Sticking to the script is one of the golden rules WWE has laid out for its superstars. With thousands turning up live in attendance and with millions watching from home, WWE could not afford to take any chances and demands their performers to stick to their scripts at all times.
However, there are some occasions when the Superstars either with full consciousness or unknowingly go off the written script. As a result, some superstars ended up getting severe punishments while some surprisingly get away without a scratch. With that said, let's take a look at how WWE has dealt with such script breakers in the past.
10 Got Away - Dusty Rhodes Facepalms Stephanie McMahon
Being a WWE legend has its fair share of advantages as they are not subject to the strict rules imposed on the active Superstars. WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes capitalized on that opportunity when he facepalmed Stephanie McMahon on live television.
Dusty Rhodes was confronting Triple H and Stephanie McMahon on the September 30, 2013, episode of Raw. He decided to take things into his own hands during the confrontation and went off script by facepalming Stephanie McMahon.
McMahon was not amused and shoved his hand as soon as he did it and was visibly upset backstage after the segment.
9 Punished - Paul London For Smiling At The Wrong Time
It was the night Vince McMahon planned to fake his death on live television. McMahon was going towards his limousine, walking past some of his Superstars in the backstage area.
Vince McMahon always wants WWE Superstars to project the right emotions during the segments, but Paul London learned this lesson the hard way as he had a big smile on his face as the chairman walked past him.
He didn't get punished straight away as he competed for the company for over a year and even had a run with the tag titles. But this incident played a significant part in the downfall of his bookings and his eventual release.
8 Got Away - Roman Reigns For No-Showing WrestleMania
Competing in WrestleMania will be the ultimate aim of every pro-wrestler who steps inside WWE. But Roman Reigns has done it on quite many occasions, and he had no second thoughts about walking out of his planned Universal Championship match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Reigns to take the decision, and WWE had to change their plans after they already started promoting what would've been a colossal clash between Reigns and Goldberg.
Reigns walked out while WWE was in a tough spot putting together WrestleMania inside the performance center. But Vince McMahon wasn't going to punish his biggest attraction and put the Universal Championship on him as soon as he returned.
7 Punished - Titus O'Neil For Grabbing The Boss
Titus O'Neil found him in the same situation as Paul London when he got suspended for pulling Vince McMahon's arm on live television.
WWE was holding a retirement celebration for Daniel Bryan, and every superstar was present on the stage during the segment. Vince McMahon was walking down the stage with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H when Titus O'Neil pulled Vince McMahon, intending to say ladies first to the boss to let Stephanie walk past them first.
But Vince being Vince, took it as a serious breach of the script and punished O'Neil by suspending him for 90 days.
6 Got Away - The Rock With Cosplay Legends
WWE usually pans the camera away from some of the members in the crowd, who distract the audience from the action inside the ring. They tried to do the same thing with a group of cosplayers when The Rock was electrifying the WWE Universe on the January 25, 2016, episode of Raw.
He went near a group of cosplayers dressed up as "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Vince McMahon was reportedly furious over The Rock's actions but couldn't do anything as he wasn't the same guy who worked for him twenty years ago.
5 Punished - Daniel Puder For Almost Breaking Kurt Angle's Arm
Not all WWE Superstars get to be main eventers unless they work hard to get to the spot. Some, however, have a chip on their shoulders and overestimate their abilities and that lands themselves in trouble.
Daniel Puder was one among them as he legit tried to break Kurt Angle's arm with a kimura lock. Kurt Angle challenged the finalists of the 2004 Tough Enough competition on the November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown.
Puder accepted the challenge and went off script by trying to outwrestle the Olympic Gold Medalist and almost made him tap out with a Kimura Lock.
Vince McMahon was not pleased and punished Puder by taking an embarrassing three on one beat down and later released him from his contract.
4 Got Away - Shawn Michaels Overselling Hogan
Shawn Michaels is one of the most controversial superstars in WWE history, but it was that same controversy that catapulted the Heart Break Kid into superstardom.
HBK entered into a feud with Hulk Hogan in time for SummerSlam 2005, and WWE booked them in a match at the event. Michaels thought that he would get the win at the event leading to another showdown between the two down the line.
However, Hogan didn't want to commit to more than one more match and McMahon made the decision for The Immortal One to go over HBK. Michaels wasn't a fan of the decision and showed his disappointment to the boss in style by overselling Hogan's every move making it clear to the fans.
Shawn Michaels, however, didn't face any repercussions after the match and went on to start a feud against Chris Masters after the event. This was definitely a downgrade from clashing with Hogan, but at least Michaels went over in his fight with Masters.
3 Punished - The Revival Saying The Forbidden Words
WWE has placed a ban on the Superstars mentioning certain words on television. The list includes terms like belt, title shot, hospital, MITB briefcase, and professional wrestler.
Former WWE Superstars Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson who competed as The Revival found themselves in hot waters with the chairman after they mentioned the term "professional wrestler" on WWE television.
Vince McMahon wasn't pleased and he punished the duo by turning them into a comedy act by putting them in embarrassing segments on live television and made them job to the other Superstars.
2 Got Away - Brock Lesnar On Many Occasions
Brock Lesnar can get away with almost anything as Vince McMahon views him as a money-making machine. The script wasn't a big deal when it came to Brock Lesnar as The Beast Incarnate took the liberty of going off-script whenever he felt like it.
He once called Hulk Hogan grandpa on live television, said I don't give a s*** about your kids to Heath Slater, busted Roman Reigns open at WrestleMania 34, and even shook hands with some kids in the crowd.
But Lesnar never got in trouble for any of his actions and continued to dominate the world title picture, as he brought in tons of money and ratings to the company.
1 Punished - The Curtain Call
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash signed with WWE's arch-rivals WCW in 1996, leading to speculations on what led the two Superstars to jump ships. Their final contracted appearance for WWE was a live event at the historic Madison Square Garden.
Triple H and Nash were heels at the time while Hall and Shawn Michaels were babyfaces. After the steel cage match between Michaels and Nash at the end of the night, Michaels hugged Hall in the middle of the ring.
While that wasn't a problem for Vince McMahon as both were fan favorites at the time, things got worse when Triple H entered the ring and hugged Hall and Nash. All four Superstars raised the hands of each other facing the crowd, which made Vince McMahon furious.
As Hall and Nash were already leaving the company and Shawn Michaels being a top tier star, the punishment fell on Triple H. He got relegated to competing with lower-tier performers for a few months before WWE cooled off on the incident.