Mick Foley Shares The Behind-The-Scenes Story Of The WWE Locker Room Losing Their Minds For Sasha Banks’ Championship Win

Sasha Banks’ victory over her arch rival Charlotte last Monday on Raw was one of the best, most cathartic moments in years on WWE’s flagship show, and it was also an incredible statement for how far women’s wrestling has come as the match clocked in at over 22 minutes.

But not only was the match rightfully praised by wrestling fans the world over, it also rallied some of the biggest Superstars in WWE to root Banks on, according to Raw GM Mick Foley. In a new Facebook post, he does an incredible job of telling the story of how the evening unfolded, from sharing his gut feeling there might be a title change with Seth Rollins to eventually finding dozens of wrestlers packed around a single monitor in the locker room to witness history.

” […] WWE Superstars begin to emerge and gather around the monitor. Chris Jericho wanders in. Sin Cara takes a seat to my left. All three New Day members bring their positivity to the proceedings. Rusev rushes in from the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. The action heats up, speculation runs wild, and the announce team brings viewers on the USA network into a commercial break – even as the in-ring action continues on the dressing room monitor. I give serious thought to departing the dressing room, and heading out into the audience to take in that unique atmosphere. But then I think about the atmosphere in this dressing room – unique unto itself, and realize there is no place I would rather be if history shines its light on this episode of Raw, than right here with the boys, the B.O. and the Ben Gay.”

Foley even goes in-depth on Banks’ botched suicide dive through the ropes, exposing the real concern these entertainers have for one another.

“And then Sasha hits the ropes and takes flight, diving through the ropes…and a collective gasp of horror fills the dressing room as Sasha lands in truly disturbing fashion – her upper torso hitting the concrete with such force that her body folds up like an accordion, leaving her motionless on the floor. […] As she lies there, the landing is shown in slow-motion three times – each one accompanied by another horrific gasp from the dressing room. Some of us shield our eyes. Chris Jericho, yells out before the final replay, “please don’t show it again!” […] Xavier Woods begins talking softly to the TV screen : “come on Sasha, get up…get up Sasha.” and is joined by others talking to the screen – imploring Sasha to start moving, or asking God to lend a hand. It’s a group of tough men huddled in front of the TV monitor – former WWE champions, world class power-lifters, an Olympian – but none tougher than the little lady with the big dreams, who summons the will to move, to rise, to somehow carry on.”

By now, we all know how the match ends — Banks locks Charlotte into the Banks Statement for a submission victory and the start of her first reign as WWE Women’s Champion. What we didn’t know is the outpouring of love from her comrades who bum-rushed the gorilla position to greet her when she came back through the curtain.

“But in all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd this large lining up outside the curtain to specifically congratulate one person. I have certainly never seen so many tears. While some superstars are beaming, the majority of those waiting for their moment with the Boss are either openly crying, or struggling with varying degrees of success to fight that urge to let loose the tears. Then, breaking protocol, her colleagues bypass the curtain and actually file into the fabled Gorilla position. I can’t claim that it’s never happened before; just that I’ve personally never seen it, or heard of it. None of us feel like we are breaking any rules; we all just want to be part of this special moment in time.”

Foley’s entire piece is well worth a read, so make sure to head over to Facebook and check it out.

×