Sasha Banks & Naomi walk out of Raw, WWE issues statement

UPDATE: WWE has released the following statement regarding Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving during tonight’s Raw:

When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw.

During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.

They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.

Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract.

We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.

The original story can be seen below:

The main event to tonight’s Raw was reportedly changed after Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of tonight’s show.

PWInsider reported this evening that Banks “took issue with some of the planned creative” for tonight’s main event, which was set to be a six pack challenge to determine the next challenger for the Raw Women’s Championship that both Naomi and Banks were a part of. They reported that Banks had a meeting with Vince McMahon and when McMahon did not change the plans, Banks “wouldn’t back down on her issues” and left the taping. Naomi, Banks’s tag team partner, left with her.

Fightful Select reported that Naomi was originally scheduled to win the match.

The six-pack challenge was set to feature Banks, Naomi, Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H., Asuka, and Becky Lynch, which was advertised at the start of tonight’s Raw. In a later segment backstage, Lynch told Adam Pearce that she saw Banks and Naomi leaving with their gear and tried to get herself named the number one contender. Pearce refused and instead turned the six pack challenge into a singles match between Lynch and Asuka, where the winner would face RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair.

Later during the show, announcer Corey Graves mentioned that Banks and Naomi had “unprofessionally left the arena.”

Banks and Naomi are the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They successfully defended the titles against Natalya and Shayna Baszler on this Friday’s SmackDown.