It appears Sasha Banks' days in WWE will come to an end in 2022.
Banks, also known as Mercedes Varnado, walked out of a Raw taping with Naomi on May 16 due to an alleged creative dispute with Vince McMahon. WWE released a rare statement on the situation, and the pair were stripped of the women's tag team titles on the following SmackDown.
Neither of the superstars has appeared on WWE television since the incident, despite hopes and teases that they would. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp confirmed Thursday a previous report from Wrestling Inc.'s Raj Giri that said Banks is no longer under contract with WWE. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter on Friday, Dave Meltzer went into detail on the negotiations between Banks and the new regime led by chief creative office Triple H, aka Paul Levesque.
"She was said to be seeking a number along the levels of Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and those internally have said she wasn't offered numbers close to that," Meltzer wrote. "They said that she's not seen internally as somebody who would be on top for the next five years."
The alleged assessment would be a surprising one. Banks and Bianca Belair became the first African-American women to main event a WrestleMania when they faced off in 2021. Flair and Banks had a memorable feud in 2016 through 2017 that made stars out of both wrestlers.
It's not surprising, however, Banks would ask for money similar to that of Lynch or Flair.
"Before, I was a super fan thankful to be here," Banks said on "Steve Austin: The Broken Skull Sessions" on Feb. 21, 2021. " 'Thank you for my hot dog. Thank you for my pizza. Thank you for my TV time.' But there comes a point where you can be thankful, grateful and blessed, but they have to know there's a chapter after that, and that's where I'm at. I'm at a whole different level. I'm done with the 'I'm thankful.' I'm done with the pizza. I don't eat that anymore. I eat steak like Vince McMahon, with vegetables, like him, because I can be that. And that's where I'm at. I'm not 'can I please be signed?' I'm here. I'm signed. I've been here. I've put in the work, and if I see myself where I want to see myself, I'm at Vince McMahon's level."
That next chapter for Banks reportedly is New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom.
"The deal is with New Japan but would include one date for Stardom," Meltzer wrote. "That would be for a show that is expected in April, but the company had planned for the biggest show in its history, which will tentatively be announced on Dec. 29 at the Stardom Sumo Hall show."
Bushiroad, the parent company of NJPW and Stardom, hopes Banks' large following will help in its expansion into the United States. Voices of Wrestling reported Monday Banks' deal is the largest per-event agreement NJPW has ever made since Chris Jericho, though the All Elite Wrestling star has disputed the specifics of his deal. Sources told the Wrestling Observer Banks' reported agreement is a "huge per-event deal" but could not confirm whether it was larger than Jericho's.
Banks reportedly will appear at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom event on Jan. 4 -- the show is the promotion's equivalent to WrestleMania -- where she will confront the winner of the IWGP Women's Championship match between current champion and former WWE superstar Kairi and Tam Nakano. Banks and Kairi have teased a match against each other on social media.
