Sasha Banks Plots Public Appearance Under Her Real Name as WWE Release Rumored

By Brian Jones

Sasha Banks is making her next move while her future with WWE remains up in the air. The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo announced that the 30-year-old will be appearing at the event on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7. But Banks won't be using her WWE name as she will appear under her real name Mercedes Varnado. And the fans who attend the expo will have a chance to get her autograph and take photos with her. 

According to Fightgul Select, many wrestling conventions have reached out to the performer known as Sasha Banks. But an appearance by her can't happen until 2023. Fightful Select reached out to other convection organizers who reached out to her reps and were quoted with a specific rate. It's been reported that Varnado will only take non-wrestling-related bookings until January 1. 

During a May 16 episode of WWE Raw, Varnado and her tag team partner Naomi (real name Trinity Fatu) walked out of the show and vacated their Women's Tag Team titles. It led to WWE suspending the two indefinitely but the company has yet to confirm their release publicly or to media outlets. One promoter told Fightful Select they "can't imagine her not being released at this point."

"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. During the broadcast, they 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," WWE's statement read. "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 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."

One of Varnado's most react appearances was on Kevin Hart's sports show Cold As Balls, and she hinted at how she's treated in WWE. "I feel like I definitely get the respect I deserve in WWE, the former WWE Champion stated. "To be a woman and to main event, wake up, that wouldn't be possible. Now, we are here doing it and to be a part of that is just so incredible."

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