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WWE Superstar Sasha Banks declined to reveal why she missed SummerSlam in August when asked about the topic Friday.
In an interview with Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, Banks said the following regarding her SummerSlam absence:
"There's no reason. I'm not telling you anything. (Laughs). You're not Oprah. You're not the WWE Network, you're not getting me the views. I'm not telling you my secrets. You can read my book. You can read my documentary when I want to speak about it. Thank you very much."
Banks was originally scheduled to face Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam in a rematch of their historic bout in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 earlier this year.
Just minutes before the match was set to begin, however, it was announced that Banks would not be able to compete. That led to Carmella being revealed as Sasha's replacement.
WWE threw out another curveball, though, when Becky Lynch made her surprise return after more than a year out of action. Lynch took out Carmella, became Belair's new challenger and beat her for the SmackDown Women's title in less than 30 seconds after hitting her with a cheap shot.
Banks remained off WWE programming for the next few weeks until Belair and Lynch squared off in a rematch at Extreme Rules last month.
The Boss made her presence felt, causing a no contest by attacking both Superstars just when it looked like Belair was trending toward regaining the title.
Banks has been on fire since then, beating Belair in a singles match on a recent episode of SmackDown and defeating Lynch on Friday's episode of SmackDown in a non-title match.
Sasha will have an opportunity to win back the SmackDown Women's title next Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when she faces both Lynch and Belair in a Triple Threat match at Crown Jewel.
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The Women's Revolution that WWE heralded with the arrival of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to the main roster in 2015 and culminated in the first women's main event in WrestleMania history, is under attack from the same company's lackluster and uninspired booking of the division.
Sure, the company still books historic main events, and then spends months patting itself on the back for it, but the current usage of its female talent and effortless creative has created the impression that, maybe, the so-called revolution it worked so hard to instigate is no longer a priority.
How so?
Look no further than a nonexistent tag team division, a half-assed Queen's Crown tournament and the undeveloped roster beyond those same three women who have dominated the scene for the last six years.
Queen's Crown Farce
There was reason to be concerned about the state of women's wrestling in WWE before the Queen's Crown kicked off last Friday night on SmackDown, but the execution of what should be a rather significant tournament has exacerbated the issue instead.
Through the first round of competition, which featured four matches, the company allotted the women involved just eight minutes, 15 seconds of ring time. The longest match (Natalya vs. Doudrop) came in at just 3:00, while the shortest (Shayna Baszler vs. Dana Brooke) was an insulting 1:25.
This is the tournament that is supposed to crown the first Queen of the Ring, a moment WWE would have hyped and promoted ad nauseam while touting the history around it and its continued efforts to promote women's wrestling on a grand scale.
Instead of booking it like a big deal and really putting women's wrestling at the forefront of its programming, though, it reduced it to a 180-second afterthought at best.
By comparison, every match of the men's tournament except Rey Mysterio vs. Sami Zayn (8:00), eclipsed the total amount of time given to the entire women's bracket.
It is insulting to the female wrestlers who have worked hard to get to the point they are in their careers, and to the fans who trust the company to be the premier source for women's wrestling on a grand scale.
We really should have seen it coming, though.
What Tag Team Division?
In February 2019, WWE crowned its first women's tag team champions in over 30 years when Bayley and Sasha Banks won the titles inside the Elimination Chamber. Since then, those belts have become the cuckoo in the nest of the division.
For the most part, they have been thrown on two mismatched singles competitors, with no real rhyme or reason why. Sure, there was the underrated Kabuki Warriors run and a solid feud with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, but even the latter pairing was put together out of a lack of anything else better for them.
The current champions, the newly rebranded Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley, are former singles champions who are outside of that title picture so WWE threw the belts on them to keep them busy.
That the company continuously splits up tag teams, be it The Riott Squad, Natalya and Tamina or Shotzi and Nox, only further illustrates how little it cares about those titles or values the actual concept of women's tag teams.
It is yet another indication that the effort and attention that went into the Women's Revolution, when the company was gung-ho about pushing the art form to its fans with WrestleMania main events and all-women pay-per-views, has been diverted elsewhere.
How Does WWE Fix It?
First, it can start by relaxing the focus on the same handful of competitors.
We get it: Lynch, Flair and Banks are the pillars of the division. They are the stars, they win the championships and headline the PPVs. They are only as good as the talent around them, though, and failing to put the effort into building an undercard only risks staleness.
