Sasha Banks

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WWE Could Freeze Sasha, Naomi Contracts

The biggest ongoing story in wrestling is still very much unsettled. A week after Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out on Raw during the broadcast over frustration with their booking, not much has been determined about their futures.

WWE has stripped them of their women's tag team titles and suspended them indefinitely, along with burying them on air, but that's about it. We've heard nothing from either of the two women about how they view their future in the company.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said it's possible the company chooses to freeze their contracts while they're suspended. 

"Naomi's contract did not have much time left. I think it was about two months. As we've talked about, she was negotiating a new deal," Meltzer said, per Ringside News. "Based on the wording of their contracts, WWE has the right to suspend and freeze. Now, would that hold up in court? I don't know. Will they challenge it in court? I don't know, but based on the contracts they signed, if you fail to perform and we suspend you, we can also freeze your contract."

Meltzer said it would be "tougher" for WWE to bring back Banks now that she has effectively walked out on the company on two separate occasions.

That said, time tends to fix all bad blood. It's possible an extended break into the summer will rejuvenate Sasha and allow her to return to the fold, potentially earning some level of guarantee she'll be at the top of the card.

Naomi is in a more difficult situation with her contract set to expire and her general star level lower than Banks. She is also married to Jimmy Uso, which adds another layer to the mix given the Usos' status at the top of the card with Roman Reigns. 

Title Unification a Last-Minute Change

WWE apparently never had plans to deliver on its proposed tag team title unification.

Meltzer said the decision to unify the championships and put them on the Usos came at the "last minute."

"They had no planned finish. ... The plan was always the angle at the end; it was never Riddle and Orton winning," Meltzer said. "It was probably a DQ for Roman Reigns interfering. ... As for what they would do about the finish, they went back and forth, and then Vince eventually made the call. ... The decision itself wasn't made until Friday."

Reigns is reportedly set for a program that includes singles matches against Riddle and Randy Orton at the two July live events, Money in the Bank and SummerSlam. The undisputed WWE Universal champion is not currently slated to be on the Hell in a Cell card.

It's unclear what direction WWE will take the Usos now that they have unified the gold. It's possible they will have a rematch with RK-Bro at Hell in a Cell, which would be one way to strengthen the card given Reigns' seeming absence.

That being said, it's a little strange that WWE didn't wait until HIAC to unify the tag titles if they were simply going to run with the Reigns-Riddle-Orton angle at the following live events. 

Cody vs. Rollins Set for HIAC Main Event

WWE is putting its eggs heavily in the Cody Rhodes basket.

With Reigns not slated to work at Hell in a Cell, Meltzer says the match between Rhodes and Seth Rollins inside the structure will be the main event. This would mark the second straight premium live event to be headlined by a non-title match.

The only championship defended at this month's WrestleMania Backlash was the SmackDown women's championship. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka is currently the only championship match scheduled for Hell in a Cell, and we're less than two weeks away from that event.

Rollins vs. Rhodes has certainly done enough over the last couple of months to earn the Hell in a Cell treatment. Their matches at WrestleMania and WrestleMania Backlash were both excellent, and Rhodes has clearly established himself as the top babyface of Raw since making his return to WWE. 

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By now, the discourse around former WWE women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out on an episode of Raw has covered a broad range of topics. 

But there's a potential elephant in the room worth addressing: This feels like it was inevitable. 

Inevitably, Superstars were bound to tire of how champions and championships themselves within WWE get treated. The company has a moments problem in which it tries to shock and create viral situations that hamper long-term booking, but it's long had a titles problem, too. 

To back it up a bit, Banks and Naomi walked out on the May 16 edition of Raw, prompting WWE to put out a statement that included language such as "They claimed they weren't respected enough as tag team champions."

Since then, mostly speculation and rumors have filled in the gaps, suggesting both women would go on to challenge for individual titles and not defend the tag belts for months on end. WWE then stripped them of those titles and will hold a tournament to crown new champions while their fate, as of this writing, remains up in the air. 

