Imagining Sasha Banks' Role with AEW If She Ends Up Leaving WWE

Sasha Banks pulling a Jon Moxley and jumping from WWE to AEW isn't all too hard to imagine anymore.

Neither is Banks' potential role with AEW.

Banks has been missing in action in WWE for a while, which has led to plenty of speculation about her future with the company. And as it was with Dean Ambrose, the happenings behind the scenes seem pretty obvious.

While we don't know the exact terms of her contract, everything else about Banks doesn't seem too hard to figure out. Her and Bailey elbowed and pressured for the WWE women's tag team titles' creation for a long time and finally got it—only to turn around and quickly lose them at  WrestleMania 35.

Banks was reportedly furious and tried to quit, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Wrestle Zone). And while a huge chunk of salt is required there, it makes sense.

Social media hasn't hurt the idea:

And this one was fired off during the day of AEW's Double or Nothing:

The horribly-named tag team (The Boss 'n' Hug Connection, right from the writers Ambrose despises so much) deserved the inaugural reign, and it would have made sense from a legitimacy standpoint to have them retain the belts for a while, especially by having a WrestleMania moment with a win.

Since then, Banks hasn't been with WWE. Bayley, meanwhile, went on to win the Money in the Bank briefcase and then the SmackDown women's title. Reading between the lines, that could be viewed as a reward for sticking around and taking the lumps as they come.

There is always an outside chance this is all one great big work. But the Ambrose situation, which has turned into his becoming Vince McMahon's greatest nightmare with AEW, reeked of a similar vibe.

And Banks would end up doing much of the same thing in AEW should she shake free of a contract and head for greener pastures. Banks probably isn't going to hold back in interviews and simply chatting about her former employer once she's free, either, which is going to both hurt WWE and give her a perfect angle for an initial AEW run.

And that run, should it happen, could be even more important than Moxley's, as impossible as it sounds. As of this writing, the women's side of AEW isn't exactly big. Some of that legitimacy Banks wanted to establish with WWE's tag belts is arguably nothing compared to going over and pioneering an entire division by helping along others while serving as the first champion.

Which isn't to say Banks isn't accomplished. She was an NXT women's champion, a key player in the women's revolution and had several Raw Women's Championship runs, though they felt at least partially diluted despite superb match quality because the title kept pulling a hot potato between a few Superstars.

With AEW, one would have to imagine a long initial title run for Banks out of the gates. She would serve as a final boss of sorts for the budding roster there, fittingly working into her Boss character once free of the overwritten, rehearsed WWE writing.

And that heel character she pulls off arguably better than anything else would pair incredibly well with, say, Kylie Rae in a noteworthy feud. And there is plenty of potential for a run with Britt Baker too, as the Double or Nothing pay-per-view showed:

Again, there aren't an overwhelming number of options—but that's part of the allure. A WWE return at this point would, until those in charge prove otherwise, probably quickly trend in the Ambrose direction. He came back to massive hype after an injury, didn't say much and looked ready for a massive run. Then writing got in the way, and he ended up cracking jokes and taking losses on his way out the door.

For Banks, a feud with Bayley looped into the tag loss and her partner's ascension to the top would make plenty of sense. But there would be an inevitable expiration date on the fun before she was back in random tag matches and taking losses in the roster and writing shuffle.

AEW offers more creatively and in the form of not only fresh feuds but also the chance at more legacy building within wrestling. If Banks shakes free of WWE, a surprise appearance rolled right into serious problems and matches with Kylie Rae while pounding the table for a title would accomplish so much in a short amount of time it almost boggles the mind.

This all has to have one big asterisk next to it. Banks might end up as fortunate as Moxley and wind up in AEW or she might be stuck. But if it's the former, it's hard not to get excited for both her and the possibilities.