UPDATE: 2024/04/17 11:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

"The Boss" is now All Elite. Mercedes Moné recently made her debut and set the professional wrestling world off. For years, she has been one of the very best and most popular professional wrestlers in the world. Moné will only continue to make history and get her name out into the mainstream. However, Moné's family has a long history of entertaining people. One of her cousins is the legendary West Coast rapper, Snoop Dogg, and the two have been very vocal in their support for one another.

"The Boss" Sasha Banks, now known as Mercedes Mone in AEW, being related to Snoop Dogg is a noteworthy part of her journey that was referenced in WWE many times. The dream of Sasha to become a pro wrestler saw her cousin and mega-star Snoop Dogg getting involved to help harness that passion. Few wrestlers are related to celebrities, but even fewer have ties to anyone as beloved or popular as Snoop in pop culture.

The relationship between Banks and Snoop has crossed over from family bonds to becoming part of the wrestling world. Snoop has always had a good connection with the wrestling scene, but it reached new levels thanks to his younger cousin becoming a huge star in the business.

Snoop Dogg And Sasha Banks Are Cousins

Sasha Banks Didn't See Snoop Dogg Much When Growing Up

• Snoop Dogg and Sasha Banks are connected by Banks' father.
• Snoop Dogg and Sasha Banks grew up on opposite coasts of the United States.
• Snoop Dogg is 20 years older than Sasha Banks.

The unique nature of cousins will see certain relatives of that ilk being closer than siblings, but others will spend their lives never knowing each other. Snoop Dogg and Sasha Banks have a relationship of the middle ground as they are close but didn’t grow up close together. The two knew each other through family events, but Banks grew up in Massachusetts while Snoop made his home in California, representing the West Coast. Banks’ father was the brother of one of Snoop’s parents, making them cousins with a noteworthy age gap. Snoop is 20 years older than Sasha.

The two only spent time together at family events or when Snoop was in town and offered concert tickets. However, Snoop Dogg clearly cared about Banks to keep them united against all odds. Sasha and her mother had a falling out with her father, and Banks acknowledged not having a relationship with him. The difficult scenario saw Sasha referencing her dad as not being a good parent or there for her family. Snoop didn’t cut off ties to that side of his family even though the person that connected their family tree branch was no longer in the picture.

Snoop Dogg And Sasha Banks Bonded Over A Shared Love Of Wrestling

Snoop Dogg Has Made Numerous Appearances In Wrestling

• Snoop Dogg has made appearances in both AEW and WWE.
• Snoop Dogg was a guest host at WrestleMania 39.
• Sasha Banks met John Cena at WrestleMania 24.

The wrestling fandom of Sasha Banks became her biggest passion as a child growing up with difficult variables, like her father not being around and having a special-needs brother that required her to take a bigger role in helping out at a young age. Banks credits wrestling for helping her get through difficult times and for helping her figure out her true dreams in life. There was no doubt Sasha wanted to be a top wrestler from her teenage years. Snoop Dogg actually helped cultivate this when he struck a deal to work with WWE heading into WrestleMania 24.

WWE wanted top names in pop culture to appear at their bigger events, and Snoop became part of the women’s tag match story on that card. The family connection saw the two noteworthy names speaking to each other in passing like most distant relatives until their shared love of wrestling was discovered. Banks begged her mom to attend WrestleMania 24 and Snoop Dogg made it happen, making Banks one of his guests for the night. A fun backstage photo showed a teenage Sasha taking a picture with John Cena long before she became his peer. Snoop made sure his younger cousin got to experience WWE.

Snoop Dogg Became Part Of Sasha Banks' Wrestling Story

The Doggfather Remixed Sasha Banks' Entrance Music

• Snoop Dogg has made an appearance with Sasha Banks in WWE.
• Snoop Dogg rapped Sasha Banks' theme song at WrestleMania 32.
• Snoop Dogg remixed her theme song, which Sasha Banks used for a while in WWE.

The Boss character made Sasha Banks a huge star for NXT. Banks initially came off dry as a generic face until this gimmick created magic. Banks told Steve Austin on the Broken Skull Sessions that Snoop Dogg was the inspiration for her character, since she often saw his security guards or other personnel endearingly referring to him as “boss” whenever they interacted. This was the smaller part of a bigger step for Banks to find her dream character in the wrestling world. Sasha became a top NXT star and was called up to the main roster with huge expectations. It was only fitting that Snoop was part of her first WrestleMania 32 entrance by rapping her to the ring.

The moment was special, seeing Banks’ emotion and the general pageantry of wrestling. WWE utilized the relationship between Snoop and Sasha a few more times to highlight both. Snoop Dogg was inducted into the 2016 Hall of Fame with John Cena giving the speech. This would not likely have happened without the two sides growing close again through his cousin. Snoop also wrote an exclusive verse to remix Banks’ entrance theme to success. The family bond between Sasha and Snoop is a wholesome story of a teen dream leading to a deeper connection through wrestling.

Sasha Banks Becomes Mercedes Mone

Mercedes Mone Is Now All Elite

• Mercedes Mone signed with AEW in 2023.
• Mercedes Mone previously wrestled in NJPW.
• Mercedes Mone is a former IWGP Women's Champion.

While WWE loved to share Sasha Banks' relationship with Snoop Dogg to help add flavor to her character of "The Boss," she decided to do things her own way when she walked out on WWE and made her own way in the world of wrestling. While Snoop Dogg showed up in AEW for an appearance, Sasha chose not to make that jump and instead went to Japan to sign on with NJPW. With that said, Snoop Dogg supports his cousin every step of the way, even sharing a social media pic of the two of them, with the words "bloodline" in the caption, after her walkout.

Sasha Banks changed her name to Mercedes Moné when she showed up in the Tokyo Dome during Wrestle Kingdom. Moné went on to become IWGP Women's Champion and held the title for a bit. After sustaining an injury, Moné made her debut for AEW recently. With her there and Snoop Dogg having a relationship with AEW, maybe fans will get to see a crossover between the two again.