WWE News: Two WWE Superstars Suspended 60 Days For Violating WWE’s Wellness Policy

WWE has tried for years to make sure talent is safe in the company. While they have not been perfect with this over the years, they have improved each year as time has passed. After the passing of Eddie Guerrero, WWE instituted a Substance Abuse/Wellness Policy. It was geared toward making sure talent stayed away from harmful drugs. WWE had a list of banned drugs such as things like steroids and pain killers that talent could not take. If a talent did not have a prescription, they would be suspended for a period of time if they failed a surprise drug test.

WWE gave talent a three strike rule. If you failed once, you were suspended for 30 days. A second violation would mean a 60-day suspension. Finally, a third offense would result in immediate termination from WWE and the talent could not be re-hired for the period of one year. WWE also offers free rehab to current and past WWE talent who ask for help. WWE has turned down some, like Sunny, over time due to the fact that they have spent a lot of money on her rehabilitation but she continues to relapse.

The company does take the Wellness Policy seriously, and thus, they suspend talent when needed. While fans have have not seen a violation for a little while, it does appear that two infractions have occurred. According to WWE, both Adam Rose and Ascension member Konnor failed their tests for the second time, which resulted in 60-day suspensions for each man starting immediately. This is a bummer to both men, clearly. However, Rose possibly suffers the most between the two.

WWE was finally allowing Rose to do more for the company as his role within the Social Outcasts group was relatively good for his career. Both men are not major stars for WWE, but even if they were, WWE had no choice but to suspend them due to the rules of the Wellness Policy.

After the death of Chris Benoit, these drug tests became a much bigger deal. Initially, it seemed like the company didn’t care much and only had the policy to look good in public. After Benoit, it became a much bigger thing for the company to focus on. They didn’t want to have another situation like that, as WWE has still not fully recovered from the acts Benoit committed even though they had nothing to do with him harming himself or anyone else.

People point to the numerous head-shots over the years, but Benoit also had drugs in his system after he took his own life. WWE did decide to remove chair shots to the head, regardless, and have focused on making sure the head of every talent is protected. They even make sure no one wrestles with a concussion now and have improved their head exams for talent ever since CM Punk exposed their terrible test when he was hurt in 2014.

WWE is very particular about thedrugs one puts in their body. While prescription drugs are considered okay, WWE does not like for talent to be on certain ones. The drug usage had to be passed through WWE’s office from a doctor with why a talent needs such a medication. Meanwhile, even many over the counter drugs are not good. Decongestants like Pseudoephedrine, which has name brands like Sudafed, happens to be illegal according to the policy even though it is OTC. A doctor still has to clear it for WWE. You can see a list of WWE’s banned drugs here.

WWE takes the Wellness Policy very seriously, and talent have seemingly been good about not violating it. You do see violations happen from time to time, though. However, WWE does what it can to protect the talent. There is no word on what either Rose or Konnor took that resulted in their failed drug tests. We’ll probably end up finding that out down the line. For now, all that seems to be known is that both men are gone for 2 months.

[Image via WWE]