Look how over Bianca Belair is. The company made a concentrated effort to get behind her from the Royal Rumble onward, and she has developed into one of its biggest stars.
Not everyone is The EST of WWE, though. She possesses rare charisma, athleticism and confidence. She belongs in that spot, she knows it and the crowd buys into her there.
Imagine what a bit of effort could do for Liv Morgan, though. Or Toni Storm. Or Zelina Vega. How about Naomi, who has repeatedly proved herself, only to have her pushes disintegrate as a result of the company's erratic booking.
The talent is there. WWE has spent years amassing a roster that is nearly unrivaled in the industry. Unfortunately, it took its foot off the pedal, satisfied with promoting the same handful of performers in repetitive matches and segments. It has halted the momentum of women's wrestling in its own company by refusing to see those couple of stars and rightly faces criticism for not evolving.
The company has spent the last decade relying heavily on its stars and half-assing any booking beyond its main event, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that the women's division finds itself in a similar position.
The difference is women's wrestling has not always been an easy sell to the masses. It took a ton of work by all involved to get the Evolution PPV on air; and to get Lynch, Flair and Ronda Rousey to the main event of WrestleMania 35.
Just because it lucked its way into a megastar in the form of Lynch does not mean the company can rest easy now. It must refocus on the rest of the roster, giving its female members time to develop their in-ring game, on-screen personas and characters.
Otherwise, the company fails its roster, fans and most importantly, itself. If it doesn't develop female talent, someone else will.
There are options and not just All Elite Wrestling.
Impact Wrestling has one of the deepest, most diverse and interesting women's divisions in the world, headed by one of the best wrestlers on the planet (and WWE cast-off) Deonna Purrazzo. Major League Wrestling is comprising its division. There is also Shimmer, home to so many women now competing on TV for major promotions.
WWE once championed women's wrestling on a grand scale, but it's currently failing it. Someone better refocus Vince McMahon and the rest of the creative team because, just like the rest of the industry has, women's wrestling is ready to pass him by.
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.
Becky Lynch, Lita Tease Match?
It appears Lita may not be done with in-ring activity after all.
The WWE Hall of Famer teased a potential return in a back-and-forth with SmackDown champion Becky Lynch.
Lynch, who was drafted to the Raw brand last week, is set to defend her championship against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair at the Crown Jewel event next week. Assuming that feud is blown off altogether—Banks is staying on SmackDown, but Belair is following Lynch to SmackDown—it might be a fun one-off for Lynch and Lita to have a match.
Lita hasn't been in a ring since a 10-woman tag match in 2018 that saw her team with Bayley, Natalya, Banks and Trish Stratus.
Paige Posts Cryptic Photo Hinting At Return
If Lita doesn't wind up returning, maybe Paige will be next in line for Lynch. The former Divas champion posted a picture showing her wrestling boots and her championship belt on Sunday as she continues to hint at an in-ring return.
The 29-year-old, who retired in 2018 because of neck injuries, has openly said she's looking to make a comeback.
"I'm not f--king done," Paige said in August on Twitch. "I'm not done yet. This is going to be my comeback story. I'm inspired. I'm so inspired by the people coming back to wrestling and the more I think about it, I'm like, 'Okay, mentally, I'm ready to go.' I'm going to start working around, getting in the ring a little bit. Maybe. We'll see. This is not saying I'm making a comeback tomorrow. It's a long f--king road. I still have to get cleared by doctors, I have to get cleared by WWE. It's such a bg process, but emotionally, I'm ready. The past few months, I didn't think I was emotionally ready, but no, I'm f--king ready to get back on the horse. Even if it takes me a year. One step at a time, build to it, that's exactly what I'm doing. There's a whole journey and it's going to take some time."
Paige's last WWE appearance came via Skype in March 2020 when she announced Bayley would defend the SmackDown women's championship in an elimination match at WrestleMania.
WWE Nixed Liv Morgan Queen's Crown Victory
Apparently, Friday's match between Liv Morgan and Carmella was supposed to go differently.
Fightful Select reported Morgan was originally supposed to win the match but plans changed. It's unclear what led to the change, but Carmella won in less than three minutes—not a particularly competitive match.
Morgan has momentum with fans but hasn't quite gotten the buy-in from management at this point. Her quick elimination in the Queen's Crown tournament is a sign she might be headed back to the bottom of the card.
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When WWE announced the Queen's Crown tournament, it appeared the company would be giving significant time to non-title women's division matches.
