Sasha Banks and Naomi is not the first time WWE has acknowledged real-life heat on TV

Sasha Banks and Naomi have recently been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The two women reportedly put their titles on John Laurinaitis's desk during WWE RAW and walked out of the building. Since then, fans have been trying to understand what happened. What made things more interesting was that WWE addressed the backstage reports —something they usually never do.

Corey Graves was told to call them unprofessional on RAW and did so. The company even issued a statement about the walkout.

But since then, WWE has gone further. On SmackDown this week, the company had Michael Cole and Pat McAfee address the issue. The former said the two of them had "let us all down." He then announced that Sasha Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and stripped of the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles.

Fans have talked about how it's highly unusual for WWE to address backstage issues in such a manner. However, this is far from the first time WWE has done this. In fact, they have a history of addressing their private issues publicly. Here though, let's look at the most high-profile occasion WWE has publicly addressed real-life heat.

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Before Sasha Banks and Naomi, Vince McMahon personally addressed the issues with Stone Cold Steve Austin on RAW

In 2002, Stone Cold Steve Austin was a shadow of the man he once was. Although just as popular, he was suffering from issues due to a broken neck he had sustained years back. On top of that, he was extremely unhappy with the way WWE was booking him. In an interview with Byte, he buried WWE and how he was being treated.

Vince McMahon would go on the same show a week later, where he took shots at Austin, saying he was no longer the big star:

"It's like a major artist who usually produces platinum records but is now producing gold ones."

Clearly, all was not well in WWE. However, things came to a head next week. On RAW, Austin was supposed to be losing to Brock Lesnar in the King of the Ring qualifying match. The latter was a rising star back then, but there was no build-up to the bout. Austin, unhappy at being "jobbed" by Lesnar, called McMahon at 2 AM and took a flight home.

WWE took shots at him publicly. Ric Flair said that Austin failed to show up, and then The Rock showed up, who cut a promo against The Rattlesnake for leaving.

The following week, Vince McMahon himself addressed Austin's absence and did so without holding anything back.

"In my mind, Austin owes an apology for walking out to every superstar in that locker room. Austin owes an apology to the company he helped build. Austin owes an apology for walking out to each and every one of you."

Vince said that Austin "took his ball and went home." The incident shocked fans who didn't know whether their favorite star had apparently abandoned them and left WWE permanently. He toasted Austin and left a last beer can in the center of the ring.

Eventually, Austin would tell his side of the story, and the relationship between him and WWE was rebuilt thanks to Jim Ross' involvement.

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What could be next for Sasha Banks and Naomi?

Almost 19 years and 11 months after Stone Cold walked out of WWE RAW and Vince McMahon addressed it, the company appears to have found itself in a similar situation. While Sasha Banks and Naomi might not be as "over" as Steve Austin was, their departure has enormously impacted the wrestling community.

Thanks to Jim Ross, Austin rebuilt his relationship with the company and had a final run with them. Only time will tell how the Sasha Banks and Naomi situation plays out, with fans hoping to see them in the company once more.