With the current situation between Sasha Banks, Naomi, and WWE, it would be easy to blame Vince McMahon and his subordinates solely for the walkout. The truth is that the walkout by both women is a more complicated situation than it first appears. Since we have yet to hear from the two wrestlers, there’s only an incomplete picture based on various reports, rumors, and WWE’s public shaming of both women.
From what we know so far, it appears the walkout resulted from creative differences involving both women losing to the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Champions, Bianca Belair and Ronda Rousey, respectively. While this doesn’t seem to be too bad at first glance, it does take away the focus on the Tag Team Titles both women were trying to make feel important. Sasha apparently was under the impression that Vince would honor his promise to have the tag division featured more prominently. Why she would assume this given McMahon’s history of subpar booking and frequent changes in direction over the past few years is a good question.
Despite their efforts to get the booking path changed, Naomi and Sasha were unable to make any headway. Frustrated, the two put the tag belts on John Laurinaitis’ (head of Talent Relations) desk and walked out during the live Raw. WWE was forced to call an audible on the six-woman match that would have resulted in Banks going over to get a title shot against Rousey. Instead, a Becky Lynch vs Asuka match went on instead. The aftermath of the incident involved both women being suspended without pay and their merchandise being taken off WWE’s website. It’s unclear whether WWE will freeze the pair’s contracts with a couple of months left on each, reportedly.
While the walkout may have been a result of pent-up frustration with a number of questionable booking decisions for both wrestlers over the previous few years, one has to ask why they chose to walk out now instead of simply waiting for their contracts to expire in the summer (if the rumors are true). Could it be to gain leverage in contract negotiations? If so, alienating McMahon by walking out on a live show doesn’t seem to be the best way to go about it.
Either way, this situation isn’t going to end well with WWE not wanting them to go to AEW and both stars seemingly at their wit’s end with Creative. They’ll be released, forced to come back to work, or left in legal limbo if the contracts are frozen. I hope it gets resolved soon.
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