Sasha Banks Opens up About Vince McMahon Denying Her Release From WWE

Sasha Banks was ready to leave WWE two years ago. On Sunday night, the current SmackDown Women's Champion talked about her career to Stone Cold Steve Austin on his WWE Network show Broken Skull Sessions and mentioned she was looking to be released from her contract in 2019. However, Vince McMahon, the chairman of the WWE denied her request.

"I asked to leave and Vince was like, 'no,'" Banks said as reported by Bleacher Report. "He said no. He said I'm gonna give you 30 days to think about it. And I took more than 30 days." At the time, Banks took four months off before returning in August. There were rumors that the 29-year old left because she was frustrated with creative as she and Bayley lost the Women's Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania after winning it 49 days prior. But Banks revealed she was dealing with depression at the time.

"Depression was taking over," she said. "My mind was taking over. My thoughts were taking over. This place was being bigger than me. And I really, really lost myself because for a good seven years, I didn't even hear my real name. I didn't hear Mercedes anymore. All I heard was Sasha Banks, and traveling on the road, we only get one to two days off."

Banks continued: "So, I'm home, not even seeing what my real hair looks like. All I see is purple hair every single day. There were just so many things that were just—I let it control me...I couldn't even look at myself. I didn't even know who the hell I was. How I was going into work, how angry I was going in, how sad I was. I was not the person that I dreamt to be."

WWE fans are happy Banks decided to return because she has emerged as one of the tops stars in the company. 2020 was a huge year for Banks as she won the Women's Tag Team Championship for the second time, the Raw Women's Championship for the fifth time in her career and the SmackDown Women's Championship which she has now held for over 120 days. When Banks won the SmackDown title, she became the third Women's Grand Slam and four Triple Crown Champion in WWE history.