10 Wrestlers Who Knew They Were On The Way Out

5. Sasha Banks (WWE WrestleMania 35)

Sasha Banks Bayley
WWE.com

Sasha Banks was sick as sh*t with the day she'd had, the last two years of her WWE career, and the result she was about to be involved in as The Boss & Hug Connection entered for their Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 35.

It was the last appearance she'd make until the night after SummerSlam.

Banks and partner Bayley had willed the belts into existence just two months earlier, promising to defend them everywhere against anybody to ensure their prestige right out the gate. They were about to drop them to a comedy act in their second pay-per-view defence.

Banks has been an extremely proud performer since breaking out in NXT. 'The Boss' was a gimmick, but the confidence underpinning the persona was always completely real. The creative collapse of the titles she fought so hard for in real life was too much to take when the fiction took over.

Disdain was painted across her face, but her hiatus after the show was a wise move. Mental health restored, she returned with more fire than ever, entering in to an awesome feud with her former partner in 2020 before headlining the 'Show Of Shows' two years on from this lowest of ebbs.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett