Matte
"Family Man" 
Posts 4481
Registered 12-16-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: #HEEL
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 09:26 PM |
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WWE Wellness Suspensions - Mike Chioda & Andy Leavine
quote:
http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=60794
WWE.com is reporting that referee Mike Chioda has been suspended for 30 days for violating the WWE Talent Wellness Policy.
As Mike Johnson mentioned in his latest Elite audio, we have heard from a source there has been at least one other suspension. We are working on
confirming that.
[Edited on 8-16-2011 by Matte]
"I'm a professional. I know exactly what I'm doing." - Jeff Hardy
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punkerhardcore
The Man  
Posts 5058
Registered 7-15-2005 Member Is OnlineMood: Lickable
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 09:31 PM |
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Well they suspend for all drug use, so maybe it wasn't steroids. He's not big, and he really has no reason to bulk up. This is
surprising to me though, because I thought they only tested the wrestlers.
Is everyone mad here?
Of course they are, and you are too... otherwise, you wouldn't have come here.
Come participate in the Career Deadpool 2012! All suggestions/discussions are
welcome.
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C.MontgomeryPunk
Man of a Thousand Holds 
Posts 1700
Registered 1-6-2010 Member Is OnlineMood: ButtViper-y
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 09:53 PM |
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Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine was the other.
I remember Eddie Guerrero.
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cardscott5
Fella
Posts 422
Registered 6-28-2007 Location wherever god takes me Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 10:03 PM |
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That would explain why his promos were suddenly dropped and he was never mentioned again.
Visit my site: www.BearcatsBlog.com. Pretend to care.
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Matte
"Family Man"
Posts 4481
Registered 12-16-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: #HEEL
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 10:06 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by cardscott5
That would explain why his promos were suddenly dropped and he was never mentioned again.
The fact that he sucked would also explain that.
"I'm a professional. I know exactly what I'm doing." - Jeff Hardy
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Flash
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1016
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 10:43 PM |
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Firstly, awesome avatar Matte;
Talk about dumb on Levine's part. I get the pressure on the guy, but when you're that showcased like he has been and is expected to be,
you have to know the WWE is going to be that much more careful about pushing you with an ass full of junk and will want to check you out first.
Not sure why these guys keep going the way theyre going. We all kind of laughed at the integrity of the wellness policy when they first rolled it out
but the WWE has proven to be pretty vigilant about it, at least when it comes to those not named Orton (and to be fair he was caught, just had the
rules amended so he wouldn't be paid).
The Chioda part is just bizarre, but again tells us that the WWE is serious about this stuff.
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DevilSoprano
Pee Wee's Plaything 
Posts 5024
Registered 11-16-2002 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 10:53 PM |
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Suspending a ref does nothing of the sort. Suspending Orton or Cena or HHH will mean they're serious, suspending a ref is lip service to a
policy that no one believes is legit anyway.
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Flash
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1016
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 11:23 PM |
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I don't know, I think the ref suspension says that they are serious about trying to keep all corners of their business clean.
A Cena or Orton suspension only demonstrates their seriousness if either one of them is actually guilty of violating it. I seriously can't see
any way that Cena is, or in the last few years, being guilty of being on the juice. The Orton thing is admittedly their achilles heel; on one hand the
rules were kind of re-written for him and dings its cred, but on the other hand the punishment he received was as bad as he probably forfitted more
pay than most violaters put together (I would guess easily $100k)... The guys in a spot that taking him out would hurt the company's profits and
thus other employees, so I can see why the pay only suspension is there for the company.
The wellness policy probably still has a way to go, but dont forget this is relatively new and is working towards changing thing that have long been
ingrained in the culture or wrestling.
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C.MontgomeryPunk
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1700
Registered 1-6-2010 Member Is OnlineMood: ButtViper-y
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| posted on 8-15-2011 at 11:31 PM |
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The Wellness Policy should go the way of the Dodo after Linda loses her next election. Not saying the wwe should cancel it, but end the automatic
suspensions and such it just royally screws creative and basically one strike could effectively end a career with the hard and fast three strikes rule
- wwe isn't a friggin sport. If a wrestler has a problem than diagnose it via testing and deal with it, but to say if you have two strikes,
even if you're fired and rehired five years from now that those two strikes would follow you back is silliness. Does the Government make
Hollywood action stars get tested on set? Why doesn't Hollywood "clean up it's industry" by drug testing for rec drugs?
I remember Eddie Guerrero.
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Cordas
And I am AWESOME
Posts 119
Registered 8-8-2003 Member Is Offline Mood: Bored
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 10:54 AM |
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Hollywood doesn't have the death rate amongst its stars that wrestling has.... I also suspect there are differences in wrestling because the
nature of the industry means that its stars are often carrying injuries and have a legitimate need for addictive drugs that we know cause problems.
There is also a need for wrestlers to carry more muscle than is natural, normal or even healthy which pushes them towards juicing as well which we
know has some nasty side effects.
