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Sasha Banks On Adjusting To Vince McMahon’s Script Changes, WWE Travel Schedule, The Mandalorian Role

January 24, 2021 | Posted by Blake Lovell
Sasha Banks Asuka WWE Survivor Series Image Credit: WWE

In a recent interview on Normal Not Normal, Sasha Banks discussed adjusting to Vince McMahon’s script changes, WWE’s travel schedule, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Sasha Banks on getting the opportunity to appear on The Mandalorian: “It was so hard for me because I was so frickin’ nervous. I could not believe when I got the call to be asked to be part of The Mandalorian from Jon Favreau himself. I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I was driving somewhere and my manager called me and it was an off day. I’m full of joy, I want to throw my phone out the window and don’t even want to answer it. He calls me and is like, ‘Jon Favreau wants to Facetime you. Do you have time?’ I’m like, ‘Uhhhhh, OK.’ Ran home, put some makeup on. He told me about The Mandalorian and about the story, and I was like, ‘Wow, is this for real? This is incredible.'”

Sasha Banks on how adjusting to WWE script changes helped prepare her for her acting role: “I wanted to do really good. I even said, ‘Should I get acting classes? I don’t know what to do!’ He is like, ‘You do you every single week on live national television. What are you talking about? I’m like, ‘You know what, you’re right.’ What I do is acting as well. I get a script every single week and I have to remember it like ‘bam!’ In WWE, that’s how exciting it is. Our boss is so, so legendary and crazy and iconic, but again, crazy, that he will change things in an instant, and maybe he won’t even give you a script and he’ll just push you out there. He will change a script on you in 30 seconds or in a heartbeat, and you just have to pull it together…..I just kept on practicing over and over and over. It’s not like I had many lines, but I just wanted to make sure that I understood the character and the meaning and facial expressions and what I wanted to bring to the table.”

On WWE’s travel schedule and how the pandemic has changed her career: “You have no idea how much I think that has changed my career. For real, it has changed my career so much. I used to be on the road five to six days out of the week. I’m not just talking about in one state. I’m driving five or six hours to different states every single day. But we’re not just talking about driving, I’m talking about flying as well – early in the morning – and I’m talking about wrestling too. I’m beating my body, jumping into a car, and driving five hours and getting to the hotel at maybe four in the morning. Sleep in until 12, work out, get your food, and doing the exact same thing. That will beat up your body. Now you get to TV, where it’s crazy to begin – you don’t know what’s gonna happen, Vince could push you out there, you have no idea. You could have a 10-minute match, five-minute match, nothing, or a 20-minute segment. Then you go home, do your laundry, and get on the road again. Now, thankfully that I live in Florida, it’s once a week. I feel like a part-timer. My body is in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I’m sleeping so good. My match quality has raised the roof up, and my body just feels awesome.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Normal Not Normal with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.