Tag: Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks Returns On WWE RAW And Turns Heel

Sasha Banks made her long-awaited return to WWE TV on tonight’s post-SummerSlam edition of RAW.

Banks returned during a segment where Natalya was talking about it being one year since her father passed away, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Neidhart. Banks hugged Natalya but then turned and dropped her with a right hand. Banks took off her purple wig and revealed new blue hair, then proceeded to destroy Natalya until RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch ran down to make the save.

Lynch and Banks then brawled until Banks got the upperhand. The beatdown to Lynch involved several steel chair shots, tossing her into the barrier and the steel steps, among others. Fans chanted “thank you Sasha!” and “this is awesome!” at times. Banks left Lynch laying and then walked to the back.

Banks had been away since dropping the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 35. There were reports on Banks being unhappy, and at one point it was rumored that she was looking to sit out for the remainder of her WWE contract. It was reported in late May that Banks had met with Vince McMahon and the situation was improving, and that she would be back in the ring this summer.

It looks like the attack to Natalya may have been done to write her off TV for a few weeks. Natalya earlier mentioned that she suffered a dislocated elbow in the SummerSlam Submission Match loss to Lynch, and said she was to undergo an MRI tomorrow.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks Reportedly Met With Vince McMahon Recently

It has been a long time since Sasha Banks has been on WWE TV. The multi-time WWE Women’s Champion was last seen at WrestleMania 35, when she and Bayley lost the Women’s Tag Team Titles to The IIconics. There have since been reports of her wanting to quit the company.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sasha and Vince McMahon had a meeting on 5/23. Things have reportedly gotten better between the two, and while it is not official, she could be back sometime this summer.

It was reported a while back that Banks felt frustrated with WWE’s decision to take away her and Bayley’s tag titles at the last minute. The match with the IIconics also featured the teams of Nia Jax and Tamina along with Natalya and Beth Phoenix. She was under the impression that the duo would have a chance to have a strong run with the titles that they won at the Elimination Chamber PPV. The hope was they would help legitimize the titles.

Just recently, Sasha sent out a cryptic tweet that had that included lyrics from rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “Dumb It Down” single, as seen below:

https://twitter.com/SashaBanksWWE/status/1134185047710425088

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Sasha Banks’ WWE Status, Who Is Getting Banks’ Spot AT WWE Money In The Bank?

Sasha Banks was set to compete in the upcoming women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match, but she was pulled from the show due to her ongoing issues with WWE.

Banks was replaced in the match by Dana Brooke, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The match at the May 19 WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view will feature Brooke, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Bayley, Carmella and Ember Moon.

Banks was originally earmarked for the match but she has not agreed to return to work for the company after recently requesting her release.

There’s no word yet on if WWE will grant the release, but it doesn’t look like. The Observer noted that no talents will be granted their release if WWE officials feel like they would be able to help All Elite Wrestling. WWE also continues to try and re-sign everyone with big offers if they have contracts coming up, months before those contracts actually expire, due to concern over AEW.

We noted in late April that Banks was at a stalemate with WWE. She reportedly tried to quit the company during WrestleMania 35 weekend because she and Bayley were upset about being split up, and over the decision to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics as they believed they would be given a lengthy title run to make them mean something. Word from within WWE was that Banks wanted to sit out the rest of her contract, and she still hasn’t agreed to return to action as of this week. There’s still no word yet on when Banks would be eligible to leave the company, but the Observer previously reported that that the company could add time to Banks’ contract for the time she spends not working, similar to the recent situation with Neville. Banks could end up being out of action for a significant amount of time if WWE adds time to the contract.

WWE did want Banks back in action and involved in the storylines, at last word, but Banks wants a lot of things to be different with how she’s booked. Banks was still scheduled for Money In the Bank when the news of her request release came out, but now she’s no longer factored into the plans for that pay-per-view.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks Reportedly Wants To Sit Out The Rest Of Her WWE Contract

Sasha Banks is reportedly at a stalemate with WWE, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Regarding the situation between the two sides, we’ve noted how Banks reportedly tried to quit the company during WrestleMania 35 weekend as she was unhappy about her team with Bayley being split up, and the decision to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics. Banks and Bayley believed they would be given a lengthy run with the titles to make them mean something.

Word from within WWE is that Banks wants to sit out the rest of her contract, according to Meltzer.

There’s no word yet on when Banks would be eligible to leave the company but Meltzer noted that WWE could add time to the contract for the time she spends not working, similar to the situation with Neville. She could be out of action for a significant amount of time if WWE adds time to the contract.

It was noted that WWE does want Banks back in the mix, but she wants things to be different. Those differences are unclear and not agreed on because the two sides have not made up yet.

Banks has been scheduled for the May 19 WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view, but her status for the show is up in the air right now.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

More On Why Sasha Banks Is Upset With WWE

Sasha Banks has not appeared on WWE television since she reportedly tried to quit WWE over WrestleMania weekend last week.

