During her recent conversation with Sam Roberts on the Sam Roberts wrestling podcast, Sasha Banks vented about WWE creative, the ‘hot potato’ RAW Women’s Championship and preferring NXT’s creative style, where she knew her character’s long-term booking.
Another newsworthy topic coming out of the discussion was Sasha Banks talking about overzealous fans who cross the line and act in a why that she considers stalking.
“You want me to talk about how much I hate being bothered at an airport or hotels?” Sasha Banks started. “I grew up a wrestling fan so I knew I wanted to meet my favorite wrestlers but always in the back of my head I never thought in my life I’d be like ‘hey, they’re gonna fly in. Maybe I should wait at the airport for like twelve-hours at the gate Hey — they don’t need any sleep, maybe let me find the hotel they’re staying at and bother them.’”
She continued airing her grievances with these fans, Banks explained that there’s a fine line between approaching your favorite Superstar if you see them in public and hitting them up for an autograph at 4am at an airport or hotel lobby and then selling it on eBay.
“Like to me, that’s stalking. I don’t tweet out what hotel I’m at. I don’t tweet what airport I’ll be flying out of. I do tweet what arena I’ll be performing at so I do expect fans at the arena and I’m so happy to sign at the arena. That’s fine because I’m telling you where I’m going to be at. If I see you in public, that’s fine. But when I’m in the airport at four in the morning and I see somebody with a carry-on and they open it with a hundred items of everyone and they’re bothering everyone to get an autograph and then I see it on eBay… that’s not okay to me.”
Meanwhile, industry veteran Bubba Ray Dudley tweeted the following, an apparent reference to Banks’ remarks.
Never worry about fans waiting at an airport at 5am asking for your autograph. Worry when they're NOT there at 5am asking for your autograph
— Bubba Ray Dudley (@bullyray5150) September 3, 2017
The Miz actually spoke to Sam Roberts about this exact topic several years ago. Miz had a similar stance to Bubba Ray, acknowledging that fans pay his bills and it’s an honor and privilege when they want an autograph.
“Whether it’s an adult asking for my autograph or a kid, whether I’m eating or doing something I don’t want to do, it’s like ‘They want my autograph’. It’s kind of a privilege and an honor… They’re the people that pay my bills.”
