Major Update On Sasha Banks Being At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17

The Boss is rumoured to be at NJPW's biggest show of the year.

by Andrew Pollard
Sasha Banks
WWE.com

With this past week seeing it reported that Sasha Banks will be in attendance for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, there's now an update on this situation.

As per Wrestling Observer Radio, New Japan officials are under the belief that the Boss will be a free agent by the time of Wrestle Kingdom 17's first night on 4 January. Few in NJPW are aware of what role - if any - Banks will have at WK17, and the promotion itself has yet to publicly comment on these recent reports.

It's not known if Sasha will appear onscreen at Wrestle Kingdom, though there is plentiful speculation that the real-life Mercedes Varnado is being lined up to face KAIRI for the IWGP Women's Championship, possibly at Battle in the Valley in February.

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For Wrestle Kingdom 17, any appearance from Sasha Banks has not been booked through WWE, so this isn't a case - such as with Shinsuke Nakamura facing the Great Muta next month - where the market leader has put a deal together with another promotion.

Of course, rumblings of Sasha being a free agent will also add plentiful fuel to the fire that she may also end up being Saraya's mystery tag team partner when the Anti-Diva takes on Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. on the 11 January episode of AEW Dynamite.

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Wrestle Kingdom 17 takes place on 4 January and 21 January.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.