Backstage News On Status Of Sasha Banks And Naomi's WWE Contracts
It has been fifteen days since Naomi and Sasha Banks took off before "WWE Monday Night Raw" hit the airwaves, and since then WWE has suspended the duo indefinitely, removed their merchandise from WWE Shop, and condemned them in a statement for no-showing an advertised match. And if one is thinking things could be smoothed over soon, a new report is here to throw cold water on that.
In a new report, Fightful Select has revealed that communication between WWE and Banks or Naomi's camps has ranged from minuscule to nonexistent. They also noted that WWE has canceled any travel Banks or Naomi may have had in the future, another indication that WWE at least sees no resolution coming any time soon.
The report gets interesting however when discussing comments from Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer regarding Banks and Naomi being suspended without pay. Fightful noted they hadn't confirmed whether that was true at this time but had been told by what was described as a WWE "higher up" that if the two were suspended without pay, it was unlikely their contracts would be frozen, as some had speculated may happen. Fightful then stated they were working to get confirmation on that factoid at this time.
If Naomi and Banks' contracts aren't frozen, it opens up the possibility that both could be free agents later this summer. Meltzer had previously reported that Naomi's contract was set to expire within the next couple of months, and former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide later stated Banks' deal was also up soon as well. It should be stressed that no confirmation has been given at this time that Banks and Naomi's deals haven't been frozen.
The report concluded by stating several within WWE originally didn't want to strip Banks and Naomi of their WWE Women's Tag Team Championships, but ultimately did so when it became apparent a solution couldn't be reached, and that there's no update on when a tournament to crown new champions could take place. It was noted by Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio this morning that the Womens' Tag Title tournament wasn't mentioned at all on "WWE Monday Night Raw."
Throughout these two weeks, both Banks and Naomi have remained silent, though Banks has been spotted in public and Naomi removed mentions of WWE from her Twitter. Meanwhile, WWE had another case of an advertised match not going on as planned last night, when Lacey Evans' return match didn't occur despite being promoted for a week. No statement was released regarding why the match didn't take place.