KEY POINTS
- Sasha Banks and Naomi have reportedly left WWE Raw in frustration
- WWE has released a statement regarding the matter
- It is widely believed that the pair was heading to a break-up that none of them wanted
Trouble appears to be brewing behind the scenes within WWE after it was reported that the current Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi had left Raw, which left the main event in shambles.
Multiple outlets were able to acquire a copy of WWE’s official statement on what had happened backstage.
“During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out,” the statement read.
“They claim 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 consequences.”
Prior to the surprising turn of events, the main event of the May 16 episode of Monday Night Raw was supposed to be a Six Pack Challenge to determine who will challenge Bianca Belair for her Raw Women’s Championship at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
The competitors were originally advertised to have Banks, Naomi, Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H., Becky Lynch and Asuka, who had just recently returned to WWE programming after a long layoff.
PWInsider also noted that the main event was quickly changed to set up Lynch and Asuka instead for the main event, which included some backstage segments with Adam Pearce and Lynch.
Fightful was able to confirm with a source close to the matter that Naomi was going to actually win the match and face Belair at the June 5 Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
This points to the possibility that Naomi winning a No.1 contender’s match for the Raw Women’s Title could be the main culprit as it may necessitate them breaking up their tag team.
Since the Women’s Tag Titles were inaugurated at the 2019 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the only notable reign among the 13 pairs of titleholders was that of Bayley and Banks’ tenure with the belts plus that of the Kabuki Warriors (composed of Asuka and Kairi Sane).
With that in mind, it can be drawn up that Banks, along with Naomi, wanted to bring back some legitimacy to both the Women’s Tag Team Titles and the scene itself.
Hence, their hesitancy to compete in the Six Pack Challenge and subsequent walkout of Raw.
Putting their creative direction as a team by having Naomi face off against her tag team partner during the multi-women match could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
But until more reports come out, WWE fans are going to continue drawing up their suspicions as to what led to this point.
Sasha Banks attempts a pin on Carmella during the Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Championship Match on WrestleMania 38 Night 2 on April 3, 2022. Photo: WWE
