A strange situation unfolded during Monday night's episode of "WWE Raw," as two popular superstars -- Sasha Banks and Naomi -- allegedly "walked out" during the live TV broadcast.
WWE later released a statement, which is below:
When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight's Monday Night Raw.
During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.
They claimed they weren't respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents even though they'd had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence. Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract.
We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight's main event.
Of course, in professional wrestling sports entertainment, it's often difficult to differentiate between what's real and what's part of an on-screen storyline. But WWE's statement -- in which the company acknowledges "Raw" is a "scripted live TV show" -- suggests the backstage drama is legitimate.
The ordeal also played out rather awkwardly in real time, with WWE initially advertising a "six pack challenge" main event featuring both Banks and Naomi -- whose real names are Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado and Trinity LaShawn Fatu, respectively -- before suddenly announcing a change.
The "Raw" commentary team even made mention of the apparent walkout, which led to the main event becoming a singles match between Becky Lynch and Asuka to determine who would face Bianca Belair for the Raw women's championship.
PWInsider.com reported Monday that the word backstage in Norfolk, Virginia, was that Banks took issue with the creative direction of the originally scheduled main event and met with WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. Both sides reportedly stuck to their guns, with Banks then deciding to leave the venue and Naomi ultimately joining her tag team partner in walking out.
