Monday Night Raw’s main event was drastically altered after Sasha Banks and Naomi left ahead of the show.
The beginning of Monday Night Raw announced that a six-pack challenge would take place in the main event of the show and would determine the next contender to Bianca Belair’s Raw Women’s Championship. The match was set to feature Sasha Banks, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Nikki ASH, Doudrop, and the recently-returned Asuka.
However, a backstage segment aired in which Becky Lynch confronted Adam Pearce and said that she had seen Naomi and Sasha Banks leave the arena, and that it was unfair to her that the six-pack challenge could no longer take place. Pearce declared that the main event would now be a one on one match between Becky Lynch and Asuka, with the winner facing Bianca Belair at Hell in a Cell.
Now, a report from PWInsider revealed that this change wasn’t originally planned to be in the show and came about because Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out shortly before the show went on the air.
According to the report, Banks had an issue with the original creative plans for the six-pack challenge and had a meeting with Vince McMahon ahead of Raw. The belief among those who spoke to PWInsider was that Vince McMahon chose to go with his original plan instead of changing it, and that Banks was unwilling to back down on her concerns. She made the decision to leave the show, and her tag team partner left with her, despite also being booked as part of the six-pack challenge.
After the Women’s Tag Team Champions left the arena, WWE quickly taped the segments with Becky Lynch and Adam Pearce to explain the change in programming and promote Asuka vs. Becky Lynch as the new main event.
Elsewhere on Monday Night Raw, Bobby Lashley faced Omos inside a steel cage, and Finn Balor and AJ Styles approached Liv Morgan about accompanying them to the ring. Full results from the May 16th episode can be found here.