Since she walked out of WWE on the May 16, 2022 episode of WWE Raw with Naomi, there has been tons of speculation about her future in and out of the WWE.
While it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s real and what’s speculation, one thing that’s for sure is Banks has been making the most of her time outside of the WWE.
It’s recently been reported that Banks will be appearing at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 even in the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2023.
Of course, the biggest news is whether or not she’s going to return to the WEE, but it looks like that may not happen. At least, not in the near future.
Wanting to get paid
The main reason for Banks and WWE not agreeing to a deal has reportedly been over money.
Dave Meltzer talked about Banks’ situation with the WWE as well as rumors of her going to AEW on Wrestling Observer.
“Okay, there’s a lot to this one. I had talked with WWE about it and they basically had nothing to say as far as the situation. Obviously, we’d talked about this before. They [WWE] had been talking to both of them, but they had been talking to her about a return and they were very far apart on money. That was the last that I had heard. What she was asking for was a very high number for a WWE woman wrestler, but if you look at the amount of money that WWE takes in, she would still be underpaid. Everyone from Roman Reigns to Brock Lesnar is underpaid. That was the last that I had heard. Now, her contract was set to expire at the end of the year. However, as we’ve seen with so many people, they could freeze the deal.
“She is going to be making appearances for NJPW in 2023. Barring a last-minute change and her backing out on what she has agreed to, she’s not going back to WWE, but you cannot always rule that out.”
The WWE is notorious for freezing talent’s contract while they’re injured and other instances, but that was also under Vince McMahon’s tenure. It’s still not clear if Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will follow the same practices.
Going to AEW?
The common cry from fans when someone leaves or wants to leave the WWE is they should go to AEW, and Banks is no different.
We’ve reported on the possibility before, and there’s a current rumor she’s going to be Saraya’s mystery partner on the January 11 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Anything’s possible, but as Meltzer pointed out, the WWE may end up giving her what she wants money wise to keep her from going to NJPW or AEW, so we’ll have to wait and see.
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