WWE Rumors: Naomi's Contract Set to Expire Soon Following Walkout with Sasha Banks

Following her decision to walk out on Monday's episode of Raw with Sasha Banks, new information emerged Thursday regarding Naomi's WWE contract.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc's Matthew Wilkinson), Naomi's contract is set to expire "soon," and she had been negotiating a new deal with WWE leading up to Monday's incident.

Meltzer speculated that Naomi's contract situation could have had something to do with her walking out on Raw.

On Monday, Naomi and Banks had been scheduled to take part in a six-pack challenge against Asuka, Becky Lynch, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. to determine the No. 1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship and Bianca Belair's opponent at Hell in a Cell.

In the middle of the show, it was announced that the match had been changed to Asuka vs. Lynch in a singles bout after Naomi and Banks "unprofessionally" left the building.

After reports surfaced regarding the walkout being legitimate and not part of a storyline, WWE released the following statement on the matter:

Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported that Naomi had been scheduled to win the six-pack challenge, meaning she would have faced Belair at Hell in a Cell, likely in a losing effort.

Per Fightful, Naomi and Banks expressed concern over what that would have meant for their direction as WWE women's tag team champions, which played a role in their decision to leave.

PWTorch's Wade Keller (h/t Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co) later reported that many within WWE were "puzzled" by the situation and considered it "overreacting to a normal day at work." Keller also noted that there was "not a ton of instant sympathy" for Naomi and Banks from others in the company.

Naomi, 34, has been under contract with WWE since 2009. She made her debut on the main roster in 2012 and has enjoyed a great deal of success since then, including being a two-time SmackDown women's champion and one half of the reigning WWE women's tag team champions.

She is deeply rooted in WWE because of that, as well as the fact that she is married to one half of SmackDown tag team champions The Usos in Jimmy Uso.

Per Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News, Uso seemingly showed support for Naomi and Banks this week by posting pictures of them on his Instagram story.

Despite her ties to WWE, Naomi's future with the company is now up in the air because of the walkout and her reported contract situation.

Since unified world champion Roman Reigns is Naomi's cousin-in-law and perhaps the most influential Superstar in the company, it is possible he could play a role as peacekeeper between the two sides.

If that happens, there may be a chance for Naomi and WWE to get back on the same page and work out a new long-term deal in the near future.

Otherwise, Naomi will have no shortage of options elsewhere in the wrestling world, with All Elite Wrestling and Impact Wrestling standing out as possibilities.

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