Ace Steel Says Fans Would Be 'On The Edge Of Their Seats' For A Sasha Banks Pipe Bomb
Pro wrestling veteran Ace Steel shared his insight into what he thinks the reaction from fans would be if Sasha Banks were to return to WWE and drop a "pipe bomb".
"You can't cut a 'pipe bomb' every week," Steel said on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast. "You have to have the animosity there. You have to have the frustration. If Sasha Banks walks out next week and everyone knows the story because of the internet is so prevalent now. Everybody knows everything that's happening. If she walked out on WWE TV next week and cut her version of the 'pipe bomb', the world would be on the edge of their seat, wouldn't they?"
Banks walked out of the May 16 edition of "Raw" with her tag team partner, Naomi. They were both unhappy with their booking in the company and expressed that they didn't feel respected as the Women's Tag Team Champions. WWE took action by stripping them of their titles and suspending the duo indefinitely. They were then removed from the internal roster, but the company is reportedly trying to reconcile with Banks and Naomi following Vince McMahon's exit from the company.
Origins Of The 'Pipe Bomb'
The concept of the "pipe bomb" first came about after CM Punk verbally aired his frustrations with WWE and some of its biggest stars on the June 27, 2011 edition of "Raw". The line between reality and kayfabe was so blurred that people weren't sure what to actually believe. Since then, many wrestlers have used his words as a blueprint to cut their own versions of a 'pipe bomb'.
"WWF back in the day was all the toys and the wrestling buddies and all that stuff, and it was all superficial. It was all superficial on the surface and you didn't know anything about this person as a person. That worked for a time because it was geared towards the kids, it was the cartoon characters."
Steel signed a developmental contract with WWE in January 2007, but he made only a handful of appearances on the main roster and was released in 2008. He returned to the company as a coach at the Performance Center in late 2019 before being released in January of this year. He currently works as a producer for AEW.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Wrestling Perspective Podcast with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.