Banks and Naomi won their tag titles at WrestleMania 38 and defended them just twice, once to best Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan and then to defeat Natalya and Shayna Baszler. Taking a quick look at the booking, it's pretty clear there were no other teams that would challenge for their titles, meaning no future tag defenses. 

And let's be honest, the rest of the company's titles aren't getting much better treatment. Which, for the most part, means the Superstars themselves aren't, either. 

Look at the very top of the company, where Roman Reigns holds both the leading men's titles. His feud with Brock Lesnar derailed the entire run to WrestleMania 38, including landmark events such as the Royal Rumble. Now clutching both, the company doesn't have a good way to get one of the titles off him and set things right for the men's main event scene—and could well keep things this way through the next 'Mania. 

Farther down the card, the United States title didn't even get defended on a two-night WrestleMania. Neither did the intercontinental title. Both could be used like stepping stones as Superstars ascend to the main event scene, yet somehow both feel about on par with the 24/7 title despite their prestigious history.

Things aren't much better on the women's side. Raw women's champion Bianca Belair has a fun feud set up with the likes of Asuka, at least. But Ronda Rousey's flimsy reign lacks notable challengers and general interest after she lost during her first chance at the title in a middling feud with Charlotte Flair, only to win it later. 

Keep in mind things are so-so enough around both women's top titles that WWE's speculated plan was to ignore the tag titles on Banks and Naomi outright in order to freshen those feuds and titles scenes up. 

Even the men's tag title scene now is one big question mark, with The Usos holding both the Raw and SmackDown belts. There's obviously an attempt at a storyline there alongside Reigns, but it isn't helping the rest of the division much. 

One can begin to understand why Banks and Naomi might have been frustrated with the idea of not defending their titles for months on end. The Boss was there at the beginning when the belts were created in early 2019, and her hope to win them at 'Mania this year and actually defend them made sense.

Having them be little more than props on the way to the ring for solo matches, cheapening the number of days they were champions in the record books in the process, only made the outlook worse. 

What's frustrating from a fan perspective is it doesn't have to be this way. Reigns vs. Lesnar didn't need both titles to feel special and it was understandable to feel WWE didn't have a plan with that angle, anyway—which has seemingly been confirmed because they didn't even unify the titles. 

Not too long ago, major names would actually compete for say, the U.S. title and hold open challenges. The prestigious history of the intercontinental title shouldn't need much of an explanation, either. Heck, a longstanding criticism of WWE tag wrestling has been that it often feels like the company randomly slaps two names into a team when it has nothing else for them to do, just to fill time and fulfill the necessity of actually having tag titles in a wrestling company. 

So the fix? Treat the titles seriously. Have major names gun for non-main event titles. Savvy long-term booking would be nice, but WWE struggling so much with simple storytelling in recent years that even just having champions consistently defend would be nice. It only takes one Kevin Owens debuting against John Cena's open U.S. title challenge (a classic must-see weekly moment WWE would be wise to bring back) to make magic for a moment and the long term. 

WWE doesn't need magic, of course. It needs booking around championships that respects the titles, the Superstars and the fans. They're not just props. And if the Banks-Naomi situation tells us anything, it's that Superstars feel much closer to how the fans feel than they might be permitted to let on publicly. 

This problem does walk closely alongside the general booking and storytelling issue, but it's a simpler fix by making the titles desirable and defended often, with actual placement on cards, especially at the biggest events of the year, no less. 

Count former WWE and current Impact Wrestling star Mickie James among those who are in the corner of Sasha Banks and Naomi in their standoff with WWE.

Banks and Naomi made headlines Monday by walking out during Raw, which resulted in WWE releasing the following statement, condemning their actions:

During an appearance on Busted Open Radio (h/t WrestlingInc's Eric Mutter), James gave her thoughts on the situation:

"I actually applaud them standing in their convictions and how they felt. If that's how they felt and they felt disrespected, or they felt unheard, or they felt any of those things, at the end of the day, we're still independent contractors. It can be argued that they did show up to work that day, they saw whatever they were supposed to do and they had committed to at least half the day. I don't really know because I wasn't there to see the whole thing, so you're only hearing what they put out."

