Sasha Banks and Naomi are no longer the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Veteran announcer Michael Cole revealed on Friday Night SmackDown that the pair has been suspended indefinitely after walking out on a live taping of Monday Night Raw earlier this week.
“We will have a future tournament to crown the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions,” Cole said during Friday’s broadcast.
PWI first reported that Sasha had an issue with the outcome of a planned main event, which would have featured both in a Six Pack Challenge alongside Asuka, Becky Lynch, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. to determine who would face Bianca Belair at “Hell in a Cell.” Sasha reportedly met with CEO Vince McMahon to express her concerns, and McMahon is said to have refused to change his plans for the team. That’s when she left the building with Naomi.
Becky Lynch filmed segments on the fly with Adam Pearce to set up the new main event featuring Lynch vs. Asuka.
WWE confirmed that Naomi and Sasha met with WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis “with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk, and walked out.”
In WWE’s official statement, the company said that Sasha and Naomi felt they “weren’t respected enough as tag team champions” and “were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents,” adding: “Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract.”
Sasha and Naomi have yet to release statements of their own.