5 Shocking WWE Wellness Policy Suspensions No Fan Could Have Seen Coming
Last week Ricardo Rodriguez, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer, was suspended for failing a WWE drug test. You wouldn't think a guy who is paid to wield a microphone, and rock a sweet bow tie, would be on the wrong side of the WWE's Wellness Policy, but Rodriguez is their latest violator.
There's been twenty-three violations in the five-plus years since WWE has been consistently drug testing its employees and there has been a variety of offenders from all different divisions of the on-air staff.
Here are five names you may be shocked to find out actually found themselves on the wrong side of a WWE suspension.
Mike Chioda
Mike Chioda has been refereeing WWE matches since it was still called the WWF (1989 to be exact). In that time he has traveled the world, been in the ring with all the greatest WWE Superstars, and has made quite the name for himself. That's why we were all surprised when he was suspended 30 days in August of 2011.
Vince McMahon doesn't keep referees past their prime (see: Earl Hebner and Jimmy Korderas), so it was a risk for Mike Chioda to dabble in whatever got him popped for the failed drug test. Mike Chioda still remains the Head of Referees in the WWE today, so whatever the infraction it's been forgotten... for now.
Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler has been on WWE TV since 2006, which is a long time, so you may not remember his Wellness Violation in 2008. He was struggling to make a name for himself on the main roster, and found himself on the wrong end of a drug test. It didn't set him back too much, as he took off in 2009 when he made a brand switch to Smackdown.
Dolph Ziggler isn't the biggest guy on the roster, and it's crazy to see how far he has come since this bump in the road. Few guys can make you forget they may be using performance enhancing drugs, but Dolph Ziggler worked past it to become multiple time World Heavyweight Champion, with only more to come.
Jimmy Wang Yang
James Yun, or Jimmy Wang Yang as he was known as during his last WWE run (2006-10), has been on the wrestling scene since the final days of World Championship Wrestling. He was a strong cruiserweight competitor in his stints with WCW and WWE, and also for TNA's X-Division as recently as June 2011.
He was suspended for a WWE Wellness Violation in 2008. His career never recovered from the suspension, as he was jobbed out for the remaining time with WWE.
Heath Slater
Before Heath Slater caught on with his "jobber to the legends" gimmick in late 2011, he was busted for a WWE Wellness violation. Heath Slater isn't much of a bodybuilder, and the rumor going around was Slater was smoking synthetic marijuana, or "spice."
Heath Slater has come back from the suspension to tons of television time. His career has clearly been on the upswing, as he's even fronting his own stable, Three Man Band..
It's not a shock that the "One Man Band" would be partying a little hard, but fake pot? That's not rock n' roll!
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is the closest thing professional wrestling has to a legit rock star, and like any good rock star, Jericho has an international incident on his resume'. While on tour with the WWE in Brazil, Chris Jericho nearly incited a riot.
During a match in Brazil on May 24, 2012, Jericho crumpled up a Brazilian flag, tossed it to the ground, and kicked it. Police had to get involved, and the entire show had to be stopped until 'Y2J' apologized to the crowd. Jericho was suspended for 30 days following the incident that shows what happens when keeping it heel goes wrong. While not a wellness issue, his conduct was detrimental to the new family-friendly WWE image.