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Sasha Banks to Open Tonight’s WWE ‘Raw,’ Make In-Ring Return vs Natalya Later in Show (Exclusive)

Monday marks the Boss’ first match since dropping Women’s Tag Team Championship belt at April’s WrestleMania 35

| August 26, 2019 @ 6:59 AM
sasha banks natalya

WWE

Sasha Banks is finally returning to the WWE wrestling ring on Monday’s “Raw” in a match with Natalya, WWE has confirmed to TheWrap. Before the bell rings for that faceoff, the Boss will open tonight’s show with a heel promo, a person with knowledge of the current script plans tells TheWrap exclusively.

This week’s script intends to walk the WWE Universe through Banks’ turn from a babyface to a bad guy. Banks, whose real name is Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado, had been away from WWE for nearly five months after a loss at WrestleMania 35 in New Jersey. There, Banks and Bayley dropped their tag team titles to The IIconics, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.

Following that loss on April 7, Banks publicly expressed displeasure with the trajectory of her WWE career. A day after ‘Mania, Banks posted the below on Twitter.

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At the time this story was published, it was undecided how “real” Banks’ promo and the explanation for her heel turn would get.

“Last week’s promo by Sasha was designed to establish her character’s villainous take on all situations,” one key “Raw” writer, who requested their name be withheld from this story, told us. “This week’s is designed to get into the backstory, why she’s turned heel, the motivation behind the change in her persona.”

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Former white hat Banks has been back on “Raw” for the past two weeks, attacking both Nattie and the flagship show’s female champ, Becky Lynch. The assault on Natalya Neidhart, the daughter of the late WWE Hall of Famer Jim “The Andvil” Neidhart and the wrestler who’s beared the brunt of Sasha’s recent wrath, has spanned both episodes.

See the four-time Raw Women’s Champion terrorize the “Queen of Harts” last week via the video below.

As always with WWE, rewrites are constantly happening, and everything — including tonight’s plan for Banks — should be considered subject to last-minute adjustment.

“Raw” airs Mondays from 8/7c to 11/10c on USA Network.

11 WWE Superstars With Their Own TV Shows (Photos)

1 of 10

”Stone Cold“ Steve Austin’s new USA Network series premieres on Aug. 12

These days, WWE Superstars don't just make their TV money through in-ring performances on "Raw," "SmackDown Live" and WWE Network pay-per-views -- there's an entire universe of opportunity for popular pro wrestlers to earn big bucks on the small screen.  

In our gallery are 11 WWE wrestlers with their own television shows. We've included a few select series from recent years to help paint a picture of the non-canvas landscape. A few: "Straight Up Steve Austin," "Fight Like a Girl" and "The Big Show Show" have yet to premiere.  

For the purposes of this story, we only counted the three people who appeared in all 111 episodes of "Total Divas" -- Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Natalya -- as it being *their* show, but we included the names of everyone who showed up in seven or more episodes of that one.  

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