As we previously reported, Banks was apparently unhappy that she and Bayley would be losing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 35. The team apparently thought that they would have a chance to make the titles mean something, and a storyline had been started where the duo would have a a run of defending the titles on WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown.

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Banks was also upset because they were told that the company would be splitting up the team. The plan is for Banks to stay on RAW while Bayley is on SmackDown.

Banks and Bayley ended up losing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship to the IIConics at WrestleMania. This past Monday on RAW, Bayley teamed with Naomi to defeat The IIConics. Bayley moved to SmackDown on Tuesday as part of the Superstar Shakeup and said that she is now a singles competitor.

WWE has given Banks a few weeks off so that she can decide what she wants to do next. It was noted that she is booked for the Money In The Bank pay-per-view on May 19th at the XL Center in Hartford.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks Repsonds To Rumors And Reports?

There’s been a lot of speculation on Sasha Banks’ WWE status after it was reported that she tried to quit the company during WrestleMania 35 Weekend. Banks reportedly felt blindsided by the decision put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics. It was also reported that she and Bayley caused a scene at MetLife Stadium and at the WWE hotel, making it known they were not happy with the title change. Banks also made the news for no longer following WWE and Vince McMahon on Twitter, while following several AEW accounts.

Banks took to Twitter today and apparently responded to some of the reports, also tagging WWE NXT, NXT UK, PROGRESS, EVOLVE, RAW and SmackDown. She wrote, “If you only knew, ya marks! #Raw #SDLive #NXT #NXTUK #Progress #evolve #ShakeUp”

You can see Banks’ tweet below:

https://twitter.com/SashaBanksWWE/status/1117805269097041922

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks And Bayley Reportedly Caused A Bad Scene Over WrestleMania 35 Loss

Sasha Banks and Bayley reportedly caused a few scenes during WrestleMania 35 Weekend in New York City.

We noted before that Banks felt “blindsided” by the decision to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics and reportedly tried to quit the company. It was noted that she expected to have a strong run with Bayley and the titles. According to the report, which you can read at this link, Banks has been given time to think everything over before making a decision.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet took to Twitter today and reported that Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room at Met Life Stadium on Sunday, “loudly making it known they were unhappy” about dropping the titles. It was also noted that they made a similar scene back at the WWE hotel.

“Heard from a few sources now saying Sasha Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room on Sunday, and back at the hotel in front of one of their rooms, loudly making it known they were unhappy about losing the tag titles,” Satin wrote on Twitter.

Satin defended his report and said he heard the same information from multiple sources. “This info is from four different sources I’ve spoken with the past day. All independent from each other and all came to me about it, not the other way around,” he wrote in one tweet to a fan. He continued in another tweet, “Was told this by four separate people who have no relation to each other. There were a lot of people staying in the hotel during Mania weekend.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bayley Also Frustrated With WWE?

Sasha Banks told WWE that she wanted out of her contract during WrestleMania weekend. It was not a pleasant scene at all and it called for Banks to cancel an appearance on the Wendy Williams Show in the process.

WWE is giving Banks some time to sort things out, but she might not be back if that is what she chooses to do. Sean Ross Sapp was recently asked during a Fightful Select Q&A if The Boss n Hug Connection would stay in WWE or go elsewhere and he had a rather interesting reply. Because Sasha Banks isn’t the only one who is frustrated.

“I see them taking a chance elsewhere. Sasha is not happy. Bayley was very frustrated this weekend as well, not the the point where Sasha was. Sasha has been sold a bill of goods for a long time and they wasted both of these women’s 2018s.”

AEW is opening up and making a lot of noise. They could certainly use The Boss and The Hugger in their company to help bring a new shine to their emerging women’s division as well.

Source: RingSideNews

Sasha Banks Reportedly Tried To Quit WWE Due To WrestleMania 35 Title Change Decision

Sasha Banks reportedly tried to quit WWE over WrestleMania 35 Weekend, according to one higher-up source to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

It was noted that Banks felt blindsided when she found out at the last minute that she and Bayley were dropping the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 35. That Fatal 4 Way saw The IIconics capture the titles by defeating Banks and Bayley, Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka, and Natalya and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

Banks was reportedly under the impression that WWE would be giving them a chance to have a strong run with the titles, to bring credibility to the new belts and to establish them as serious titles. The decision was then made to go with The IIconics as champion, a team that some say will make the titles feel like gimmick comedy belts.

Regarding her WWE status, Banks has been given a few weeks to think things over before making a decision on a choice that WWE officials believe may have been made as a rash decision. Another source noted to The Observer that Banks has been given time to figure out if she wants to leave the company or stay, but that source couldn’t confirm the reason why, and said Banks probably would not have known about the WrestleMania 35 finish until late, and did believe that Banks and Bayley were going to be given a chance to make the titles mean something. It was also noted that it was logical for Banks and Bayley to assume they would have a run of defending the titles on WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown, just because that storyline was started in the first place.