The five-time WWE women's champion and four-time Impact knockouts champion also expressed surprise over the manner in which WWE handled things:

"Honestly, when I saw the statement, I was a bit in shock that WWE would even put out this statement. I couldn't believe Vince signed off on this statement. I was just looking at it like, 'Who wrote this thing?' I can't remember a time when a statement has been put out.

"There's always, 'Card subject to change,' and there have certainly been people who have left, just left, packed up, and went home, or have been, 'deemed unprofessional,' but it's never been called out before. So I find that a bit ironic. I don't know why they would put out a statement. It's almost like they sold for it quickly."

While WWE has released similar statements before in relation to the likes of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Ultimate Warrior and CM Punk when they walked out, it is undoubtedly a rare occurrence.

On top of the statement, WWE doubled down on Friday's episode of SmackDown when Michael Cole said Banks and Naomi "let down" the company and the fans, and that they would be suspended indefinitely and stripped of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

James is no stranger to controversy in WWE, as she spoke out after getting released by the company last year. Mickie took issue with WWE sending her belongings back in a trash bag.

WWE later issued an apology to James and noted that the person responsible for the trash bag was no longer with the company.

It didn't take long for James and WWE to make amends, as she was an entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match in January while she was the reigning Impact Knockouts champion, which was unprecedented.

James' situation means there is hope WWE will be able to get on the same page with Banks and Naomi in the future, but based on how WWE has publicly reacted to the incident thus far, it may not happen anytime soon.

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In the months prior to her walking out on Monday's episode of Raw, Sasha Banks reportedly took issue with her booking within WWE.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Banks was specifically mad about Ronda Rousey taking her spot as Charlotte Flair's opponent at WrestleMania 38.

Meltzer noted that the original plan was for Flair to defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Banks on the Grandest Stage of Them All, but plans changed when Rousey returned to the fold, resulting in her winning the women's Royal Rumble match and challenging Flair.

With Banks out of the SmackDown women's title scene, she instead formed a tag team with Naomi and won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania, which Meltzer called a "concession" on WWE's part.

Banks and Naomi seemed committed to making their team a success after WrestleMania, but they found themselves embroiled in controversy during Monday's episode of Raw.

Both Sasha and Naomi were scheduled to compete in a six-pack challenge that also included Becky Lynch, Asuka, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. Instead, the tag champs left Raw and the match was changed to Lynch vs. Asuka.

WWE expressed its disappointment in Banks and Naomi via the following statement:

Fightful Select (h/t Jenkins) later reported that WWE had planned for Naomi to win the six-pack challenge and face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell.

Sasha and Naomi reportedly questioned what that meant for their team and expressed concern over their future direction based on that booking.

When WWE's decision-makers remained steadfast in their decision, Sasha and Naomi left the building.

During Friday's episode of SmackDown, Michael Cole read a statement, saying that Banks and Naomi had let down WWE and the fans. As a result, they were suspended indefinitely and stripped of their titles.

Now, the future of both Superstars in WWE is very much up in the air, especially amid reports that their contracts are set to expire soon.

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WWE has suspended Sasha Banks and Naomi after the duo walked out of Monday Night Raw earlier this week due to reported creative differences.

WWE commentator Michael Cole made the announcement live on SmackDown Friday.

In addition, Banks and Naomi's WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship titles have been vacated.

WWE initially released a statement on the matter Monday following an inquiry from Mike Johnson of PW Insider and said that the tag team champs walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis' office, placed the belts on his desk and left during the broadcast:

Banks and Naomi were scheduled to take part in a "six-pack challenge" match to decide the No. 1 contender for Bianca Belair's Raw Women's Championship. After Banks and Naomi left, the match became a singles bout between Asuka (the eventual winner) and Becky Lynch.

Fightful Select reported WWE planned for Naomi to win that initial six-woman bout and face Belair for the title at Hell in a Cell.

