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Ever since the announcement of AEW on New Year’s Day, there seems to be a new report every month about a WWE Superstar requesting their release from the company. This week, Sasha Banks’ name was added to the list of unhappy Superstars, allegedly due to problems with her booking at WrestleMania 35.
“The Boss” won the newly introduced Women’s Tag Team titles with Bayley at Elimination Chamber in February 2019. However, after just one successful title defense against Nia Jax & Tamina at Fastlane, their 49-day reign was ended on Sunday by The IIconics.
According to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, Banks attempted to quit WWE over the weekend after she found out at the last minute that she and Bayley were going to lose their titles to Billie Kay & Peyton Royce.
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Several WWE Superstars have been rumored to have requested their releases so far in 2019, including Mike & Maria Kanellis and The Revival, while Hideo Itami and Tye Dillinger successfully negotiated their departures even though their contracts were not due to expire.
With Banks now added to the list of wantaway Superstars, where does this leave her future in WWE and what will happen next with The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection tag team? Let’s take a look at five of the biggest questions that need answering following this week’s report.
#5 What are the details behind asking for her release?
Rumor has it that Sasha Banks requested to leave WWE due to the way that she and Bayley have been booked as Women’s Tag Team champions.
Dave Meltzer explained in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“She had thought that the two of them would be given a chance to have a strong run and bring credibility to the belts and establish them as serious belts. Then the decision was made to go to The IIconics, who as champions, could only make the belts seem like gimmick comedy belts.”
Banks and Bayley took part in a ‘WWE Now’ discussion with The Revival over WrestleMania 35 weekend. During the conversation, Scott Dawson brought Banks to tears when he said that her legacy in WWE will be the Women’s Tag Team titles, as he witnessed both her and Bayley “annoy Vince McMahon” by asking him on a weekly basis if he will introduce the titles.
The new championships obviously meant a huge deal to Banks, yet her reign was over when it felt like it was only just getting started.
#4 Should Sasha Banks & Bayley have won the titles when they did?
WWE has introduced two singles titles to the NXT UK brand in the last two years – the United Kingdom Championship and the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
On both occasions, a short-term champion was crowned before the biggest star of the division was made champion just a few months later. In 2017, Tyler Bate became the inaugural UK champion before Pete Dunne won the gold and began his 685-day reign. Then in 2018, Rhea Ripley’s NXT UK Women’s title victory aired in November, but just 44 days later, she lost the title to Toni Storm.
It looked as though WWE might decide to go down a similar route with the Women’s Tag Team titles at Elimination Chamber, with Sasha Banks & Bayley losing the match before finally getting their big moment at WrestleMania 35.
However, with the way the storyline panned out, The IIconics now look like the stars of the women’s tag division, and The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection’s aura as the top female duo in WWE has totally disappeared.
#3 Realistically, will Sasha Banks return?
Not only has Sasha Banks reportedly requested her release, but she also pulled out of an appearance on the Wendy Williams talk show on Tuesday.
She tweeted:
"Due to personal reasons, I had to pull out of my appearance today on @WendyWilliams . Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. Hopefully, the opportunity will be there again later. #IfYouOnlyKnew"
The four-time Raw Women’s champion has since shared images on Instagram of her on holiday with her husband, as well as Kalisto and his wife, and the timeframe on her possible WWE return is unknown.
Dave Meltzer noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“Basically she has been given a few weeks to think things out before sticking to a choice the company believes may have been made as a rash decision. Anyway, that’s been largely confirmed by others but probably will be denied very quickly.”
#2 What part does Alexa Bliss have to play in this?
One day after losing the Women’s Tag Team titles to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35, WWE advertised that Sasha Banks and Bayley would be involved in a segment with Alexa Bliss on Monday Night Raw.
However, there was no sign of “The Boss” on the episode. Instead, Bayley faced the WrestleMania 35 host in a one-on-one match, losing in less than three minutes, and the real-life rivalry between Banks and Bliss was reignited on social media after the show.
Banks posted a screenshot on Twitter which showed that she had been blocked by Bliss, accompanied by the caption:
"Are you scared ?"
Bliss replied:
"No not scared... sick of your petty 💩 . #Blocked"
It is unknown what led to the latest exchange between the Raw Superstars, but there have been rumors for several years that the two women do not get along outside the ring.
#1 What's next for Bayley?
Looking at this simply from a storyline perspective, both Sasha Banks and Bayley have been members of the Raw roster since the 2016 WWE draft took place.
Regardless of whether or not Banks gets her reported wish to leave the company, it will be interesting to see what plans WWE has for Bayley in the Superstar Shake-Up on Raw and SmackDown Live next week.
“The Hugger” lost her way after her brief Raw Women’s Championship reign in 2017 and it wasn’t until she won the Women’s Tag Team titles with Banks that she began to be taken seriously as a credible title holder again.
She has already teased that she could be on the move in the Shake-Up, tweeting on Thursday:
“Been on RAW, SD Live and NXT in the past month. Does it really even matter? Bring on the #SuperstarShakeUp”
If reports are true and Banks has been given time off to think about her WWE future, perhaps Bayley moving to SmackDown Live could be the right move to revitalize her singles career.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
