Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: aew, Mercedes Varnado, njpw, sasha banks, wwe

Mercedes Varnado's "Thank You" Tweet to Sasha Banks Her WWE Goodbye?

Ever since WWE Superstars & Women's Tag-Team Champions Sasha Banks & Naomi walked out on a live edition of WWE Monday Night RAW over reported creative differences, reports have been all over the map as to what Banks (Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado) would do next. Would she go to AEW? Would she return to the WWE? Would she leave professional wrestling entirely and tackle acting instead? For months, Banks was visible at a number of non-wrestling events, keeping her public presence active. Recently, the needle moved toward a return to wrestling, with Banks set to make her NJPW debut during January 4th's Wrestle Kingdom 17 (with Naomi and WWE's Bayley reportedly flying in for support). In addition, there are rumblings that Banks could be Saraya's (WWE's Paige) mystery tag team partner against Jamie Hayter & Britt Baker during the January 11th edition of TBS' AEW Dynamite.

In a series of tweets this evening, Varnado thanked the WWE, William Regal, Triple H, the WWE Universe, her "Krew," Vince McMahon, and, finally, the person who's been by her side during her run in the WWE…

And here's a look back to the tweet Varnado posted at the start of the year that seemed to be setting up her exit from the WWE and onto the start of a new personal & professional adventure:

During the May 16th edition, Banks & Naomi reportedly walked out during an episode of WWE RAW reportedly over creative differences and the overall feeling that the WWE's Women's Tag-Team Division wasn't being respected. The match in question would've seen the tag-team champions having to compete against one another in a "Six-Pack Challenge" against Asuka, Becky Lynch, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H., with the winner facing Bianca Belair at the "Hell in a Cell" PPV event. The WWE would go on to indefinitely suspend both wrestlers without pay, issuing the following statement at the time:

"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," said WWE. "During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis's 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."

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