Sasha Banks Reportedly Has Backstage Heat After Walking Out On WWE Raw
After walking out during WWE RAW this week, Sasha Banks has backstage heat, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
These feelings were passed on from people not in WWE management, but they also weren't aware of the full situation going on. Naomi's name was not mentioned, so it is unknown whether or not there are the same feelings towards her right now.
Of course, the Women's Tag Team Champions opted to leave the arena last night during WWE RAW, which changed the plans for the main event of the show. Originally it was set to be a six-pack match featuring both Sasha Banks and Naomi, where the winner earned a title shot against Bianca Belair.
That ended up becoming a singles match between Becky Lynch and Asuka, and the decision for Sasha Banks and Naomi to leave was brought up. WWE released the following statement last night regarding the situation:
When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight's Monday Night Raw.
During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis' office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk, and walked out.
They claimed they weren't respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they'd had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.
Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight's main event.
Since then, Sasha Banks has unfollowed all WWE-related social media accounts, including Vince McMahon. Meanwhile, a friend of Naomi's has tweeted at length about the issue, citing creative as the problem here. Naomi was set to win the match that last night and face Belair at Hell In A Cell.
She was going to pin Nikki A.S.H. to achieve that goal, not Sasha, as had been speculated. It is believed that they wanted to focus on improving the tag team division instead. Neither woman reportedly had any safety concerns about their opponents, despite what WWE claimed.
There has yet to be a confirmed reason for why they left the show, and the exact issues that have taken place. Neither Sasha Banks nor Naomi has made a comment on the matter at the time of writing.