Entertainment
WWE star Sasha Banks says New York Fashion Week debut was like ‘first ever wrestling match’-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro
She’s making moves away from wrestling.
Sasha Banks is making waves outside wrestling (Picture: WWE)
Sasha Banks has compared her modelling debut to her first ever wrestling match.
The former WWE champion – who shockingly walked out of a Raw taping back in May alongside her tag team partner Naomi over creative issues – strutted her stuff during New York Fashion Week they both walked the runway for Mister Triple X and Jessica Jade.
Reflecting on the exciting moment, she told Page Six: ‘It felt chaotic. It felt like my first wrestling match all over again! I’m back to being the new girl. It felt like everyone was like, “Who’s this? Who’s taking my spot?”
‘But I just had to walk in with confidence like I knew what I was doing because this has been a dream of mine for such a long time, to be in the modeling space.’
Banks – whose real name is Mercedes Varnado – wrestled her first match for New England Championship Wrestling in 2010, before making her WWE debut two years later.
The 30-year-old star – also known for her role as Koska Reeves in The Mandalorian – revealed she took inspiration from Tyra Banks for her big modelling moment, having grown up idolising the Victoria’s Secret Angel and even taking her surname for her wrestling moniker.
She added: ‘I took a deep breath and told myself, “I belong”. Tyra, Adriana Lima, I grew up watching all of the Victoria’s Secret girls, so I always dreamt of being on a runway.
‘Watching those girls, I was always like, “I want to have wings one day.” ‘
Meanwhile, she’s also keen to move into magazine photoshoots, having landed a spread in next month’s issue of Vogue Scandinavia.
Revealing her modelling goals, she said: ‘I want to walk in Paris and Milan next, but I’m also just trying to make my way through this modeling world and get in all the magazines. Vogue feels like a good start.’
There have been plenty of rumours lately that Banks could be set for a shock WWE comeback after Vince McMahon’s retirement led to Triple H taking control.
Current Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair – who has plenty of history with Sasha after they became the first Black women to main event WrestleMania together in April 2021 – has kept coy when it comes to the speculation.
Quizzed about the possibility of seeing her former opponent make a comeback, she exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘I don’t know what’s happening – I know about as much as you guys!’
When asked if it was something she’d like to see one day, the Raw Women’s Champion laughed and added: ‘We’ll just have to see what happens!’
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