Another source just said Banks was clearly unhappy, which has been speculated on at various points over the past few years of Banks’ WWE career.

As we’ve noted, Banks’ strange post-WrestleMania 35 week began when WWE had Alexa Bliss call out Banks and Bayley for RAW on Monday night. Bayley would appear for a loss to Bliss, but Banks was nowhere to be soon. Banks did post a cryptic message during RAW that mentioned a line she had used before, about wanting to feel magic again. The cryptic post read like this:

“There is something about the way life happens today that makes it hard to look ahead. There are things that make it difficult to laugh; difficult to live the way you want. There are things that make it almost impossible to trust where you are, or to believe in where you want to be. You look around and life is happening way too fast. Sometimes it feels like the moments are gone. Everything happens all at once and right away. We’re marching towards a destiny we cannot understand, towards the kingdom of convenient. Then one day you look up and you can’t find the meaning. Your crisis of purpose and passion is acting up, but they tell you that that’s suppose to be normal. Well… I don’t want normal, I want magic; cause that’s the place that feels like home to me. That’s the place where I remember what dreams look like, where meaning is effortless, and purpose is simple. That’s the place where love still matters. I want that feeling of coming home again. I want to feel like myself….. I want that magic.”

Banks then pulled out of a Tuesday appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, causing issues with the staff of the show because it was a late cancellation out of nowhere. Banks announced the cancellation on Twitter and cited personal reasons. Sasha added the “#IfYouOnlyKnew” hashtag to the cancellation post, indicating more to the story. She wrote, “Due to personal reasons, I had to pull out of my appearance today on @WendyWilliams . Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. Hopefully the opportunity will be there again later. #IfYouOnlyKnew”

Wendy noted on Wednesday’s episode that Banks had a family emergency, which is why she canceled her appearance on the show. Williams wished the best to Banks and her family, indicating they had smoothed over any issues they had with her from the late cancellation. It was also revealed that Banks’ people contacted the show just after midnight the night before filming to cancel. Banks has not commented on the family emergency, but it was revealed that she is currently on a post-WrestleMania vacation to the Dominican Republic with Kalisto and their significant others. Social media posts indicated that they flew out the day that Banks was scheduled for the TV appearance.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Why Sasha Banks Canceled Her Appearance On The Wendy Williams Show

As noted, Sasha Banks was scheduled to appear on The Wendy Williams Show yesterday but she backed out of the appearance, citing personal reasons on Twitter. This led to heat from staff of the show as she reportedly pulled out at the last minute.

Sasha added the “#IfYouOnlyKnew” hashtag to the Twitter post, indicating more to the story. She wrote, “Due to personal reasons, I had to pull out of my appearance today on @WendyWilliams . Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. Hopefully the opportunity will be there again later. #IfYouOnlyKnew”

In an update, it was noted on today’s edition of The Wendy Williams Show that Banks canceled her appearance because she had a family emergency. It was noted that Sasha’s representative called to cancel the booking after midnight the night before. Williams wished Banks and her family well. There’s no word yet on what the issue is.

It was reported on Tuesday, via Paige Six, that Banks bailed on the show at the last minute and that the unexpected cancellation left everyone on the staff fuming.

“She won’t be booked again,” a show source reported to Page Six. “She didn’t give a real reason for canceling, and she did it only hours before the show tapes, so production was left scrambling to fill her spot. Wendy ended up doing an extra segment of Hot Topics instead.”

Paige Six reached out to Banks’ representative for comment but they were referred to her Twitter statement.

We also noted how Banks posted a cryptic message on Twitter during Monday’s RAW, just hours after she and Bayley dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35. WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Alexa Bliss had challenged Banks and Bayley for RAW. Bayley appeared for the loss to Bliss, but Banks was not on the show.

Below is Banks’ cryptic message from during RAW and the tweet on Tuesday’s show cancellation:

“There is something about the way life happens today that makes it hard to look ahead. There are things that make it difficult to laugh; difficult to live the way you want. There are things that make it almost impossible to trust where you are, or to believe in where you want to be. You look around and life is happening way too fast. Sometimes it feels like the moments are gone. Everything happens all at once and right away. We’re marching towards a destiny we cannot understand, towards the kingdom of convenient. Then one day you look up and you can’t find the meaning. Your crisis of purpose and passion is acting up, but they tell you that that’s suppose to be normal. Well… I don’t want normal, I want magic; cause that’s the place that feels like home to me. That’s the place where I remember what dreams look like, where meaning is effortless, and purpose is simple. That’s the place where love still matters. I want that feeling of coming home again. I want to feel like myself….. I want that magic.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.