It’s been fairly quiet on the Sasha Banks and Naomi front for a bit, but that might be changing after Crown Jewel.
Israel Lutete of Sportskeeda pointed out that the two women (under their real names of Mercedes Varnado and Trinity Fatu) were supposed to be taking part in the Vulture Festival pop culture event in Los Angeles next weekend on Nov. 12, but were pulled from the guest list due to “an unforeseen scheduling conflict.”
Of course, Banks and Naomi may have had to pull out for any number of reasons, but considering the increasing buzz about their potential WWE return, the timing is definitely interesting. The Nov. 11 episode of WWE SmackDown is being held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and will be a live episode after this week’s edition was pre-taped thanks to travel to Crown Jewel. Making it the comeback show for the former women’s tag team champions would certainly be a way to give that show a shot in the arm.
In an incident that would have been the top pro wrestling story in many other years except this one, Banks and Naomi walked out during the May 16 episode of Raw, reportedly in dissatisfaction with their creative direction as champions and the booking of the women’s division in general. They were subsequently suspended indefinitely by WWE and haven’t been seen on the company’s programming since.
But that was when Vince McMahon was still in charge of WWE’s shows, and things have changed since then. Head of creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque has spoken openly about the potential for Banks, in particular, to return, though he cited her outside interests (primarily acting) as a reason she might want to and said it would have to make sense for both sides.
The women’s division has received a boost from the return of Bayley and her Damage CTRL stable, but is still missing two of its biggest names, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Welcoming back Banks and Naomi would help WWE mitigate their absence even more, so it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out after Crown Jewel to see if that is indeed what’s in the cards.
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