Sasha Banks "Mad" At WWE WrestleMania 38 Demotion Before Walking Out?

Before walking out of WWE, Sasha Banks was spurned for another star at WrestleMania 38.

Sasha Banks
WWE

Sasha Banks' backstage discontent in WWE goes further back than her and tag team partner Naomi's walkout from last week's episode of Raw.

Per Dave Meltzer on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Banks had become "mad" with the promotion ahead of WrestleMania 38, having been pulled from a scheduled SmackDown Women's Championship program with title-holder Charlotte Flair in favour of Ronda Rousey.

Meltzer stated that Banks vs. Flair had been in the works for months. When WWE learned that Rousey was going to be available earlier than anticipated, they decided to give her Sasha's 'Mania spot, perceiving her as the bigger star. After telling Banks this, WWE came up with the idea of her and Naomi capturing the Women's Tag Team Championships at WM38 as something of a concession for moving down the card.

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Rousey ended up being defeated by Flair at WrestleMania 38 before capturing the SmackDown strap at WrestleMania Backlash the following month. Sasha and Naomi, meanwhile, became Tag Team Champions on 'Mania's Sunday show, holding the titles until they were formally stripped on last week's episode of SmackDown.

Along with Naomi, Banks' WWE future remains up in the air following the duo's decision to leave last week's Raw during the broadcast.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.