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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Banks, Naomi Reportedly Still on WWE Roster
Despite rumors of Sasha Banks’ release from WWE, she and tag team partner Naomi are reportedly still considered to be with the company.
According to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, Banks and Naomi are still listed on WWE’s internal roster, which wouldn’t typically be the case for a Superstar who has been released.
WrestlingInc’s Raj Giri reported recently that WWE released Banks, but WWE has not announced the move publicly, and it hasn’t confirmed such a decision to any news outlets or reporters.
Giri doubled down on Tuesday, reporting that Banks was released on June 10. He added that the reason for WWE’s silence may be that the company is trying to “smooth things over” behind the scenes and bring Sasha back into the fold.
Neither Banks nor Naomi have appeared on WWE programming since they walked out during the May 16 episode of Raw.
Banks and Naomi had been scheduled to compete in a six-pack challenge with the winner going on to face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship, but it was changed to a singles match between Becky Lynch and Asuka instead.
During that episode of Raw, WWE released a statement giving its side of what happened and condemning the actions of Banks and Naomi:
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>
On the ensuing episode of SmackDown, WWE announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and stripped them of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
WWE hasn’t mentioned Banks or Naomi on TV in quite some time, and neither Banks nor Naomi have spoken on the situation publicly.
The women’s tag team division has essentially been nonexistent during their absence, and WWE has been without two of its top female Superstars.
Both Banks and Naomi are former women’s champions individually, and it can be argued that there is no bigger female star in all of wrestling than Sasha.
The Boss has delivered time and time again in the ring, main evented Night 1 of WrestleMania against Bianca Belair last year and is involved with the Star Wars franchise after appearing in The Mandalorian.
Losing one or both of Banks and Naomi would be a major blow to WWE, which is why it is understandable why the company is seemingly trying to keep them in the fold.
Update on Lesnar’s Upcoming TV Schedule
Brock Lesnar is set to have a busy schedule ahead of his undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam next month.
According to Michael Perry of Ringside News, Lesnar is being advertised to appear on the July 11 episode of Raw in San Antonio.
Perry added that The Beast Incarnate is being advertised for the July 22 SmackDown in Boston and July 29 SmackDown in Atlanta as well.
The SmackDown in Atlanta is the go-home episode prior to SummerSlam, which will emanate from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 30.
Lesnar made his long-awaited WWE return on SmackDown a couple of weeks ago by confronting Reigns after a successful title defense against Riddle. Lesnar pretended to shake Reigns’ hand before hitting him with an F-5.
Before that, Lesnar hadn’t been seen since WrestleMania 38 when he dropped the WWE Championship to Reigns in a winner-take-all unification match for both the WWE and universal titles in the main event.
After Lesnar attacked The Tribal Chief on SmackDown, the rematch was made official for SummerSlam with a Last Man Standing stipulation.
Lesnar is a part-time Superstar who doesn’t appear regularly on television, but the WWE Universe will see plenty of him in the coming weeks.
Gunther Wants Match vs. Cena
Count intercontinental champion Gunther among those with a dream match against John Cena on their mind.
In response to a tweet by the WWE on Fox account suggesting Cena should go after the Intercontinental Championship, Gunther tweeted the following on Tuesday:
The IC title is one of the few major titles Cena has never held, so it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that it could be in the 16-time world champion’s sights.
After dominating in NXT UK and NXT, Gunther officially made the move to the main roster a couple of months ago, and he has been an unstoppable force on SmackDown.
In almost no time, Gunther defeated Ricochet to become the new intercontinental champion, and he has already retained the title against Ricochet in a rematch.
The Ring General seems poised for a long and destructive title reign, and Cena may be one of the few Superstars capable of stopping him
After nearly a year away from WWE, Cena returned on Monday’s episode of Raw to celebrate 20 years with the company.
WWE hasn’t announced when he will return next or if he is going to wrestle in the near future, but Gunther stands out as one of the best possible opponents for him.
Given how much United States champion Theory has been pushing for a match against Cena and the fact that he confronted Cena backstage on Raw, however, a Cena vs. Gunther match may not be in the cards any time soon.
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