Why is Sasha Banks no longer in WWE?

Sasha Banks was in the middle of her third reign as one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions when she walked out of an episode of RAW with Naomi. Real-life Mercedes Varnado was reportedly unhappy with the booking of the women’s tag division.

The incident transpired backstage on Monday Night RAW's May 16, 2022. Boss & Glow reportedly had a meeting with Vince McMahon before the show, but that didn’t yield anything substantial for the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

WWE released an official statement, claiming that Sasha Banks and Naomi "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."

The company stripped the duo of the women’s tag titles on the May 20, 2022, edition of WWE SmackDown.

Triple H took over as the head booker and came up with a tournament to determine the new Women’s Tag Team Champions. The Game booked Raquel Rodriquez to win the tournament on the August 29, 2022, episode of RAW.

Sasha Banks has since filmed an upcoming movie, walked the runway at New York Fashion Week alongside Naomi, trained with legendary cruiserweight Juventud Guerrera in Mexico, and teased a potential signing with AEW.

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Is Sasha Banks heading to Wrestle Kingdom 17?

The former RAW Women’s Champion hasn’t competed in a match since May 13, 2022, when she and Naomi successfully defended the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Shayna Baszler and Natalya on WWE SmackDown.

PWInsider reported that Banks is expected to attend New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest event next month. The promotion is reportedly bringing the WWE Superstar to Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2023.

Former WWE star Kairi Sane (who now wrestles under the ring name KAIRI) is set to defend her IWGP Women's Championship against Tam Nakano at the big pay-per-view event.

It remains to be seen if Sasha Banks will appear before the live crowd to set up a possible future clash with the winner of the big title match.