WWE: Sasha Banks Talks WrestleMania 32, Inter-Gender Matches & Much More!

Former NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks recently spoke with Rolling Stone to promote WrestleMania 32 on April 3. Banks discussed various topics in the interview, including: recently visiting her old job, being an inspiration for young fans, stealing the show at this year’s WrestleMania, the future of inter-gender matches in WWE, and whether or not her cousin Snoop Dog will accompany her to the ring soon.

The following are excerpts from that interview.

You just tweeted about visiting your old job while in Boston. What was said ‘old job’?
I used to work at a hotel. I was the order-taker for room service. My mom worked at the hotel as an accountant. To go see your old co-workers – the people you switched hours with so you could go to your independent shows and WWE tryouts – some of them actually started crying and were like, “Wow, you said it and you did it.” I was trying not to cry, but knowing I got to be there before WrestleMania motivated me so much more.

How have you handled the transition from dream-pursuer to someone inspiring your fans to go for theirs?
That’s surreal for me. I get people who come up to me and are like, “You make me wanna live my dream.” I was them, so I’m like, “Me, out of all people? No way.” Eddie Guerrero did that for me, so to have little girls and guys tell me I inspire them, I didn’t know that came with the job, but it’s so cool.

Fans have expressed some misgivings about this year’s WrestleMania matches. Does that set you, Charlotte and Becky up to potentially steal the show?
[Laughs] Have you see any of my matches boo-boo? I always steal the show, so it’s nothing new for me. I actually look at the card and I go, “Wow, yes, I’m definitely gonna steal the show.” I think this match is gonna open the doors for the women of WWE. This is a huge opportunity to show that not only can we hang with the boys, we can be better than the boys. I always want to have people talk about my matches. With this, I don’t add extra pressure on myself, but for sure, I know we can do it.

With so many male wrestlers hurt, maybe it’s time to seriously explore more inter-gender angles?
I definitely agree with that. I just think it takes time. I went from two-minute matches when I started with NXT to eight, to 10, to 12. I definitely think after this match at WrestleMania, we’re gonna be given more opportunities like that. Not only will we show it, we’re gonna demand it.

And in terms of going big, why haven’t we seen your cousin Snoop Dogg perform during your ring entrance yet?
[Laughs] Maybe you should watch WrestleMania and you might see it, you never know! I don’t need someone to walk me to the ring every week and hold my hand like Charlotte does, but Snoop can make an appearance once in a while. Some people need their daddy to hold their hand and walk them down to the ring, which is fine. Some people need fire to have an entrance, which is OK. But I’m a Boss. I don’t need that stuff.

Banks goes on to talk about possibly incorporating personal passions into her character, how cool it is to see action figures of herself and more. You can read this interview in its entirety right here.

Mark’s reaction: Nice interview from The Boss. I definitely think the Triple Threat Match for the Divas Championship can be a show stealer. Hopefully the match is given enough time. As the article mentioned, there’s a lot of apprehension among fans over the current card. If there was ever a time to let these three women loose and show the world exactly what they can do in the ring, WrestleMania 32 is the time.

As far as inter-gender matches are concerned, I don’t think we’ll see them in WWE any time soon. Lucha Underground currently does this and it works for them. However, I have a hard time believing that WWE would allow inter-gender matches as long as their shows remain PG.