Tag: Naomi

Details are still light regarding exactly what happened that caused Sasha Banks and Naomi to walk out of WWE Raw Monday, but one Tuesday report has a version of what led to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions leaving the venue.

According to PWInsider, the plan for Raw was that Banks and Naomi would go head-to-head in the planned Six Pack Challenge with Naomi getting to challenge Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at Hell in a Cell.

The report then went to say there is a belief this Friday’s SmackDown would kick off an angle to set up Banks vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at Hell in a Cell with both Banks and Naomi losing at the event.

A pitched alternative idea including Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. that would have set up a different program was not gone with, leading to the two eventually informing John Laurinaitis they were leaving and handing over the titles.

On the post-Raw Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said the two went to Vince McMahon about the creative plan and Vince didn’t back down and didn’t agree to what they were asking.

The report said Mahon learned of their departure reportedly right as Raw was going live with the eventual Becky Lynch/Adam Pearce segment pitched and approved on the spot that led to Lynch vs. Asuka instead.

From the report:

“The belief among some is that the creative issue was not with Banks losing to Naomi but how the duo would have been portrayed over the next several weeks, especially after they had put so much time into building their team once Vince McMahon issued an edict that they would be teaming and winning the Women’s Tag Team titles at Wrestlemania 38 – and that after diving into building that team, they were going to wrestle each other and go off to put over other talents, leaving them, exactly where, which apparently was the crux of the issue. The WWE plan looks to have been that the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship would have been downplayed until their next program after Hell In A Cell concluded.”

On the post-Raw edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said the situation may also be related to a contract situation with Banks and Naomi.

During the show, WWE released a statement to the media that said the two “claimed they were respected enough as tag team champions” and that “they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.

PW Torch’s Wade Keller refuted that statement, saying, “I can just say that I asked around and there wasn’t a pre-existing issue with Naomi and Sasha and anyone in that match.” He also said there wasn’t much sympathy backstage toward either woman nor a sense of them taking a stand for something people agreed with.

As of now, both women are still on the active roster.

UPDATE: WWE has released the following statement regarding Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving during tonight’s Raw:

When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw.

During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.

They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.

Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract.

We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.

The original story can be seen below:

The main event to tonight’s Raw was reportedly changed after Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of tonight’s show.

PWInsider reported this evening that Banks “took issue with some of the planned creative” for tonight’s main event, which was set to be a six pack challenge to determine the next challenger for the Raw Women’s Championship that both Naomi and Banks were a part of. They reported that Banks had a meeting with Vince McMahon and when McMahon did not change the plans, Banks “wouldn’t back down on her issues” and left the taping. Naomi, Banks’s tag team partner, left with her.

Fightful Select reported that Naomi was originally scheduled to win the match.

The six-pack challenge was set to feature Banks, Naomi, Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H., Asuka, and Becky Lynch, which was advertised at the start of tonight’s Raw. In a later segment backstage, Lynch told Adam Pearce that she saw Banks and Naomi leaving with their gear and tried to get herself named the number one contender. Pearce refused and instead turned the six pack challenge into a singles match between Lynch and Asuka, where the winner would face RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair.

Later during the show, announcer Corey Graves mentioned that Banks and Naomi had “unprofessionally left the arena.”

Banks and Naomi are the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They successfully defended the titles against Natalya and Shayna Baszler on this Friday’s SmackDown.