Sasha Banks Is the Modern-Day Version of Eddie Guerrero

To see her sashay down to the ring while exuding nuclear-strength charisma, it's no surprise to learn that Sasha Banks admired Eddie Guerrero.

Latino Heat couldn't have known, but as he constructed his Hall of Fame career, he was acting as Banks' professor. She was the young student from afar, taking notes on how Guerrero merged mat wrestling with showmanship and aggression with likability. 

Guerrero, a height-challenged Mexican-American with a mullet, was about as far away from the prototypical WWE star as one can imagine. He entered a world of hulking bruisers with bodybuilder physiques and rode presence and passion to championship glory.

Banks paid special attention to that journey. In August, she spoke with Chris Jericho on his Talk is Jericho podcast, telling him that it was Guerrero who first hooked her on wrestling and that he was her favorite performer.

"

Today means alot to me it's the day hero Eddie Guerrero was born be no sasha banks without Eddie. @OfficalRealWWE pic.twitter.com/hhNIjYcwGW

— Sasha Banks (@_Sasha_Banks_) October 9, 2015"

She said, "Everything about him, I just love. I want to be the female Eddie Guerrero."

In many ways, the former NXT women's champion is just that.

She is just as versatile and masterful in the ring as he was. She's managed to make dastardliness endearing, just as he did.

Just looking at their gaits during their entrances makes it hard not to draw comparisons between them.

Guerrero entered the battlefield dripping with swagger, stepping out of a lowrider and shimmying his shoulders. Banks carries that same energy. The way she stomps as she saunters, and the way she slides her hips from side to side are her own takes on the way Guerrero carried himself.  

Not Fitting the Mold

WWE briefly departed from its pattern of showcasing larger wrestlers by pushing Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart to the forefront in the early '90s, but the status quo in the squared circle has largely been a celebration of immensity.

At just 5'8'', Guerrero seemed to have no place on the top tier, where men like Brock Lesnar, Undertaker and The Rock resided.

He defied convention and proved his critics wrong. Guerrero moved from WCW to WWE, made a steel-strong connection with the fans and earned his way to the marquee. 

His title victory over Lesnar at No Way Out 2004 was a win for smaller wrestlers everywhere.

He kept the WWE title in his possession after knocking off Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX. When his friend Chris Benoit (5'11'') won the World Heavyweight Championship that same night, it felt like a shift was underway.

The definition of a top wrestler was changing.

Today, Banks is breaking ground of her own. Women have long been ignored, neglected or treated as inferior performers throughout too much of WWE history.

Divas were supposed to strip off their clothes in catfights or else deliver blink-of-an-eye matches that acted as breaks between the "real" action.

Banks has never subscribed to that line of thinking. Even at 11 years old, as she recently shared on Twitter, she was writing about upending the women's division. She wrote, "I'm going to be the best pro wrestler WWE has ever seen."

By delivering women's matches that are legitimate Match of the Year contenders, by being one of WWE's best all-around performers, she is forcing the company and the audience to rethink what a top wrestler looks like.

And so she has spearheaded a revolution, main eventing a live show in Philadelphia alongside Charlotte, being the top act at NXT TakeOver: Respect and fighting in the first Iron Man match to feature women. 

Guerrero was fighting for the little guy. Banks soldiers on for an entire gender.

At the close WrestleMania XX, the image of Benoit and Guerrero embracing in the ring under confetti rain became a symbol for a shift in wrestling history. Banks and Bayley shared their own celebratory hug after TakeOver: Brooklyn, providing a symbol of their own.

Popularity Despite Villainy 

The adoration Banks receives is unaffected by her actions in the ring, regardless of how vile they are.

It couldn't be clearer that she is a heel. She has no qualms about pulling a foe's hair or grabbing a handful of tights for leverage. Beyond that, there is a sadistic tinge to her offense.

While babyfaces work within the confines of the rules and decency, she sets no such limits for herself. At TakeOver: Respect, she stole a little girl's headband, leaving her in tears. She smashed Bayley into the LED screen and seemed to enjoy the thud that impact made.

When she and Becky Lynch looked ready to sign their contracts for their title match, Banks grabbed her challenger's arm and cracked it against the table.

None of this matters. She is still cheered. Fans still swoon for her.

On Monday's Raw, as Nikki Bella and Naomi clashed, the Chicago crowd chanted, "We want Sasha!" 

Guerrero incited that kind of passion, no matter how much of a shark he was in the ring. Viciousness was just as much of a go-to part of his playbook as it is for Banks today.

A bout against Edge in 2002 offered a glimpse into that part of Latino Heat's game. With Edge face down on the canvas, Guerrero pounced, tagging him with hard boots to the head.

Seeing Banks at work, it's clear that watching aggression like that from Guerrero made an impact on her.

The Hall of Famer's career is filled with underhanded moments and outright despicable villainy. He did everything from trying to steal Rey Mysterio's son Dominic to turning on his own nephew, Chavo.

As convincing as he was at being diabolical, it was still hard to boo him. He was too captivating not to fall for him. 

That's what Banks is experiencing now. She can lay waste to all the white-hat-wearing foes she wants; WWE fans will only like her more.

Credit: WWE.com

Guerrero eventually folded heel tactics into his character as a babyface. His motto was "lie, cheat and steal," even when he played the hero. Poking an opponent in the eye or faking that he had suffered a chair shot didn't feel like the work of a villain because he was so charming.

Banks has yet to do that. She remains a heel, but it's clear that WWE will have to consider making a switch at some point.

Her deftness in the ring is making her popularity surge.

Masters on the Mat

Guerrero did everything in the ring. He was a technician who could spend the whole match on the mat, sliding from hold to hold. He could turn on the afterburners and soar like his cruiserweight counterparts as well.

It didn't matter who his opponent was; he could thrive with a mat wrestler like Dean Malenko, a high-flyer like Mysterio or a human wrecking ball like Lesnar. 

Smoothness marked his ring work. So did artistry. 

This was what endeared him to fans early on, before his Latino Heat persona had developed, before he found his footing on the mic. At ECW, in Mexico and as part of WCW's flourishing cruiserweight division, he put on outstanding matches on a consistent basis.

Banks is equally as versatile, equally as excellent.

Her matches see her issue crisp mat work, dives to the floor and all the nuances that make for a quality in-ring story. She showboats at just the right moment. She delivers moves fans just aren't used to seeing in the women's division, from the double knee stomp to the springboard arm drag.

She puts that arsenal together to craft bouts as fluid and engrossing as what Guerrero produced in his prime.

And so she carries on his tradition of being a captivating, mold-breaking mat magician. She is a long way away from earning entry into the Hall of Fame, as he did, but if WWE makes way for her rise as it did for Guerrero's, she will join him there. 

WWE long resisted letting a guy like Guerrero be the face of the franchise, just as it has been hesitant for so many years to showcase its women.

With flair and ferocity much like Guerrero's, expect Banks to be the pacesetter of the Divas Revolution.