The current generation of the WWE Talent Wellness Program started at the end of February, 2006. At that time, suspensions were NOT publicly announced, but they usually got out.
"First strike" was a 30 day suspension. "Second strike" was a 60 day suspension. "Third strike" was contract termination.
If the superstar in question refused rehab, they were immediately fired, no matter which strike it was.
Beginning November 1, 2007, WWE has claimed that all violations would be made public.
Compiled from several sources around the always infallible Internet, here are all the strikes (and a few of the non-strikes) we know about:
If we're missing any, let me know and throw me a link. When I have an endless amount of free time, I'll go back and link these violations to our discussions of them here on the board when I can find them.
(EDIT: Well, this is easier than I thought - turns out John started almost ALL of these threads)
Originally posted by CRZRene Dupree - Suspended for 30 days in June 2006 Rene Dupree - Suspended for 60 days in February 2007 Rene Dupree - Contract terminated July 26, 2007 (not officially called third strike)
I vaguely remember Dupree being heralded as the next big thing in wrestling and couldn't remember for the life of me why he got turfed. This would answer that for me.
Honestly, everything from '04-'09 is kind of a haze.
"This is DIET Double Dew, Kyle! It only has half the caffeine and sugar of Double Dew!"
Originally posted by CRZDH Smith - Suspended for 30 days on November 2, 2007
If I recall correctly, this was the first officially announced test violation, and before that were the August 30, 2007 Signature violations that were announced due to bad publicity rather than policy reasons. So I think the pre-November 2 results are a "grain-of-salt" situation.
The Big Bossman raised the briefcase.
Go Pack Go! Owner of one (1) share. Let's Go Riders! Owner of one (1) share.
So... those on the list who were terminated before the third strike. Is it safe to assume that they refused rehab and that's the reason they were let go?
Would that there were more specific information. I'd be interested to know how many of these were for more purely recreational drugs as opposed to painkillers and steroids.
I believe it came out afterwards that when Benoit took a month off to look after his family (I think it was in the spring of 2007), that it was actually because of a wellness violation.
The Big Bossman raised the briefcase.
Go Pack Go! Owner of one (1) share. Let's Go Riders! Owner of one (1) share.
Originally posted by CRZI think I've linked everything we've ever talked before to the list up there in post #1 - go back and take a look!
(We'll try to remember to add new ones as they are announced - assuming there'll ever be another one again, har de har har)
Lies. I clicked on the last Umaga link and it took me to a Jeff Hardy thread. Unless I missed something, Umaga wasn't mentioned at all in the Jeff Hardy thread.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and the world laughs at you." -Me.
Originally posted by LexusLies. I clicked on the last Umaga link and it took me to a Jeff Hardy thread. Unless I missed something, Umaga wasn't mentioned at all in the Jeff Hardy thread.
I'll try to go back and look up the liver enzyme stuff later - I seem to recall they weren't strikes per se, but for completeness' sake it'd be good to include them in the list. I'm sure we talked about them back when they happened as well.
Originally posted by CRZI'll try to go back and look up the liver enzyme stuff later - I seem to recall they weren't strikes per se, but for completeness' sake it'd be good to include them in the list. I'm sure we talked about them back when they happened as well.
This could help:
Originally posted by Figure Four Weekly - #579 - July 31, 2006For Smackdown: Lashley, Khali, Kid Kash, Super Crazy, Joey Mercury and Matt Hardy. Lashley and Khali are out with the liver issues. Kid Kash and Jamie Noble are both out, and while some sources are saying it’s attitude-related, one WWE source stated that only Noble did not deserve to be included on the Wellness List. Kash, therefore, appears to be out due to issues related to the last round of medical testing (liver enzymes, etc.). Crazy was pulled due to elevated liver enzymes. Hardy is being pulled, and while we don’t have confirmation as to why, the WWE source did not say he was placed on the Wellness List unfairly. Hardy claims his blood test found traces of staph. Mercury was sent to rehab several months back.
For ECW: Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam. Angle was pulled from the road due to serious issues with pain medication. Theoretically he could be back next week, but with his past I strongly suspect he’ll need to pass a test first, then continue to pass regular tests from that point forward. Because of the issues that have caused him to rely on the pills for so many years, there is at least a chance that he won’t ever be able to return. RVD failed a test, but it was an IQ test and not a drug test. He should be back within a couple of weeks. WWE has the right to test him regularly for marijuana, but my gut feeling is that they will not.
