The Wellness Policy was a huge game-changer for WWE during a controversial time in the business. Vince McMahon had to do something to clean up WWE’s image problem after the murder-suicide tragedy of Chris Benoit. A new drug testing rule was enforced to police the drug use of wrestlers that could lead to negative moments or personal health issues.
Anyone to violate the policy would get suspended for a month. Second offense wrestlers would see it double. There is a “third strike” for three failed tests, but that is still up to WWE’s discretion. Quite a few major stars have failed the test to get the punishment. WWE started to reveal the names once they were getting leaked anyway. Find out just which major superstars were suspended for violating the wellness policy.
10 Rey Mysterio
The shorter height of Rey Mysterio saw him using performance-enhancing drugs to improve his physique. Fans often made jokes about the muscles of Mysterio growing immensely from his WCW days to the new look in WWE.
Mysterio was suspended in 2009 with the explanation of having a prescription for a drug that helped him heal from an injury. However, a second violation came in 2012 without an excuse given. Mysterio dropped the Intercontinental Championship before his suspension started.
9 Samoa Joe
The most recent suspension of a big name violating the wellness policy is Samoa Joe. WWE fans were surprised at Joe’s first violation forcing him home for a month. Joe was involved in the storyline that aligned him with Kevin Owens against Seth Rollins’ faction.
WWE didn’t reveal any information about the suspension beyond the news of it. Joe has been silent as well not looking to give more details about the situation. The suspension is scheduled to end before WrestleMania 36 if the show goes on as planned.
8 Paige
Paige was one of the few women on the WWE roster to get suspended for violating the wellness policy. Both Alberto Del Rio and Paige were suspended at the same time during their controversial relation that WWE reportedly wanted to end.
Del Rio requested his release from the company while underwent her suspension while on the shelf with an injury. A second violation for Paige came just two months after the first one to make things worse. Paige and WWE got into a public dispute about what she tested for, but she came clean and regretted her actions.
7 Jeff Hardy
The personal demons have always been a struggle for Jeff Hardy throughout his wrestling career. WWE had issues with this before they even created the wellness policy. Two suspensions came for Hardy shortly into the new policy.
Jeff was suspended in July 2007 and March 2008. The latter forced Hardy to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho and give up a spot on the WrestleMania 24 card. Jeff has not violated the policy since returning, but his issues away from the ring have been alarming.
6 Booker T
Booker T was suspended twice during his in-ring career for WWE in 2007. The start of the wellness policy had a few wrestlers unsure about the rules or if the program would be taken seriously. Booker T clearly missed the mark with two violations hurting his reputation.
The second suspension wasn’t a failed drug test, but there was a signature pharmacy scandal of wrestlers getting access to banned substances. WWE suspended Booker and many others to send a message when the news leaked.
5 Rob Van Dam
One of the worst timed suspensions in WWE history came for Rob Van Dam in 2006. WWE finally gave RVD a main event push as the WWE Champion and ECW Champion during the start of the ECW relaunch as a third WWE brand.
The controversial story saw Van Dam and Sabu get pulled over for having marijuana and Vicodin in the car. RVD took the wrap since it was his rental car and he was the only one suspended. Edge defeated Van Dam for the WWE Championship and Big Show won the ECW Champion to end the main event run for RVD.
4 Edge
Edge was another huge name to get suspended as part of the signature pharmacy scandal in 2007. WWE didn’t even care about testing the wrestlers involved for this suspension since they were illegally getting access to drugs banned from the list.
It was likely a huge decision since Edge was the biggest name on the list. WWE didn’t suspend Edge since they felt it was a grey area with how the policy was violated. Edge main evented WrestleMania for the first time seven months later against The Undertaker.
3 Randy Orton
Randy Orton was a controversial figure in WWE for the first decade of his career. Many backstage issues saw WWE second-guessing the idea of making him the face of the company. Orton made it even worse when violating the wellness policy twice.
The first one came in August of 2006 for a 30-day suspension, and the second took place in May 2012 for two months off the road. Fans have speculated about the potential of WWE hiding a third violation since they wouldn’t want to release him, but there was no proof for that.
2 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle was the first wrestler to want out of his WWE contract after getting suspended for violating the wellness policy. WWE made Angle the first official suspension before it was viewed as important since his addiction to pills were getting worse.
Angle was livid about the company embarrassing him and wanting to send him to rehab. It resulted in him demanding his release to go to TNA. Angle revealed he was at his worst taking dozens of pills every day to mask the pain. WWE was looking out for him in this scenario, but Angle didn’t want to hear it.
1 Roman Reigns
The biggest instance of WWE suspending someone for violating the wellness policy came when Roman Reigns was WWE Champion. Money in the Bank 2016 saw Seth Rollins defeating Roman Reigns before Dean Ambrose cashed in his title shot to win the title.
Reigns losing the title was a last-minute change after he violated the policy. WWE made him sit out for 30 days and moved him down into the mid-card picture for the rest of the year. Other stars like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Rollins were slotted into the top spots until the Reigns’ backstage humbling ended.