Fightful Select also reported Banks and Naomi's concerns were in relation to the direction of the women's tag team division as well as concerns about facing "unsafe" opponents.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported Banks in particular is now receiving "a lot" of backstage heat after Monday.

In addition to all that, ex-WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide said on The Ringer's Masked Man Show that he heard Banks and Naomi's contracts were set to expire within the next two months:

What happens if their contracts just run out while they’re doing this? I don’t know. There’s so much unspoken, there’s so much unknown with this situation that I don’t want to be that person who’s just irresponsible, just spewing things recklessly like people tend to do … I’m just saying what I know, and you do with that information what you will.”

Ultimately, this is an incredibly messy situation for everyone involved and one that doesn't appear to be close to being resolved any time soon.

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Sasha Banks and Naomi were at the heart of the biggest news in wrestling this week following their walkout from WWE Raw on Monday night.

There's still so much to process given the nature of their exit, such as WWE's unprecedented response and questions surrounding their status with the company. However, nothing reflects the leverage one holds or the conviction in your stance quite like the ability to say "no."

Let's face it: The WWE women's tag team champions were already trending and making headlines before this controversial story. To put this in perspective, they were surprisingly getting more media attention than Ronda Rousey for the past month.

Banks has been making appearances outside of the company for weeks after their historic WrestleMania 38 win. The latest guest on Cold as Balls with Kevin Hart also returned to her hometown to throw the first pitch at Fenway Park on May 8 ahead of a Boston Red Sox game.

The Boss is also fresh off guest spots on Snacked and Good Mythical Morning and a visit to KIPP AMP Middle School in Brooklyn, where she met the school's Wrestling Club. Naomi also recently appeared on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg.

The two were in high demand, and they're certainly the first women's tag team to represent the titles on mainstream platforms.

That goes a long way to demonstrate just how much star power they have and probably accounts for a great deal of the support they've received throughout the week. This is also why WWE's attempts to paint them as "unprofessional" appear to be spiteful and fairly calculated. Without both sides of the story, this comes off as an attempt to counteract the media blitz the two went on as champions and diminish the positive buzz they created.

That's bafflingly counterproductive because Banks and Naomi are two of their most marketable wrestlers right now. Even if we ignore the current debacle, consider that WWE didn't book them for the last pay-per-view, and it sounds like there were no plans in place for them to defend their titles at the next one, Hell in a Cell.

The company is frankly leaving so much money on the table by failing to capitalize on the duo's popularity. That has sadly been the case for some time with both wrestlers, but this year proved it was time to change that. The future of their product is firmly in the hands of Black women, and WWE needs to recognize that.

Black Women are at the Forefront of the Industry

Professional wrestling doesn't have the best track record when it comes to representation or marketing Black wrestlers, especially women. However, times are changing, and the biggest companies need to adapt to satisfy their evolving audience.

Right now, Bianca Belair is the hottest female wrestler in WWE and arguably among the best babyface characters on the roster. For two consecutive years, the Raw women's champion has delivered show-stopping performances at WrestleMania.

Her monumental main event appearance with Banks will live on as a watershed moment for the company, fans and aspiring wrestlers. The proof is in the pudding as the achievement garnered an ESPY award for the Best WWE Moment of 2021. And The EST maintained her presence on The Grandest Stage of Them All this year when she toppled another household name in Becky Lynch.

Outside of the ring, Belair recently collaborated with Rihanna's cosmetic brand, Fenty Beauty. The 2021 women's Royal Rumble winner and Lynch also attended the weigh-in for the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano fight at the end of April.

So, it's not hard to see she is the key to reaching a broader audience. Amid rumors surrounding Roman Reigns' move to work a part-time schedule, Belair, Banks and Naomi should've been believable options to highlight in his absence.

This isn't even a phenomenon distinct to WWE at the moment either. Jade Cargill is currently the fastest-rising star in the All Elite Wrestling women's division. The TBS champion looks like a star, and more and more people are taking notice.

