Sean Waltman Criticizes WWE For How They Handled Pulling Sasha Banks From SummerSlam
On the latest episode of Pro Wrestling 4 Life, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Sean "X-Pac" Waltman and Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman recapped a packed pro wrestling weekend. One of the biggest stories heading into this past weekend was whether or not Sasha Banks would appear to face Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Title.
Banks would not appear, and WWE made that announcement on the night of SummerSlam while Belair was in the ring preparing for the match. Waltman gave his thoughts on the way WWE handled pulling Sasha from the show.
"I understand the predicament. There's just an old way of thinking that took over here, and I understand that, but it was the wrong thing to do," Waltman said. "There's an old saying, 'If you're going to have a replacement, the replacement needs to be of equal or greater value.' For instance, I was in a really top match on all the house shows vs. Razor after I turned heel, but then they said Scott failed a drug test that was six months old, and all of a sudden, Scott's suspended. They didn't announce that Scott wasn't going to be at the shows, which is kind of like this situation.
"When they announced that he wasn't going to be there, the people booed because they wanted to see him, but then the bagpipes played, and out comes Roddy [Piper], and the place went nuts. And we beat the sh*t out of each other. Anyway, we had great matches. The people were happy, and here's the key part, though, we had a great match. You can't do that... they did it, obviously. But I just don't think they realize how bad it was. I know there's probably no great choice, but that's not the one to make."
Carmella initially came out, but it was a returning Becky Lynch that emerged and challenged Belair for the title instead. Lynch swiftly defeated Belair with two moves to win back the SmackDown Women's Title. Many fans were angered with the result, harkening back to when Brock Lesnar quickly defeated Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship.
"Bianca is on her way to being a MEGA star, and a lot of people are really emotionally invested in her. You can't do that to people in this day and age," Waltman pointed out. "You used to be able to do it. That's why I was saying that was the old mentality, but everyone knows what's going on. The fan base is incredibly educated, and WWE, I've heard them compare themselves to Marvel. Marvel, when it comes to fan service, they're amazing. This ain't it.
"You can't sh*t on a huge portion of your fan base like that. I'm a huge Becky Lynch fan, really big. I was so happy with her run and when she got the bloody nose, cut the promo and all that sh*t, and I'm still a big fan. This did her no favors. It was just unbelievable. Bianca, she's a thoroughbred. It's just totally unbelievable that she would get beat that quick by anybody in that f*cking roster. MAYBE Nia [Jax]."
It has been reported that Lynch will now be positioned as a top heel on SmackDown. The move is reportedly Lynch's idea, and Waltman reacted to how Lynch as a heel could work.
"I guess we'll see what they do with what they got to work with now," Waltman stated. "I hate to say it because I'm a WWE person. I'm on a Legends deal with them still. The last thing I want to do is come on here and say anything negative."
A new episode of Sean Waltman's Pro Wrestling 4 Life drops every Wednesday morning on all major podcast platforms. It is also released in video form on FITE and YouTube.com/XPac Thursdays at 3 pm EST!