stage for yet another Hell in a Cell outing for Banks, although a first for Bayley, and the pair added to their impressive back catalogue with a match full of emotion and classic call-backs to their history. Again, the tools came out and it was the clever use of a chair that won it for The Boss. Using the steel to wrap around Bayley and enhance her Bank Statement submission move to take the title off her ultimate foe.
Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch
WWE Women’s Championship
WrestleMania 32
In a WrestleMania event that included Roman Reigns vs Triple H and Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles, the match that stole the show was this triple threat for the new WWE Women’s Championship. Banks hit the ring with a memorable entrance alongside cousin Snoop Dogg and it set big feel tone for a big-time match.
The three women brought their A-game for this match, in a bout that ebbed and flowed perfectly and got the crowd believing that any one of the trio would come out on top. Once again though, Banks was just one of the impressive moving parts of the match rather than the memorable victor. With Charlotte Flair retaining her title with a little help from her famous father.
Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
SmackDown Women’s Championship
WrestleMania 37
Another massive match and another history making moment for Banks in the story of WWE’s women’s division. This was the first one-on-one women’s singles match to main event WrestleMania and the first to feature two women of colour. Two factors that were highlighted in the stare down before the match that gave everyone watching goosebumps. Away from the historical context though, the match itself just told a wonderful story.
Banks was the established well-known bona fide main event champion, and she was going up against the new upstart, the fresh and confident mega baby face in Bianca Belair. The night was always going to Belair’s, but it was the display Banks put on to get her there. The image of Sasha sat on the floor, over the moon for the new champion and what they had just pulled off was one of the moments of the weekend.
Sasha Banks vs Bayley
NXT Women’s Championship
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015
This is already widely considered as not only one the best women’s wrestling matches of times, but a match that kick-started and made people believe in what two women could do between the ropes. This epic at NXT TakeOver is simply the standard bearer.
Both from a storyline point of view, where Banks played her role as the cocky champion perfectly and Bayley the lovable underdog, and a pure wrestling display too. There were moves from both women we hadn’t seen previously and raised the match and their profile to the next level. While it also told the ideal story of Bayley finally proving she could ‘hang’ at the top of the NXT Women’s division by beating the best there is. A masterclass, that if you’ve never seen we implore you to watch.