Naomi has opened up about one of the most talked-about moments of her WWE career, explaining why she chose to walk out of the company in 2022 alongside Mercedes Moné, then known as Sasha Banks.
The incident took place on May 16, 2022, ahead of that night’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. At the time, Naomi and Banks were the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
The duo ultimately left the building before the show, stemming from creative frustrations surrounding plans that would have placed them in a multi-woman match to determine future title challengers.
Both women were subsequently sidelined from WWE television. Naomi later resurfaced in TNA, carving out a run of her own before eventually returning to WWE.
During the second episode of WWE: Unreal season two, Naomi addressed the walkout and the mindset she was in at the time.
“I’m not gonna go much into detail, ’cause I don’t like talking about it,” Naomi began. “So in 2022, my tag team partner, Sasha Banks, and I at the time were tag team champions. There was a lot that happened that day at work that led us to.. leave.”
She added, “Like, literally walk out. I needed to stand up for myself, and not as Naomi, but as Trinity, and that was the first time in my life, in my career, not employed and not knowing what to do next and where to go next.”
It was a defining—and uncertain—moment in her career.
The situation was also discussed from a different perspective on the same episode.
WWE Hall of Famer Michael Hayes shared his reaction to the walkout, making it clear he did not agree with the decision.
“I was very surprised and shocked that Trin decided to get up and walk out,” he said. “That’s the wrong thing to do. That’s just the wrong thing to do. You work the show, and you work the show not because you don’t want to then. It’s for down the line when things cool off. and you go ‘phew. Glad I really didn’t burn that bridge’.”
WWE Unreal season two is available now for subscribers of Netflix.
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