The history of suspensions in WWE features many noteworthy names violating various policies. WWE putting a wellness policy in place allowed the company to show they were taking drug use seriously. Most negative accusations about the wrestling world come with steroids, and WWE wanted to make it known that they were taking a stand.RELATED: 5 WWE Stars Who Overcame Suspensions (& 5 Who Ruined Their Careers)The wrestlers to get suspended range from lesser-known undercard talents to main event superstars. Quite a few major names had fans stunned about the suspension due to the timing or the unlikelihood of it happening. Each story is different, but they had the same overall result. WWE shocked the wrestling world when announcing the following suspensions.
10 Roman Reigns
WWE viewed Roman Reigns as the face of the company when having him win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32 from Triple H. Reigns had his first great start to a world title reign by having feuds with AJ Styles and Seth Rollins.
RELATED: 10 Great Roman Reigns Matches Nobody Talks About
The great matches ended in disappointment when he violated the wellness policy. WWE was forced to book Roman to drop the WWE Championship to Rollins when he had to undergo the 30-day suspension. Reigns rebounded in the bigger picture with great work and success in a top role.
9 R-Truth
The reliable nature of R-Truth makes him a trusted employee of WWE. Vince McMahon is considered to be a huge long-time supporter of R-Truth due to how he always stepped up to do whatever the company needed.
That made it more surprising when R-Truth was suspended during a huge push. The main event run of R-Truth and The Miz as Awesome Truth would see the momentum stalled during R-Truth’s suspension for synthetic weed.
8 Mr. Kennedy
The timing for Mr. Kennedy may have been the worst of any wrestler since he was planned to get the biggest push of his career. Kennedy was the rumored name to be Vince McMahon’s illegitimate child until the suspension ended those plans.
Things ended even worse due to Kennedy claiming he didn’t take steroids in previous interviews about the drug in wrestling. Kennedy getting caught using a banned substance led to the suspension that essentially ruined his WWE career.
7 Shawn Michaels
WWE didn’t have as strict of a policy as in the ‘90s, but they were trying to clean up the image. Shawn Michaels was suspended during a huge push as the Intercontinental Champion for using steroids.
It was a huge surprise to see Michaels removed from television as a champ. WWE ended up lucking out by having Razor Ramon win the Intercontinental Championship during Michaels’ time away. The return of Michaels set up the legendary first ladder match between both men to crown an undisputed Intercontinental Champion.
6 Booker T
Booker T was one of the most respected wrestlers in the WWE locker room for years. Most others looked up to him or would expect him to step up to others, like when he won a real-life fight against Batista for being egotistical.
The trust in Booker would make it more of a shock when WWE suspended him for violating the wellness policy. Booker was upset since it involved a leaked list of names receiving banned substances from a pharmacy. Despite serving the suspension, Booker denied it and it played a role in his decision to leave when his contract expired in 2007.
5 Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam using marijuana was not surprising in the slightest, but WWE suspending him during the WWE Championship and ECW Championship was. The return of the ECW brand with RVD as the face of the show felt like the opportunity that he wanted his entire career.
RELATED: 8 Wrestlers Who Reinvented Themselves After The Death Of ECW
Van Dam would get suspended and forced to drop both titles in a suspension that shocked the industry. The timing was brutal for RVD and Sabu to get pulled over with drugs in the car leading to a suspension for Van Dam.
4 Rey Mysterio
The smaller size of Rey Mysterio would not link him to performance-enhancing drugs, but he did put on a great deal of muscle between WCW and WWE. Mysterio was suspended twice during his WWE career with both leading to confusion.
The first suspension for Rey came in 2009, but he claimed he had a prescription for the drugs used to rehab from an injury. Mysterio received a more surprising suspension in 2012 that forced him off television.
3 Eva Marie
WWE was planning to make Eva Marie a huge part of the Smackdown women’s division shortly into the 2016 brand split. Eva found a unique way to get out of matches with her own personal ring announcer revealing it.
A big tag match was planned for SummerSlam 2016 with the heels and faces of the division. Marie would get pulled just days before the show for a wellness policy violation resulting in a suspension. WWE completely gave up on Eva’s push and let her contract expire.
2 Samoa Joe
The most surprising recent suspension in WWE came when Samoa Joe violated the wellness policy. Joe has been viewed as the ultimate professional in every promotion he worked for throughout his long career.
WWE named Joe as a suspended talent in early 2020 to write him off television for a month. Joe would eventually return as a commentator and later as a wrestler. However, the suspension itself was a shock with a talent like Joe.
1 William Regal
WWE was giving William Regal the biggest push of his career in 2008 when he shockingly received a suspension. Regal won the King of the Ring tournament and had a few matches against Triple H to show how much WWE believed in him.
Unfortunately, the wellness policy violation would end that when he was taken off television to serve his suspension. Regal had struggled with drug use in the past, but this was a speed bump during his turnaround. The rest of Regal’s WWE career would see him earning back trust to get into a management position.
