REPORT: Becky Lynch replaces Sasha Banks and defeats Bianca Belair

SummerSlam 2021 was hit with a huge blow when news broke on Saturday that Sasha Banks was pulled from the card for undisclosed reasons. She was scheduled to face Bianca Belair for the WWE SmackDown Women’s title.

Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc first reported the news, which was later corroborated by other outlets. This comes as there was growing speculation heading into the event about whether the match would occur. As reported, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks were pulled from multiple live events heading into the PPV, and Banks was not backstage at the go-home edition of WWE SmackDown.

WWE had not confirmed the match being removed from the card when the event started. They did not make any mention of a change, even running the pre-match video package. However, before the bell rang Banks was announced as unable to compete and Carmella was slotted in the position instead to get another shot at Bianca Belair.

Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair shared one of the most important moments in recent professional wrestling when the two women headlined night one of WrestleMania. Belair’s title run has been dominant since, with the expected rematch coming later in the year. The rematch was one of the more anticipated matchups of the card. Banks’s return in recent weeks was one of the most-watched moments in SmackDown in recent months, as she hasn’t been on television since dropping the title to Belair.

Becky Lynch surprised the crowd by returning and taking out Carmella. Seconds later she would defeat Belair to take the title after hitting a punch and the Man-Handle Slam.

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