Its not about Linda's pipe dream of political office, its about the list of names we all know, the stories we have all seen in the press, its
about the stars we have supported and loved who blew their careers because they couldn't handle the 'life style'.
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Thom
The Great One 
Posts 3661
Registered 1-14-2003 Location Amazingville Member Is Offline Mood: Awesome
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 01:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Flash
I don't know, I think the ref suspension says that they are serious about trying to keep all corners of their business clean.
I disagree wholeheartedly. Mike Chioda getting suspended just means that Nunzio (or Referee McDoucher or whomever) has to officiate another match or
two. And nobody gives a shit or even notices - nobody watches (outside of the refs' families) for the refs. Suspending their stars and not
allowing them PPV paydays should send a message to the other guys.
That message? Simply speaking: If Cena/Orton/ADR (whomever) is replaceable, everyone is.
"I'm actually not wearing pants, and that's how I watch NXT every single week." - CM Punk
http://www.myspace.com/bassmantar
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Flash
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1016
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 02:19 PM |
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I think you're over looking that the wellness policy isn't just to show the public the the WWE is keeping its house in order (although I
very much believe it started that way), its also there to start re-educating an internal culture that leads a lot of these guys to some pretty
unhealthy outcomes...
so on that front, a lowly ref getting his probably less than $100k salary cut by a 1/12th is a pretty stern message to the locker room that this is
something they are serious about. Chioda wasn't about sending a message to us that they're serious, I think it was about the locker room,
those in the developmental system, guys looking to sign a WWE deal, and hell maybe even the camera man.
To be fair I think they kind of dropped the ball on the whole wellness thing by re-writing the rules for Orton instead of just having them in place to
start with. A kind of I've got a problem with the optics of what they did and not so much what they did in the end as I get why they have the
rule for just the pay suspension and not a complete removal from TV as you take an Orton off of a PPV and that affects buy rates, which then affects
everyone else's payday. Not sending an Orton home (I don't think Cena's presently on the gas so I won't include him) while
other guys do get sent home is a bit of a double standard, but at the same times its like comparing apples and oranges, at least in the WWE's
eyes.... I do wish it was the same though.
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Thom
The Great One
Posts 3661
Registered 1-14-2003 Location Amazingville Member Is Offline Mood: Awesome
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 02:33 PM |
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No - I'm looking at this as a message to the boys - but I don't see how them suspending Chioda sends any "real" message to the locker
room. I'm sure the guys realize that the refs are (except on rare occasion) interchangeable parts. As such, I'd think the guys in the
back would look at this as fairly meaningless, and that the E isn't showing that it's truly taking this thing (the wellness policy)
seriously. While I'm sure the lower guys might get a little apprehensive, previous suspensions to talent should be more effective than a
ref's suspension.
Seriously, unless the E starts handing out large suspensions for the stars, I can't imagine the mid/upper-midcard guys in the back are really
going to worry too much if one of the refs is punished. Because, really, unless the E truly gets firm with the "important" talent,
it's really easy for the boys to have the "it won't happen to me" attitude.
eta: I guess, if you think I (and Dev, probably) are overlooking the E's intent with the wellness policy, I think you're
overestimating the refs' importance/place within the company.
[Edited on 8/16/11 by Thom]
"I'm actually not wearing pants, and that's how I watch NXT every single week." - CM Punk
http://www.myspace.com/bassmantar
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C.MontgomeryPunk
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1700
Registered 1-6-2010 Member Is OnlineMood: ButtViper-y
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 04:06 PM |
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I'm not saying don't have internal checks and balances against drug abuse - but there is no need to suspend the wrestler and have a hard
three-strikes rule where by the talent is forever out of the wwe. I mean if Jeff Hardy comes back in 2-3 years he comes back with two strikes on him
as I understand it.
The wellness policy was more an answer to the government trying to regulate the industry because the morons don't seem to understand that it
isn't a sport; it isn't real.
Why not just have large fines? Why not have off-seasons if they really wanted to tackle the underlying issues of the industry drug abuses?
And if you want to point to the death rate, I'd say let's compare it to music industry deaths. Should they regulate that musical acts
need to be drug tested before performances?
I remember Eddie Guerrero.
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Flash
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1016
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 09:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Thom
I guess, if you think I (and Dev, probably) are overlooking the E's intent with the wellness policy, I think you're overestimating the
refs' importance/place within the company.
Actually I found your arguments to be pretty solid, I just think our beliefs about getting there are different. I get how dropping one of the big guns
would send a huge message to the "boy's" that any and all are replaceable, I just don't think that's the reality, or at least that
the WWE would, or is capable of ever doing it.
Like Cena for example... in order to send a message that everyone is is replaceable they'd have to suspend him. Cena knows he's the face
of the franchise and has gone on TV supporting the policy, so it would be incredibly stupid of him to violate it knowing the scandal it would bring
in. Whether it robs the policy of its teeth or not, for them to find him guilty of breaking it would send a message to the boys for sure, but it would
probably also cost them a shit load of money and image in the process, so to their way of thinking that just simply can't happen whether or not
its right or wrong and I'm sure the Zigglers, Henry's, and ADR's even, know that.
