Backstage Reactions To Sasha Banks & Naomi Walking Out Of WWE Raw

A new report has details on the reactions backstage in WWE to Sasha Banks & Naomi’s walkout of Monday’s episode of Raw. As you surely know, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions left Raw’s taping due to reported issues with creative surrounding themselves and the women’s tag team division. Fightful Select has spoken with several staff and talent in WWE and notes that the reactions are “across the board” in regard to the walkout. It was specifically stated that this is a “collection and aggregate” of talent they were able to speak to and “in no way reflects the entire locker room or every talent.”

According to the site, one consensus has been that leaving during a show that you are scheduled for is likely to cause you to be buried throughout the show. One veteran talent pointed out that even Steve Austin was gone well before the show started. A female roster member said they didn’t see anything severe enough to leave the show over, though she understood the frustration with creative. Another talent said that they often see criticism around how WWE handles the booking of champions, the tag team division, the amount of women’s tag teams, and even the booking of women in general. However, they see even more criticism levied when talent stands up regarding the criticism.

Several people both in and out of WWE have been supportive of Banks and Naomi’s stance as well as the two in a general sense. The larger consensus is under the stance that not being happy with creative is okay and so is walking out, but not walking out during the show.

There were several talents from outside WWE that spoke, with those who didn’t watch initially wondering if it was a work before they quickly realized it wasn’t. One former WWE roster member said that they didn’t understand what had gone on but said it took “balls” to do what they did. Other reactions were split between the idea that someone needed to do something similar in order to make a stand, and the notion that you can’t walk out during a show that you are scheduled for. A couple people made the point that this isn’t like an acting role where you take a role knowing what your part will be, and that the two were within reason to be upset about their direction.

As to rumors that Banks is not well liked backstage, several talent have said that things had gotten better in recent months and one said they were surprised reports hadn’t come out before. One staff member said that they had not had positive experiences with Banks previously but understood why Banks walked out during the show since once the show began she wasn’t going to speak with Vince McMahon and if she knew she wasn’t working the match, there wasn’t a need to stay.

One person close to the matter thought that WWE’s statement was done to pit the involved talent against each other. However, they also thought all involved would quickly make contact and clear up any misconceptions.