If Friday's SmackDown was any indication, that doesn't appear to be the case.
Opening-round matches between Toni Storm and Zelina Vega and Liv Morgan and Carmella lasted less than four minutes combined, and both matches were shorter than Roman Reigns' entrance for his promo segment.
Fightful Select reported there has been "significant frustration from talent and staff" regarding a lack of care given to the women's division in WWE.
While main event feuds in the division are regularly given time, the lower and midcard of the division are a mess. The women's tag team titles have not felt significant since their introduction, thanks in large part to a lack of commitment to tag teams in the division and the poor booking of tag champions.
Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart and Natalya and Tamina were both split at the WWE draft, leaving champions Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. as the only actual tag team remaining in the division.
The Queen's Crown seems to be another missed opportunity, and the fact that WWE is blowing off Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair in Saudi Arabia is also a questionable decision given that country's history of gender inequality.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
WWE Changed Big E, Lashley Draft Plans
WWE champion Big E was the No. 1 draft pick for Raw on Friday night's WWE draft edition of SmackDown, but that reportedly wasn't the original plan.
According to PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), WWE was initially going to make Bobby Lashley the No. 1 overall pick for Raw.
The idea was reportedly to make it a "cliffhanger" by making Big E draft eligible on Monday rather than Friday. That would have forced fans to tune in to see where Big E would land.
That strategy could have been especially effective given that New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were moved to SmackDown on Friday. Because of that, there may have been some belief among fans that Big E could go back to the blue brand as well.
Instead, WWE broke up New Day for the second year in a row, and fans learned of the stable's fate on SmackDown.
With Big E getting drafted Friday, it did open the door for WWE to make a huge announcement at the start of Raw.
SmackDown Women's champion Becky Lynch opened the show and revealed that she was Raw's No. 1 overall pick on Night 2 of the draft.
The move was expected since Raw Women's champion Charlotte Flair already got drafted to SmackDown, but it was significant nonetheless.
With the draft now officially in the books, Big E has clearly been established as the face of Raw on the men's side, and making him the red brand's No. 1 overall pick made it obvious to the WWE Universe that he is viewed in that light.
Banks to Go Babyface on SmackDown?
Given the landscape of the SmackDown women's division, a big change could be in store for Sasha Banks.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) speculated that Banks is likely to go from heel to babyface in the near future.
Meltzer pointed out that the other top women on SmackDown's roster, Flair and Shayna Baszler, are heels, which could necessitate The Boss moving to the other side of the ledger.
Given that Banks is hugely popular with the fans, it wouldn't be difficult to turn her. Even as a heel, she consistently receives babyface reactions, which is a telltale sign that she would be embraced in the top face role.
Banks appeared on Monday night's episode of Raw and essentially played a tweener role by attacking a babyface in Bianca Belair, as well as heels Flair and Lynch.
Sasha is scheduled to compete in a Triple Threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship against Lynch and Belair later this month at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
Since Lynch and Belair are now part of the Raw roster, there is seemingly a good chance that Banks will win that match and become a two-time SmackDown Women's champion and seven-time Women's champion overall on the WWE main roster.
Establishing Banks as a strong babyface champ on the blue brand with Flair, Baszler and other contenders chasing after her would be an excellent foundation to the SmackDown women's division.
WWE Reversed Course on Street Profits Breakup
WWE reportedly had discussions about splitting up Street Profits members Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins in the draft.
According to PWInsider (h/t Middleton), WWE creative gave the split "serious consideration" before backing off and drafting the entire team to SmackDown.
PWInsider noted that if the split had taken place, Dawkins would have stayed on SmackDown on his own, while Ford would have moved to Raw with Belair, who is his real-life wife.
Talk of an eventual Ford singles run heated up a couple of weeks ago when Ford faced Universal champion Roman Reigns in the main event of SmackDown in a non-title match.
While Ford lost the match, he looked like a star in the making, and perhaps that is what got the wheels turning among WWE's chief decision-makers.
Even so, it is difficult to argue with keeping The Street Profits together since they have been such a successful act in WWE and have plenty more they can accomplish as a duo.
The Street Profits have only held the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships one time each, but now that they are on the red brand, they instantly become one of the top contenders to challenge RK-Bro for the titles.
With feuds against AJ Styles and Omos and perhaps even The Hurt Business on tap as well, Ford and Dawkins have no shortage of creative possibilities.
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