WWE Rumor Roundup – Backstage news on Sasha Banks' absence, update on top female star joining AEW, new term added to banned list (January 8th, 2022)

#4. Backstage news on Sasha Banks' WWE absence

As announced by WWE, Sasha Banks will be out of action for 6-8 weeks due to an injury suffered at a recent live event.

Fightful Select reports that WWE was already preparing for Sasha Banks' hiatus as the creative team was told to formulate plans without factoring in The Legit Boss.

WWE's writers were informed on January 3 that Sasha would be unavailable for the upcoming Royal Rumble. WWE's worst fears sadly turned out to be accurate as Banks was diagnosed with an injury that will keep her away from TV for almost two months.

WWE has already made multiple booking changes in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Drew McIntyre's neck injury also put a spanner in the works as The Scottish Warrior was slated to have a program with Roman Reigns.

Sasha Banks' untimely injury has dealt WWE another major blow as they approach one of the year's most important events.

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#3. Updates on Kairi Sane's WWE contract and the possibility of joining AEW

Kairi Sane's recent social media activity had led fans to believe that she was already done with her WWE run. However, as reported by Fightful, Kairi Sane's deal ends in February 2022.

Sources within WWE revealed that Sane departing the company is "not a done deal" as she could choose to see out her contract. Kairi Sane left the US in 2020 and returned to Japan, and WWE honored her request at that time.

It has been revealed that WWE officials were not concerned about Kairi Sane potentially going to AEW. A WWE higher up told Fightful that an AEW signing was "far off of her radar" for Sane, and the company had no worries about it happening a year back.

As things stand, the WWE official in question still does not expect Kairi to become a full-time member of AEW. However, the same WWE executive revealed that they would be surprised if Kairi didn't eventually appear for Tony Khan's promotion.

After returning home, the two-time NXT Women's Champion worked as a brand ambassador for WWE. Kairi Sane will be a free agent in February, and she has previously shown interest in making an in-ring return. Will it happen in an AEW ring? Only time will tell.