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Did WWE Know Brock Lesnar Would Get Flagged For Drug Violation Before UFC 200?

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 02:26 PST, Jul 16, 2016

It’s hard to know whether the UFC or WWE had more to lose behind the shocking revelation that Brock Lesnar was flagged for a potential doping violation. The UFC benefited strongly from the Lesnar hype in the absence of previous UFC 200 headliners Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The WWE was all too happy to use the event to promote “Suplex City” and Summerslam.

When Brock Lesnar won over Top 10 UFC Heavyweight Mark Hunt, it was seen as a tremendous boost to the “legitimacy” of WWE competition, while the UFC was happy to speculate that it might steal Brock Lesnar away from its wrestling rival at some point.

And then came the USADA, crashing both companies and their respective fans down to Earth.

According to MMAFighting, Brock is “facing a USADA anti-doping violation after testing positive for a banned substance in a June 28 drug test.” It’s acknowledged that Brock Lesnar passed multiple USADA tests before the event. He reportedly had been tested eight times within the month leading up to his fight with Mark Hunt.

“USADA spokesperson Ryan Madden confirmed with MMA Fighting that Lesnar passed multiple tests before the June 28 sample came back positive for a prohibited agent.”

“With Mr. Lesnar having spoken publicly about the issue, I can confirm that he has been notified of a potential anti-doping policy violation, stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016.”

Madden also admitted that aside from the flagged sample, other tests came back “negative.”

The most disconcerting element of this developing scandal was the official response by the WWE.

“Brock Lesnar has not performed for WWE since WrestleMania and is not scheduled to return until Sunday, Aug. 21.”

In other words, the WWE isn’t expected to have any knowledge or control over the behaviors of its employees outside of appearances. That’s a bizarre implication for a couple of reasons.

First, if Brock Lesnar truly failed the drug test and it’s not a false positive, that would surely mean he also violated WWE’s Wellness Policy. This news would come mere weeks after Roman Reigns suffered a 30-day ban after testing positive for a banned substance.

It’s worth noting that the Reigns ban won’t interfere with his appearance at the WWE PPV event Battleground. Some are wondering if the timing of the violation means that Lesnar similarly won’t be banned in a way that affects his PPV match against Randy Orton.

Some WWE fans have gone as far as to claim the failure is the UFC’s problem alone and that the fallout from a failed test should have nothing to do with the WWE.

Well, that logic fails for one simple reason: Billy Gunn.

Citing F4WOnline, Wrestlezone reported that Gunn was fired from the WWE in November 2015 for “testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone in a powerlifting meet on July 25.” Billy, whose real name is Monty Sopp, had worked as a WWE NXT trainer prior to being let go.

“According to the report, Sopp’s drug test at the meet came up with a 37-1, testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, well over the 4-1 limit, and he was suspended from powerlifting for four years.”

“It’s also being said WWE officials did not become aware of Sopp competing as a powerlifter, or the fact that he had been banned from the sport four years ago, until a few weeks ago.”

So there is a precedent for WWE harshly punishing a wrestler who’d been busted for violating the wellness policy outside of WWE competition.

With all this in mind, WWE’s statement suggests that the company didn’t “pull one over” on the somewhat blindsided UFC; it’s reasonable to believe the WWE had no idea Brock Lesnar would fail a drug test. However, there’s not much to their response to indicate that WWE is as concerned with wrestler accountability as the UFC is concerned with fighter accountability.

The gap between Wrestlemania and Summerslam is not a satisfactory excuse, as had Brock Lesnar never fought at UFC 200 or been flagged by the USADA, this a potential violation of which the company would possibly not have been privy.

While the Wellness Policy is a positive step in the right direction for the WWE, situations like this are going to continue to reflect poorly on the company as a whole. Particularly, if there’s a perception that punishments for violations are unevenly distributed. At least the WWE won’t endure the UFC looking its nose down at its rival: Brock Lesnar’s alleged violation comes barely a week after UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones was flagged for a banned substance.

Do you believe the WWE had some knowledge Brock Lesnar would fail his drug test before UFC 200? Do you think this situation should lead to WWE Wellness Policy adjustments? Share your thoughts below!

[Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Image]

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