Orton is admittedly the wildcard in my thinking about this because he's now the #2 guy, but at the same time he's not a kid friendly super
hero that the WWE uses as some kind of charity machine, so it would be interesting to see how the WWE would deal with him now that he's gotten
as high as he has in terms of marketability.
End of the day though I see it as a case of if Cena or Orton can't realistically be suspended, even if the not suspending the favoured
son's cast's doubt on the whole policy, they've still got to do something to push forward with the poicy and start changing the way
the boy's think. Suspending some ref is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, but when you start looking at some of what
they've done it does start to flesh out a bigger picture that these aren't isolated incidents... for example;
Mike Chioda; Probably not going to bother the Cena's, Orton's, or Punks, but will get the attention the other ref's and fringe
guys.
Andy Levine: Perhaps poised to be a big star, or at lest ear marked for a big push, sends a message to all those developmental guys, the lower
midcarders, and other guys perhaps in line for a bigger push in the near future.
Sin Cara: The new boss's big acquisition just got dinged, to say nothing of how heavily the guy was getting pushed so this sends a message to a
lot of people, and people who may even be in the WWE but just on their radar.
Nailing say Cena or Orton would send a message to the whole roster all at once that they are serious and really honest about their intents, but what
they've done has still probably sent a message to %98 of the company who never will be Cena or Orton. Those guys may say the same thing that
Cena and Orton will never get burned even if their the biggest users and thus the policy truly lacks cred', but when looking at the comparables
that shouldn't matter if you're Evan Bourne and you watch Sin Cara get a vacation for using because you can't afford to lose 1/12 of
your salary like Cena or Orton can, and you know that you'll never be either of them (or unlikely to be).
Nailing Cena and Orton can also only be credible if either guy is actually guilty of violating the policy, and when other guys are breaking it they
can't stand around waiting for the chance to drop the big hammer with the belief that this will solve the whole problem...
Like Cena = a Nuke, and Sin Cara = the delta force... you don't want to drop the nuke, but that doesn't mean that you don't use your
other tools to fix problems of that level.... a moving parts type of argument I guess?
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DevilSoprano
Pee Wee's Plaything
Posts 5024
Registered 11-16-2002 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 10:08 PM |
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Except they've proved that suspending Sin Cara means nothing since they can just put another guy under the mask. And the 3 strikes policy is
bullshit too, it's lip service that would change if they found a way around it that suited the bottom line better.
I agree that the policy in and of itself is stupid. I don't care about the death rate among wrestlers. Inject themselves for all I care with
every steroid and HGH known to man...but for the love of god, make an interesting product.
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Flash
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1016
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 11:08 PM |
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Again though, those arguments mean nothing to us watching at home, but to the boys in the back each of those do make a difference, and really to the
WWE the wellness policy is a two front attack;
1) change the culture in the back that made these things acceptable
2) lessen the scrutiny they were under by implementing a wellness policy.
The first part is going to be a work in progress as they are reversing a decades old trend. While the wellness policy may not impress the IWC because
of cases like Ortons, it does give the WWE a bit of a safety net the next time some wrestler OD's... they'll still be scrutinized because
its wrestling, but it gives them a bit of a defense. It also gives them stats and figures they can trot out should some senate commitee or whatever
start sniffing around again.
Shitty product or great product, the wellness poiicy has nothing to do with this.
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JB KING
 
Posts 794
Registered 12-4-2009 Location Oxnard, CA Member Is Offline Mood: Jamming
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| posted on 8-16-2011 at 11:52 PM |
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Almost a whole page with no 'Silent (Roid) Rage' jokes? I'm proud of you guys.
ETA: lol500
[Edited on 8-16-2011 by JB KING]
Two time Winner for 2010 Breakthrough Poster of the Year Award. You read that right.
XBL Gamertag: JB KING
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chewey
And I am AWESOME 
Posts 138
Registered 6-17-2008 Location Washington, DC Member Is Offline Mood: Marchie Archie!
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 04:47 AM |
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somewhere I bet former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas is cracking a joke about Mike Chioda violating the wellness policy because he went to the tanning
salon one too many times, as he's always ragging on Chioda for his tan on the weekly Right After Wrestling radio show.
"Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same."
--Bodie, HBO's The Wire
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gobbledygooker
Sister Act 2 
Posts 6075
Registered 12-17-2002 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood: Opus Eponymous
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 12:32 PM |
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Well no wonder Chioda's back was always turned whenever heels were doing their nefarious cheating! He was high as a kite!
Anyone who lets their hair grow below their ears to where I can't see their ears means they don't wash. If they don't wash, they
stink, and if they stink, I don't want the son-of-a-bitch around me.
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