Sasha Banks Becomes New WWE Women's Champion After Defeating Charlotte on Raw

Rising WWE Superstar Sasha Banks had a career-changing triumph during Monday's episode of Raw, defeating Charlotte to claim the WWE Women's Championship belt.

WWE's official Twitter account provided footage of the showdown's conclusion after Sasha held Charlotte with her Bank Statement finishing move and forced a tapout:

Sasha and Charlotte were stablemates during their NXT days, but Sasha got the better of her former ally Monday.

It was a gritty battle in which Charlotte also attempted to finish Sasha, and both wrestlers took big risks to thrill fans in attendance at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

One of the savviest and classiest moves Sasha made was paying homage to the late Eddie Guerrero, whom she has cited as her favorite professional wrestler. In honor of Guerrero, she tossed the championship belt to Dana Brooke, Charlotte's ex-sidekick, as Brooke was running interference ringside.

The act got Brooke ejected, allowing Sasha to resume focus on the task at hand.

Sasha, 24, made her maiden WWE appearance July 15, 2015, alongside Charlotte and Becky Lynch as part of an initiative to bring more attention to the company's Divas division.

She took to Twitter afterward to savor the win:

Charlotte also took to Twitter to discuss the loss: 

The crowd serenaded Sasha with a chant of "You Deserve It!" suggesting The Boss will have the crowd behind her during her tenure as the champion.

In light of her huge victory and the positive reaction to Monday's outcome, Sasha seems bankable as a Superstar. She provided a massive surprise and an excellent new storyline.

The trick will be for WWE to come up with another big twist at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, New York, in August. A title bout between Charlotte and Sasha could've waited until then, but perhaps something similarly thrilling is on tap for the pay-per-view event.