Tasha Steelz is also the current Impact Knockouts champion. We could go on listing upcoming noteworthy independent wrestlers you should keep an eye on, such as Trish Adora or Willow Nightingale, who both recently worked with Ring of Honor.

Black women are at the forefront of the pro wrestling industry. Major companies need to cultivate this talent and capitalize on the growing support for them. It would be easy to say that's simply the right thing to do, but it's becoming the most lucrative decision, as well.

Stars Too Bright To Ignore

One could argue that some of the support for Banks and Naomi isn't sustainable or that it's an act of rebellion against WWE. On the contrary, both have had a passionate fanbase online, and they continued to prove that audience translated to live shows.

This doesn't feel like a moment that will pass: It's more like the natural progression of the demand for these two stars and more women like them. WWE has something special in its women's tag team champions. The company clearly understands that to a degree because neither of them has been released.

WWE may not truly see the gold mine it has on its hands. Nevertheless, the powers that be are smart enough to realize their competitors would jump at the chance to sign them. The Boss would be a game-changer for AEW, and the company probably knew that when she went on a hiatus in 2019. That's why Vince McMahon wouldn't grant her release.

That would seem to suggest Naomi and Banks will eventually return, but not much will change if the company doesn't wake up and change its approach with them. It would be naive to believe that the visible support for them will sway WWE to see the flaw in the way they were utilized.

Regardless, it would be foolish to ignore that Belair, Banks, Naomi and other Black women are beacons for a microcosm of fans that went underserved for too long. More to the point, the industry has to acknowledge its audience is changing and nurture that growth.

The future is in front of them, and companies can't continue to turn a blind eye.

Following her decision to walk out on Monday's episode of Raw with Sasha Banks, new information emerged Thursday regarding Naomi's WWE contract.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc's Matthew Wilkinson), Naomi's contract is set to expire "soon," and she had been negotiating a new deal with WWE leading up to Monday's incident.

Meltzer speculated that Naomi's contract situation could have had something to do with her walking out on Raw.

On Monday, Naomi and Banks had been scheduled to take part in a six-pack challenge against Asuka, Becky Lynch, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. to determine the No. 1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship and Bianca Belair's opponent at Hell in a Cell.

In the middle of the show, it was announced that the match had been changed to Asuka vs. Lynch in a singles bout after Naomi and Banks "unprofessionally" left the building.

After reports surfaced regarding the walkout being legitimate and not part of a storyline, WWE released the following statement on the matter:

Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported that Naomi had been scheduled to win the six-pack challenge, meaning she would have faced Belair at Hell in a Cell, likely in a losing effort.

Per Fightful, Naomi and Banks expressed concern over what that would have meant for their direction as WWE women's tag team champions, which played a role in their decision to leave.

PWTorch's Wade Keller (h/t Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co) later reported that many within WWE were "puzzled" by the situation and considered it "overreacting to a normal day at work." Keller also noted that there was "not a ton of instant sympathy" for Naomi and Banks from others in the company.

Naomi, 34, has been under contract with WWE since 2009. She made her debut on the main roster in 2012 and has enjoyed a great deal of success since then, including being a two-time SmackDown women's champion and one half of the reigning WWE women's tag team champions.

She is deeply rooted in WWE because of that, as well as the fact that she is married to one half of SmackDown tag team champions The Usos in Jimmy Uso.

Per Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News, Uso seemingly showed support for Naomi and Banks this week by posting pictures of them on his Instagram story.

Despite her ties to WWE, Naomi's future with the company is now up in the air because of the walkout and her reported contract situation.

Since unified world champion Roman Reigns is Naomi's cousin-in-law and perhaps the most influential Superstar in the company, it is possible he could play a role as peacekeeper between the two sides.

If that happens, there may be a chance for Naomi and WWE to get back on the same page and work out a new long-term deal in the near future.

Otherwise, Naomi will have no shortage of options elsewhere in the wrestling world, with All Elite Wrestling and Impact Wrestling standing out as possibilities.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).