The WWE Wellness Policy has been largely credited — and rightfully so — with extending the lives of professional wrestlers and sending a message to the locker room that it’s not okay to put dangerous substances in their bodies.
In one recent example of the WWE Wellness Policy in action, one of the company’s biggest stars, Roman Reigns, got popped and suspended for an unknown substance.
The infraction got Reigns removed from television for 30 days, though it did not affect his standing in the upcoming Battleground pay-per-view.
Nevertheless, the fact that such a big star — and by all accounts a Vince McMahon favorite — could be publicly ostracized for violating the policy showed that the WWE wasn’t ready to play favorites.
But then, on Friday (July 15), the unthinkable happened.
Brock Lesnar, the Beast Incarnate and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, tested positive on an anti-doping test ahead of his successful performance at UFC 200.
His win over the eighth-ranked Mark Hunt, who is furious by the way , according to Fox Sports , is likely to get overturned and go down as a no contest. It has also raised some questions about the WWE Wellness Policy that need to be addressed.
BREAKING: UFC notified of potential Anti-Doping Policy violation by Brock Lesnar from June 28. pic.twitter.com/LRpovUlxkC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 15, 2016
While it’s true that Vince has a certain “type” of wrestler he prefers and that Roman Reigns fit that bill pretty well, he did not fit it as well as Brock Lesnar.
And with Monday Night Raw ratings in a freefall since Reigns won the belt at WrestleMania in April, the “Roman Empire” was doing little to win Vince over from a financial standpoint.
This has caused some rumblings in the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) pointing out how convenient it was that Lesnar never got popped with WWE; then with his first test outside the company, he does.
While this admittedly doesn’t look good for the WWE Wellness Policy — at least on the surface — there is a legitimate explanation.
It starts with the WWE official statement.
“Brock Lesnar has not performed for WWE since WrestleMania and is not scheduled to return until Sunday, August 21.”
And that’s it.
Of course, the subtext to that is that Lesnar will likely not appear until SummerSlam , but he will still be there to face Randy Orton, so one of the WWE’s biggest pay-per-view show’s main events will not be in jeopardy.
Beyond that, MMA Fighting provides a little more perspective , stating the following.
“ Wrestlemania was April 3. Aug. 21 is the date of WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event. It still remains hazy whether or not WWE will discipline Lesnar at all. Typically, the pro-wrestling company has suspended fighters for failed drug tests, even if they were conducted by other organizations… But first-time violators of WWE’s wellness policy are usually issued a 30-day suspension, which would still allow Lesnar to be at SummerSlam .”
While it’s admittedly convenient that Lesnar’s anti-doping violation will not jeopardize a high-profile show, it is understandable that Brock wasn’t caught by the WWE Wellness Policy.
After all, he is a part-time performer and the company has plenty enough to be concerned about booking what are essentially three brands in Smackdown , Raw , and NXT.
Brock hasn’t been the most available guy in the world either, negotiating his high-profile return to the UFC, and then having to cross-negotiate with WWE.
UFC releases statement on Brock Lesnar https://t.co/c8faTWvkx2 pic.twitter.com/DLH7vd947W
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 15, 2016
But what do you think about the WWE Wellness Policy in this instance, readers?
Should Brock have been tested by his main employer prior to his UFC 200 return? And what should the WWE do now that it’s known Brock was in violation?
Some are saying that SummerSlam needs a new main event and that Brock should not be allowed back in the UFC. But what say you, readers? Sound off in the comments section below.
[Image via WWE]