For Raw: Chris Masters and Rene Dupre. Masters was sent to rehab for non-steroid-related issues. There is no timetable listed for his return. Dupre failed a steroid test in June and was suspended. He ended up with a lot of heat because during his suspension he went on tour for his father Emil Dupre in the Maritimes.
For developmental: Ryan Reynolds. Formerly of Tough Enough and now under developmental, he failed a drug test in June.
The next week's edition says that Matt Hardy and Tatanka wound up with 30 day suspensions, although there was some dispute by Hardy as to whether he was suspended or if he was suffering from a staph infection.
Complicating matters is that pre-Benoit they had settled into a pattern of a 30-day suspension meaning you work for free, not you're sent home for a month.
The Big Bossman raised the briefcase.
Go Pack Go! Owner of one (1) share. Let's Go Riders! Owner of one (1) share.
Man, I haven't thought about Dupree in forever. Is it weird that I miss his tag team with the Japanese guy who was married to Hiroko? Double French Tickler for the mother loving win.
You wanna be a F'N grappler? dcegonline.com is where you need to go.
Damas y caballeros, this is a bump for Ricardo Rodriguez' first strike...which has been added to post #1.
Has it really been almost OVER a year since one of these was announced, or did I just miss some? (Or has the talent just gotten really good at working around this system?)
Originally posted by JustinShapiro, in another thread
Originally posted by Matt Tracker, in above mentioned other threadBut back to Ricardo. Hopefully they can explain his absence with a Dolph attack to give that angle a nudge.
They did. Dolph broke a guitar over his head.
I wonder if he got notified of his suspension before or after they ka-bonged him out of the storyline.
In his column today, Grantland's The Masked Man mentioned an "Orton rule" which snuck into the WP back in July(?) - this was reported back in November by PWInsider (and perhaps nobody else?) but I was totally unaware about it until just now. I'm linking to it here in case we ever need to wonder why, say, Randy Orton seemed to get a third strike which was only reported as a second strike. (They ARE still reporting violations on their website, right? Feels like we haven't heard any for a while...whoa, since July! EERIE.) PWInsider also notes a number of "therapeutic use exemptions" which really seem to open a lot of loopholes in the WP. Say, when did John Cena get his big-time injury and how many TUEs might he have received to come back so quickly? HMMMMMMM.
It's entirely possible that anybody currently on this list AND on the active roster may be down to one violation instead of two...most notably Orton, thus "Orton rule." I'm guessing that announcing any removal of strikes isn't something WWE would be inclined to publicly report. When I have more time, I'll scratch up the list of people who could potentially have worked off one of their strikes. (Or you can do it if you have more free time than me....just don't make any mistakes!)
A WWE talent who has “two” violations under the Policy may, subject to Medical Director approval, enter the Redemption Program. The Redemption Program is an eighteen (18) month process that requires the following:
An initial assessment conducted by the Medical Director (or, as the case may be, an addiction specialist recommended by the Medical Director) who will analyze the addiction related issues and health related concerns then being experienced by the WWE Talent, develop proposed treatments, therapies and/or support programs that may assist the WWE Talent in managing these issues/concerns and determine initial entry date for the WWE Talent into the Redemption Program; Compliance with the assessment recommendations made by the Medical Director (or, as the case may be, an addiction specialist recommended by the Medical Director) for the duration of the eighteen (18) month program; Mandatory unannounced follow-up testing as set forth in Section 8(C) (1) of the Policy; and No violations under the Policy for eighteen (18) consecutive months after initial entry into the Redemption Program. Upon successful completion of the Redemption Program, the WWE Talent shall request the PA, with the approval of the Medical Director, to delete one (1) of the two (2) violations of record for such WWE Talent. In the event the PA determines in favor of the request, the violation record for such WWE Talent will then be amended to reflect the reduction of a violation leaving the WWE Talent with only one (1) violation under the Policy.
Now, if it only took effect in July, that means conceivably nobody could lose a second strike until January 2015, but who knows how retroactive WWE might make it...? (Also, why put "two" in quotes? I guess because they have the ability to skip the first one and go right to the second one?)