WWE Rumors: Sasha Banks, Naomi Not Attending SmackDown After Raw Walkout

WWE women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Naomi reportedly aren't scheduled to appear on Friday night's episode of SmackDown.

According to PWInsider's Mike Johnson, neither Banks nor Naomi are believed to be in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for SmackDown.

One source told Johnson that Banks was on a flight to Minneapolis on Thursday night, while another said Naomi did not travel to Grand Rapids with her husband, Jimmy Uso.

Banks and Naomi had been scheduled to compete in a six-pack challenge in the main event of Raw on Monday, but the match was changed to a singles bout between Asuka and Becky Lynch after WWE said Banks and Naomi left the building in the middle of the show.

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In a rare occurrence, WWE released a statement regarding Sasha and Naomi's decision to walk off in the middle of the show:

WWE claimed Banks and Naomi left the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship belts behind and declared that they weren't being given proper respect as a tag team.

It was later reported by Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) that WWE's plan was for Naomi to win the six-pack challenge and go on to face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell.

That likely would have put Sasha and Naomi's status as tag champs on the backburner, which is reportedly something the Superstars disagreed with.

Despite that, WWE's decision-makers reportedly wanted to move forward with the plan, which is what led to them walking out.

Adding some more drama to the situation is a recent report regarding the WWE contract status of both Banks and Naomi.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc's Matthew Wilkinson) reported this week that Naomi had recently been negotiating a new contract with WWE since her current deal is set to expire "soon."

Former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide took it a step further on The Ringer's Masked Man Show (h/t WrestlingInc's Eric Mutter) when he reported that he heard both Banks and Naomi had recently been in contract negotiations since both of their deals are set to expire within the next two months.

If that is the case, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that both Banks and Naomi are on the way out of WWE, although there is still time and opportunity for the sides to work things out.

If Johnson's report regarding Sasha and Naomi not being at SmackDown is accurate, though, the healing process isn't likely to begin quite yet.

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