WWE SmackDown female champion Sasha Banks is Steve Austin’s latest guest on the Broken Skull Sessions. In the interview, Banks discusses the WWE’s four-month hiatus last year.
“At the Elimination chamber, I know how important that match was for Bayley, but at that time I was still slowly [going down] and not happy, ”recalled Banks.
Austin asked Banks what was going on at the time to cause the downward spiral.
“Depression,” began Banks. “Depression was taking over. My mind was taking over. My thoughts were taking over. This place was bigger than me. And I really got lost because for a good seven years, I didn’t even hear my real name. I didn’t hear Mercedes anymore. All I heard was Sasha Banks and, traveling on the road, we only had a day or two off.
“So, I’m at home, not even seeing what my real hair looks like. All I see is purple hair every day. There were so many things that were just – I let that control me. I let it be like, ‘This is too much’ instead of being like, ‘You know what? Everything’s good. Breathe. It’s all right.’ [Laughs]”
In the end, it meant Banks needed to take a break from the business before completely losing who he was.
“I couldn’t even look at myself,” said Banks. “I didn’t even know who the hell I was. How I was going to work, how angry, how sad. I was not the person I dreamed of being.
“He got the fan right and I wanted to make sure I didn’t get lost. So I said, ‘You know what? I have to take a step away and find myself again and I have to be brave about it. ‘And that was probably one of the most difficult things I had to do – ask to leave WWE. “
Banks revealed that when she asked for a break, she spoke to Vince McMahon and he initially denied the request, offering her to think about it for 30 days.
“I asked to leave and Vince said, ‘No,'” Banks laughed. “He said no. He said I’m going to give you 30 days to think about it. And it took me more than 30 days.”
Banks appearance in Steve Austin Broken Skulls Session is now on demand on the WWE Network. It will also broadcast after tonight Elimination chamber PPV.
You can see his full comments in the video below.
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