WWE News: WWE talent not happy with Sasha Banks' "bad news" promo
At Summerslam, Sasha Banks lost the WWE Women’s Championship(now Raw Women’s Championship) just 27 days after winning it back. It came as a shock to many, as they thought it was the beginning of a really long title reign for The Boss. However, not long after Summerslam, WWE announced that they pulled Sasha Banks from any appearances for the next 33 days.
People wondered who would be the babyface to challenge Charlotte, and the answer was the newly debuting Bayley. Bayley was being set for an instant main event push, and many thought she would be taking Sasha’s place and fighting for the Women’s Championship at Clash Of Champions, but before the latest Raw, Sasha Banks announced on twitter that she was appearing on Raw, saying that she had some bad news.
When she did appear on Raw, she started off on a note that seemed bang-on like a retirement speech, and fans began fearing the worst. However, it turned out to be a work, as Dana Brooke came out, and Sasha then attacked her and said that the “bad news” was for Charlotte, as she was returning and cashing in her rematch at Clash Of Champions.
Apparently, this promo was not well received by the talent backstage, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was said that the common sentiment backstage was that the tone was set in the Daniel Bryan retirement speech tone, and was used to set up a bad angle. The Observer said that a veteran talent mentioned Edge’s retirement speech, and another name mentioned was Tyson Kidd, who met with a life-threatening injury. One of the reasons is also stated due to the fact that Bryan and Tyson Kidd are both extremely well-respected personalities backstage.
Naturally, comparisons to Mark Henry’s retirement angle back in 2013 were brought up. However, that was an angle not based on injury, while this case was an angle based on an injury. The issue here boils down to the fact that career-ending injuries are a rather sensitive topic, especially to the friends of the injured wrestlers that had to retire.
From the tone of it, it sounds like the heat is not on Sasha herself, but rather on WWE Officials and the creative team. Ultimately, it is unlikely we will see any show of the heat on television itself.