Top WWE Star Reportedly Set For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom to Support Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks's return to professional wrestling is seemingly just hours away. For over a month, it has been reported that Banks has agreed to dates with New Japan Pro Wrestling, with the first of those appearances coming at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. Speculation on the former WWE Women's Champion's NJPW status reached a fever pitch when reports revealed that Banks had touched down in the far east in December ahead of the January 4th event. While Banks is not advertised to wrestle at the show, she is expected to make an on-camera appearance to set up a future match.

As she ventures into unfamiliar territory, Banks has the support of both of her former tag team partners. It was previously reported that Naomi, the superstar that walked out of WWE alongside Banks in May 2022, would be traveling to Japan to cheer on Banks. PWInsider has since reported that Monday Night Raw's Bayley will also be making the trip.

Naomi's WWE status is fuzzy, but Bayley is very much under contract to Stephanie McMahon and Triple H's company. This means that Bayley will most likely not be appearing on camera at the event, as she will likely only be either backstage or sitting in the crowd. PWInsider was unable to confirm if WWE specifically sent Bayley to the event. In the chance that the company did push for Bayley to be there, it makes an on-camera appearance possible.

Sasha Banks and Bayley have been linked for just about all of both women's careers. The two wrestled a critically-acclaimed bout at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in 2015 before uniting as a tag team in 2019, where they became the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. Banks and Bayley reunited once more in 2020, recapturing the WWE Women's Tag Titles while each woman simultaneously reigned as Raw and SmackDown Women's Champion. Their tag team imploded in Fall 2020 as Banks pursued the Raw Women's Title, defeating Banks for the prize at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020.

Banks recently appeared on one of Bayley's charity livestreams on Instagram, which marked the first time the two had been seen together in over a year. Bayley was out of action with an injury at the time of Banks' WWE walkout.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for coverage of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.

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