MYSTERY still surrounds the status and whereabouts of professional wrestler Sasha Banks.
The WWE SmackDown star had been due to take on rival Bianca Belair but she never showed.
What happened to Sasha Banks?
Sasha Banks, 29, real name Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado, missed Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event and was initially replaced by Carmella in the match against Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Title.
Concerns had been raised earlier in the week about the Banks vs Belair match after the two missed live events in North and South Carolina due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
It was then reported later in the week that the two were “cleared” for the pay-per-view and that the match would happen, but Banks missed Friday’s go-home SmackDown and the match was up in the air again, Wrestling Inc reports.
Just why Banks did not appear has not been made clear, with PWInsider claiming it was not an injury issue.
Unconfirmed reports say Banks has still not been cleared for the show.
Some reports said Banks was never scheduled to be on Friday’s go-home SmackDown, but PWInsider said that those stories are incorrect.
WWE are thought to have kept promoting Banks vs Belair even during Saturday night.
While the issue has not been clarified it seems that Banks will miss this week’s SmackDown but this has not been confirmed.
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Where is Sasha Banks?
Confusion seems to reign over just is going on with the SummerSlam event, why Banks is apparently not on the card, as well as where Banks is.
Fans are eagerly awaiting an update from WWE officials with many unhappy at not seeing Banks.
One fan wrote on Twitter: “[The match of the night] would’ve been Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks, but y’all ruined it.”
In her post-match interview Belair said: “All I can say is, tonight, it couldn’t happen with Sasha Banks, but coming soon, it will be a point in time where it will be Sasha Banks and I in the ring again.
“So, we are definitely going to finish what we started off, and you know, it’s been a tough couple of weeks with Sasha Banks, and I was ready to put an end to her tonight.
“So whenever that time happens, I’m going to be ready to put an end to her again.”
The exact whereabouts of Banks is not known.