WWE pushing Sasha Banks upon her eventual return would send the wrong message
After almost threatening to quit WWE earlier this year, Sasha Banks receiving her long awaited push upon her return to TV wouldn’t set the greatest precedent.
It’s been over three months since Sasha Banks was last seen on WWE TV and, as of this writing, there hasn’t been an official update on when she’s expected to be back.
Although she’s being advertised locally for the July 22 Raw in Tampa, that could simply be a case of the arena not updating their website (seeing as how Samoa Joe is still listed as the United States champion).
Either way, it’s virtually a guarantee that Banks will return before long potentially because of how WWE may never willingly let her out of her contract. Therefore, it might be in her best interest to come back and finish out her existing deal.
The longer she sits on the sidelines, the more time WWE could add to the end of her contract (like Luke Harper). With that in mind, it’s likely merely a matter of time before she resurfaces on Raw, and when she does, it would be incredibly shortsighted of WWE to push her straight back into the singles spotlight from the get-go.
Banks had her reasons for nearly quitting WWE when she did and, to an extent, she shouldn’t be blamed for doing what she felt was right at the time.
Fans can speculate all day long that it was the loss of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, or finding out she’d be broken away from Bayley that pushed her past her breaking point, but we’ll never know for certain until she speaks out about it.
In the meantime, all we can look forward to is her return. Her absence from Raw since after WrestleMania 35 hasn’t been the sole reason why Raw’s women’s division has been at a standstill as of late, but it certainly hasn’t helped either.
Fans of “The Boss” would likely love nothing more than to see her return in time for SummerSlam and set her sights on Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship. As much sense as that would make from a storyline standpoint, it would be completely illogical to reward someone who has been M.I.A. for so long with a championship opportunity.
If WWE were to do that, they would basically be sending the message that the best way for wrestlers to get what they want is to threaten to quit given the reports surrounding Banks’ absence.
WWE can be perceived as the “bad guy” all day long for not granting certain Superstars their releases, but if they signed a contract, then they should be expected to honor it.
Banks should be no exception to that, regardless of how poorly she’s been booked by WWE for the better part of her main roster run. That isn’t to say she should never be pushed again because of what’s happened with her this year (no matter how long she plans on staying), but there’s no reason to rush her back into a prominent role on Raw right away.
A heated rivalry between Banks and Lynch down the road might be enough to get Raw’s women’s division back on track (assuming Ronda Rousey will be out of action for the remainder of the year), but for now, she should be a notch or two below championship contention.
That isn’t to suggest that she should “pay her dues” by being brought back and buried by management, either. Nothing is accomplished in a case like that and would damage her credibility even more, but it is possible for her to be a regular on Raw each week and not be at the forefront of the division.
After all, the flagship show could use all the diversity it can get at the moment. It seems the only two storylines that are featured from week to week involve Lynch, Lacey Evans, Bayley (a SmackDown Live wrestler), Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
Meanwhile, Natalya, Sarah Logan, Dana Brooke, Naomi, Tamina and Alicia Fox have all been floundering for months. Banks entering a program with any one of them (preferably Nattie) upon her return to the ring would be a smart way of keeping her busy, giving the women more television time, and slowly planting the seeds for a future heel turn for “The Boss”.
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Another option would be to bring her back as part of the ongoing angle with Bayley, Bliss and Cross. Fans have been speculating all week long that Cross’ line from Raw about how Bayley has no friends could lead to Banks helping Bayley even the odds in the Handicap match at Extreme Rules.
Then again, that would have to transition into a Banks vs. Bayley program over the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which would also be looked at as a reward for “The Boss”.
Considering those two have been joined at the hip since Bayley’s move to the main roster three years ago, they are better off doing their own thing at this point.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Banks won’t be a heel the next time we see her on WWE TV. In fact, she could go so far as to incorporate her recent real-life frustrations into her on-air persona and use that as fuel for fans to turn on her.
Next. 3 reasons Sasha Banks shouldn't be at Extreme Rules. dark
Regardless of what WWE has planned for Sasha Banks when she decides to return to the road, officials must remember that giving her any sort of immediate push would set a bad precedent for every other disgruntled talent on the active roster.