Sasha Banks and Naomi have both indicated that they are now “Pro Wrestlers” instead of “WWE Superstars.”
On the May 16th episode of Monday Night Raw, Sasha Banks and Naomi were set to take part in a six pack challenge to crown the number one contender to face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at Hell in a Cell. However, after a heated dispute over the creative direction – which reportedly would have seen Naomi win that match – the Women’s Tag Team Champions left the arena and the main event of the show had to be changed on the fly.
Following their walkout, both women were suspended without pay and their merchandise was removed from WWEShop.com. WWE didn’t shy away from mentioning the situation on television, with Corey Graves saying during the May 16th Raw that they had “summarily and unprofessionally walked out.”
Raj Giri of WrestlingInc reported that The Boss had been released from her WWE contract and a later update suggested she had obtained legal help to obtain her release. Furthermore, a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider today stated that both women have been removed from WWE’s internal roster.
Now, the social media accounts of both Sasha and Naomi seem to indicate that they have indeed exited the company and don’t intend to return. Whereas both women formerly had “WWE Superstar” written in their Instagram bios, they have both replaced that term with “Professional Wrestler,” a term famously banned by WWE.
Naomi, real name Trinity Fatu, removed all referenced to WWE from her Twitter bio some time ago, while Sasha, real name Mercedes Varnado, lists “Sasha Banks – WWE” as a past role that she’s played along with “Koska Reeves – The Mandalorian.”
After stripping the women of their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, the company announced that a tournament would be held to crown a new set of champions. However, the tournament has not been mentioned on television in quite some time and has yet to take place.