Sasha Banks Confirms She Asked For Release After WrestleMania 35

Sasha Banks has confirmed during a new interview that she asked for her WWE release after WrestleMania 35 in 2019. Banks spoke with Ariel Helwani for an interview and confirmed the long-reported news; you can see some highlights below per Wrestling Inc:

On taking her hiatus: “It was at that WrestleMania when I was just like, ‘Woah, I’m not nervous. I don’t feel anything and this is Wrestle – freaking – Mania. I couldn’t believe it! The biggest fangirl that wanted this her entire life didn’t feel anything at the biggest show ever? I mean, this is every wrestler’s dream to be here, and at the very moment, I knew that I needed to take a break. And I was like, alright, I’ve got to go find myself and I did, and it’s the best decision I ever made and I’m so thankful that I did.”

On needing to take a step back at that point: “Wrestling has been the only thing I have ever known; I never had a plan B, C, or D, it’s just always been wrestling, wrestling, wrestling. So when I realized I didn’t know anything else but it, it kind of scared me for a second. And I just had to kind of figure out deep within, like, what do you like on a Sunday if you didn’t have wrestling? What if you didn’t have TV? What if there’s no cable? Just, what if? Can’t you just figure it out one time, for one day? And I’m like, ‘Woah, okay, actually I can because I can take a break to figure out who I am.’”

On asking for her release: “I felt like I wasn’t giving my highest good. So if I’m not giving my highest good, if I’m not being the best, if I’m not being used as the best, then I’ve got to go find that. I’m always that performer wanting to be #1 and I felt in my heart that I just wasn’t feeling good. I wasn’t feeling good, so I felt like I did all that I could and I needed that break, I needed that release. And then Vince told me no and that was a great decision on both ends because he knew what he saw. He’s so smart, he’s so kind, he’s so gentle. He actually knew what I needed which was time. At the end of the point, all of use just need a little bit of time.”

On if she was upset at her request being denied: “Initially, no because I just needed time. I have so much respect for him, if he’s like, ‘Okay, if you need time? I’ll give you time.’ I just needed time.”