Top WWE Star Will Be At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 To Support Sasha Banks

This multiple-time WWE Champion will join Naomi in supporting the Boss at WK17.

by Andrew Pollard
Bayley Sasha Banks
WWE.com

Hot on the heels of Naomi being in Japan to support Sasha Banks at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, it's now being reported that Bayley will likewise be in Tokyo to show support for the Boss.

As per Mike Johnson over at PWInsider.com, the Damage CTRL leader will be in Japan in time for Banks' WK17 appearance tomorrow. Given how Bayley is a contracted WWE talent, it's expected that she will not be featured on camera during New Japan Pro-Wrestling's biggest show of the year.

With Sasha now a free agent, the real-life Mercedes Vernado is expected to appear at Wrestle Kingdom 17 to set up a match with IWGP Women's Champion KAIRI. The Pirate Princess will defend that prize against Tam Nakano in the Tokyo Dome tomorrow, with many presuming that Vernado and KAIRI will have some sort of post-match face-off to put the wheels in motion for a bout between the pair.

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Naomi's social media output has already confirmed that she and Mercedes are in Japan, and the one-time Funkadactyl also tagged Bayley in one of her recent Instagram stories.

Sasha Banks and Naomi were last seen on WWE TV this past May, with the pair walking out on the company prior to an episode of Raw. Unhappy with creative plans presented to them, the duo left their WWE Women's Tag Team Titles on the desk of John Laurinaitis and were immediately stripped of those belts and suspended.

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While Banks is now a free agent, the WWE status of Naomi is currently unknown. That said, unlike with Sasha, NJPW did not bring Naomi to Japan, and she is there off her own back to support her friend.

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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.