AP Photo/Mary Schwalm
Sasha Banks is reportedly facing
significant WWE backstage heat after walking out of the May 16 episode of
Monday Night Raw alongside tag team partner Naomi.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer
Newsletter reported (via Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News) there
hasn’t been much support for Banks, even among those in the locker
room who usually side with wrestlers over the company.
“There is a lot of locker room
conjecture and talk about Banks and Naomi, largely with Banks being
portrayed negatively, as Naomi [was] supporting her friend but not
being the catalyst of it,” Meltzer said. “Even those who would
normally not be pro-management were not anti-management in this
case.”
WWE has taken a rare out-of-storyline
public stance following the walkout.
The company initially released a
statement apologizing for being unable to deliver the Raw
main event because Banks and Naomi left the building.
Later that week on SmackDown, longtime WWE announcer Michael Cole
stated the duo was suspended indefinitely and were being stripped of
their tag team titles, which would be awarded in a future tournament:
Although it’s always possible the
situation is an elaborate work, all of WWE’s comments and the outside
reporting suggests the walkout and subsequent internal backlash is
real.
Both Banks (real name Mercedes Varnado)
and Naomi (Trinity Fatu) have gone quiet on social media since the
incident two weeks ago.
Kazeem Famuyide of The Ringer reported
(via Michael Perry of Ringside News) both Superstars’ contracts were
set to expire within the next two months and they were talking about
potential extensions before the walkout.
Now their WWE futures are very much up
in the air, though it sounds like Naomi is facing a less tumultuous path to backstage reconciliation than Banks if the issues are resolved.
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