WWE Rumor Roundup - Legendary star rethinking retirement, Veteran wants to work with Bray Wyatt, SummerSlam main event revealed (29th May 2021) 

#2. WWE nixed a title feud between Sasha Banks and Natalya

Sasha Banks enjoyed a remarkable reign as the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion before she dropped the title to Bianca Belair in a memorable WrestleMania 37 match.

Sasha Banks, however, was initially slated to have a program with Natalya before Belair's Royal Rumble win changed WWE's plans.

During a recent appearance on Renee Paquette's Oral Sessions podcast, Natalya opened up about the nixed storyline. The Queen of Harts revealed that she was scheduled to begin a rivalry with Sasha Banks earlier in the year revolving around the SmackDown Women's Championship.

While Natalya was excited to work a high-profile title match with Sasha Banks - who she considered one of the world's best female talents - the storyline couldn't come to fruition due to Bianca Belair's rise.

Let’s celebrate @NatbyNature’s birthday by listening to a brand new episode of Oral Sessions with the women’s tag team champs!!! These two women pump me up! @TaminaSnuka @TheVolumeSports https://t.co/7bjwBji28q

— Renee Paquette (@ReneePaquette) May 27, 2021

Natalya credited her husband, TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd), for coming up with the idea of forming a tag team with Tamina. Natalya was unsurprisingly dejected over losing a lucrative WWE SmackDown Women's title feud with Sasha Banks, but the alliance with Tamina lifted her spirits.

"I was supposed to go into a rivalry with Sasha Banks earlier this year, and everything changed when Bianca won the Rumble. I was so excited about wrestling Sasha because I think she's one of the greatest women's wrestlers in the world, if not the best. TJ said to me, 'You and Tamina need to be a team. You would be perfect together.' He pulled up a picture and showed the family history, Owen with Yokozuna, the Headshrinkers, the Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation. 'Look at all the greatness your families have done together. You guys should be a team. You should pitch it.' I went from being sad not working Sasha because I had all these ideas, and we were training together, and Sasha lit this fire in me. Then I had this new fire in me of teaming with Tamina. TJ was the inspiration behind it," said Natalya. (h/t Fightful)

Generational Kids. 🇲🇽🇼🇸🇨🇦 #Champions #SmackDown @TaminaSnuka @reymysterio @DomMysterio35 pic.twitter.com/iZIE4PeQxZ

— Nattie (@NatbyNature) May 29, 2021

Natalya and Tamina recently won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, and their decision to tag together turned out to be a great call in hindsight.