Backstage Reactions To Sasha Banks And Naomi's WWE Walk Out
As Sasha Banks and Naomi continue to dominate the headlines for their decision to walk out of WWE RAW, more updates continue to emerge.
The latest report from Fightful Select gives some insight into how people backstage in WWE are reacting to the controversial move as the week continues. "One talent indicated that they often see criticism of WWE's handling of champions, the tag team division, the number of women's tag teams, and the booking of women in general, but see even more criticism when talent stand up against it," the site noted.
A "consensus" among the talent who talked to Fightful is that "leaving during a show you were scheduled for, before that segment is something that is likely to lead you to getting buried throughout said show." An established WWE star responded to the comparisons of Steve Austin walking out in 2002, pointing out that Austin walked out long before airtime.
Fightful also spoke to a female star who "didn't see anything particularly egregious worth leaving the show over, but understands the creative frustration."
The report suggests there are several people within WWE who are "supportive of Naomi and Sasha's stance," but "the much larger population lies in the 'not being happy with creative is fine, walking out is fine, but walking out during the show isn't fine' camp."
People outside of the company also had plenty to say on the matter, including one former WWE talent who admitted they didn't fully understand the situation, "but that it took balls to do what Sasha and Naomi did." Meanwhile, a female wrestler in a different promotion "was surprised with the pay scale at what it is in WWE right now that the two would deem a creative situation worth walking out on." Similarly divisive reactions were echoed from several more people, most of whom took either the "someone needed to do something like this to make a stand" stance or the "can't walk out during a show you're scheduled for" stance.
Regarding how her fellow employees felt about Sasha Banks prior to this incident, several claimed that "things had seemed to have eased up in that regard in recent months." According to Fightful, "One staff member said that while they'd not had positive experiences with Banks in the past, they understood why she walked out during the show. They noted that once 8 PM rolled around, she wasn't going to be able to speak with Vince McMahon, and she knew she wasn't going to work the match, so there was no need to stick around."
Finally, someone reportedly close to the situation believes that WWE released their statement as "a way to pit those talent against each other." That same person believes, however, that "all of those involved would be quick to reach out to one another to clear up any misconceptions."
It's important to emphasize that none of these statements reflect the feelings of the entire locker room, only several individuals Fightful was able to contact.