Thunder Rosa Explains How Sasha Banks And Naomi ‘Set The Tone’ With WWE Walkout

On May 16, reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks & Naomi walked out of WWE Raw. WWE issued a statement on the matter, saying, “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 were indefinitely suspended on the May 20 episode of WWE SmackDown.

Many wrestlers praised Banks & Naomi for standing up for what they believed in as they were reportedly “unhappy with a situation” and Banks met with Vince McMahon, but neither would reportedly budge on their stance. 

Speaking to Adrian Hernandez on KXST 1140 The Bet Las Vegas, AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa gave her thoughts on the situation. 

“One of my best friends said it best, he just sent me a text message, ‘When something doesn’t fit you anymore, it doesn’t fit anymore.’ That’s it, that’s what happened. She made that statement and it paid off for her. For some people, it wouldn’t pay off because they don’t have that status. She has that status where, she could have gone anywhere. For some people, that’s not an option. Let’s be real about that, too. When you have that option and you can make that statement, go for it, because it’s going to set the tone for other people who are like, ‘I don’t have the status, but she did it, I can do it too’ or they feel more comfortable. It paid off for them and she could have gone any other way, she could have gone to acting because she was already doing that or whatever else because she’s at that point in her career where she has options. Some people don’t have any options. I hope with that, I know a lot of people in that company they opened their eyes. She set the tone for other women and other guys, ‘this is not right,'” she said.

Banks & Naomi haven’t publicly commented on the situation, but have returned to the public eye, recently showing up at the She-Hulk premiere. 

Rosa is set to defend her AEW Women’s Championship against Toni Storm at AEW All Out. Fans can find the current lineup for AEW All Out by clicking here. 

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