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Count former WWE and current Impact Wrestling star Mickie James among those who are in the corner of Sasha Banks and Naomi in their standoff with WWE.
Banks and Naomi made headlines Monday by walking out during Raw, which resulted in WWE releasing the following statement, condemning their actions:
B/R Wrestling @BRWrestling
Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out on tonight’s Raw after Banks had issues with “creative ideas pitched,” per <a href=”https://twitter.com/PWInsidercom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@PWInsidercom</a><br><br>WWE issued a statement afterwards <a href=”https://t.co/c7PZc3K4KL”>pic.twitter.com/c7PZc3K4KL</a>
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio (h/t WrestlingInc’s Eric Mutter), James gave her thoughts on the situation:
“I actually applaud them standing in their convictions and how they felt. If that’s how they felt and they felt disrespected, or they felt unheard, or they felt any of those things, at the end of the day, we’re still independent contractors. It can be argued that they did show up to work that day, they saw whatever they were supposed to do and they had committed to at least half the day. I don’t really know because I wasn’t there to see the whole thing, so you’re only hearing what they put out.”
The five-time WWE women’s champion and four-time Impact knockouts champion also expressed surprise over the manner in which WWE handled things:
“Honestly, when I saw the statement, I was a bit in shock that WWE would even put out this statement. I couldn’t believe Vince signed off on this statement. I was just looking at it like, ‘Who wrote this thing?’ I can’t remember a time when a statement has been put out.
“There’s always, ‘Card subject to change,’ and there have certainly been people who have left, just left, packed up, and went home, or have been, ‘deemed unprofessional,’ but it’s never been called out before. So I find that a bit ironic. I don’t know why they would put out a statement. It’s almost like they sold for it quickly.”
While WWE has released similar statements before in relation to the likes of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Ultimate Warrior and CM Punk when they walked out, it is undoubtedly a rare occurrence.
On top of the statement, WWE doubled down on Friday’s episode of SmackDown when Michael Cole said Banks and Naomi “let down” the company and the fans, and that they would be suspended indefinitely and stripped of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
James is no stranger to controversy in WWE, as she spoke out after getting released by the company last year. Mickie took issue with WWE sending her belongings back in a trash bag.
WWE later issued an apology to James and noted that the person responsible for the trash bag was no longer with the company.
It didn’t take long for James and WWE to make amends, as she was an entrant in the women’s Royal Rumble match in January while she was the reigning Impact Knockouts champion, which was unprecedented.
James’ situation means there is hope WWE will be able to get on the same page with Banks and Naomi in the future, but based on how WWE has publicly reacted to the incident thus far, it may not happen anytime soon.
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