Are Sasha Banks And Naomi Being Paid During Their WWE Suspensions?

[Liz]

We are now approaching the two-week anniversary of Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out of WWE and numerous questions remain. Chief among them; are Banks and Naomi getting paid while they are serving their indefinite suspension? The apparent answer; is no.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer confirmed that neither Banks nor Naomi is being paid during their suspensions from WWE. Because the suspensions are indefinite, it is thus possible that Banks and Naomi, who we should note are reportedly still listed internally on WWE's active roster, could go months or longer without being paid, especially if WWE decides to freeze their contracts.

Speaking of Banks and Naomi's deals potentially being frozen, Meltzer also provided more information on that subject. According to Meltzer, WWE can extend the time on contracts of their wrestlers when they aren't wrestling without even telling the performers, pointing out Bryan Danielson as an example when the former WWE star retired back in 2016.

Many will recall Danielson's contract was frozen following his initial retirement until he returned as an onscreen character later that year as Smackdown General Manager. At that point, Danielson's contract restarted. Unlike Banks and Naomi however, Danielson was paid his downside guarantee during the period his contract was frozen, due to him not being medically cleared to compete.

As of this writing, it's still unconfirmed if Banks or Naomi's contracts have actually been frozen or if WWE will simply allow them to run till they expire. Meltzer had previously reported that Naomi's contract was up in the upcoming months and that she and WWE were negotiating a new deal when she and Banks walked out.

Though Meltzer cannot confirm Banks' contractual status, former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide suggested a week ago that Banks' deal would also be up within two months. To date, neither Banks nor Naomi have commented on their standoff with WWE, though Naomi has removed all references to WWE from her Twitter biography.