During Friday’s “SmackDown” tapings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, several WWE talents reportedly spoke “openly backstage” believing that Sasha Banks had been fired from the company.
According to Fightful Select, the talents have still not been officially informed if the reports of Banks’ release are legitimate. However, the named talents would “be able to know” if Banks would have been released, Fightful’s report added, indicating these talents are good friends with The Boss.
Following Raj Giri’s report on Banks’ release last Friday Wrestle Votes also reported that Banks had been released from her WWE contract. While Fightful Select and Mat Men Podcast did not confirm reports of the release, they did note that Banks’ attorneys were working with WWE to complete the same. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer later repeated these reports.
On Sunday, Reddit user Kermit, who has been credited with posting multiple stories including Cody Rhodes, who is WWE-bound, claimed that Banks was released from her contract “weeks ago.”
WWE is yet to comment on the reports, which means there will be no denial.
As previously mentioned, WWE digitally removed a fan sign that read “Sasha Krew 4 Life” last Friday after “SmackDown.” Below are the before and after photos of the fan sign.
Banks and Naomi staged a walkout by WWE during the May 16 “Raw” and were subsequently suspended indefinitely without pay. WWE has removed all references to the two Superstars from their TV graphic intro, deleted their Facebook pages and removed all of their merchandise from the WWE Shop. According to multiple reports, both superstars have expiring contracts, and Naomi was indeed negotiating a new deal just before her strike. According to former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide, Banks’ contract expires later this year.
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