lz4005
Man of a Thousand Holds 
Posts 1371
Registered 11-12-2003 Member Is Offline Mood: Oolitic
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| posted on 6-21-2016 at 11:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CM Crunk.... I seem to remember there being a precedent for holding off on suspensions so as not to completely
derail the onscreen product. Back in the mid-to-late Aughts I feel like maybe it was Orton got suspended but they held off several weeks before the
actual punishment was enacted so that they had all of their bases covered storyline-wise. I can't remember if the person in question was
performing at lesser pay or what but I'm pretty sure I'm not just making this all up. Anybody recall what I'm talking about?
At the time the wellness policy said you would be suspended but not immediately suspended. May have changed since but there has been at least once
with Randall where they delayed it so he could drop a belt or be in a big match.
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Gobshite
The Great One 
Posts 3260
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 12:00 AM |
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I'm confident that they knew about the suspension way before MITB, hence him losing clean, and they've set the 3-way up with every
intention of still doing it.
I have six invites I can crash out for membership to pwtorrents.net - if you want one, U2U me!
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DKBroiler
SpeciASSl CUMedian
Posts 1303
Registered 1-25-2008 Location One Inch Right of Philly on a Map Member Is OnlineMood: Old
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 12:04 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by anglefan85
Post of the year.
Get off my lawn.
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Sam Is Neat
Fella
Posts 323
Registered 2-21-2013 Member Is Offline Mood: Moody
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 12:13 AM |
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I would say they found out in between the foreshadowing of Dean Ambrose on Monday, and the actual PPV the following Sunday. My reasoning is that on
those go home Raws, often time the person who gets the rub on Monday, takes the loss on Sunday. WWE-think to show you that anything can happen, sort
of thing.
My guess is that they wanted Roman to keep the title, but he got nailed, so they decided that the best bet was to A: punish him by losing cleanly, B:
capitalize on who was in the match by letting Ambrose cash in on his former friends to C: get the belt back onto a face, like the originally wanted to
with Roman (face status questionable, buy you get what I am saying)
That, or they knew forever and ever and ever and did a wonderful job of telling a story that had a beginning, middle and end.
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the goon
Sister Act
Posts 5813
Registered 3-13-2004 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 12:16 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Gobshite
I'm confident that they knew about the suspension way before MITB, hence him losing clean, and they've set the 3-way up with every
intention of still doing it.
You may be right for two reasons: one, it seemed really odd to me when Rollins beat Reigns clean for the title on Sunday, but in light of
today's news, now it makes more sense (kinda like the time Jericho surprisingly beat Jeff Hardy for the IC title on RAW when Jeff was white hot,
only to find out a day or two later it was because Jeff had been suspended). Two, Ambrose/Rollins/Reigns is still up on WWE.com's Battleground
page. Which of course could mean they just haven't updated it yet, but you would think that if they knew 100% for sure that they were pulling
Reigns from the match, it probably wouldn't still be sitting up on WWE's official website.
But if they intend to keep him in the main event, next Monday is going to be really interesting because Reigns being off of TV during any
Ambrose/Rollins segments is going to be the big, obvious elephant in the room. Not to mention that when Reigns does come back to TV, his nuclear heel
heat is just going to go up that much more with the "you can't wrestle" chants turning into "you got suspended" and/or "you're on
drugs" chants.
quote:
Originally posted by DKBroiler
quote:
Originally posted by anglefan85
Post of the year.
That one is pretty golden, but I also saw a good one over in the 411 comments section earlier today:
"I don't do good drugs...I don't do bad drugs...I do THE drugs."
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CM Crunk
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1345
Registered 7-20-2011 Location The Magical Land of Magglerock Member Is Offline Mood: Deemon-Kayng
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 01:30 AM |
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yeah, what confuses me most is that if they did know leading into MiTB that he had failed a wellness test, or even on Monday, they still booked him
into the main event for Battleground. If that's the case you have to wonder if Vince's perception of the guy is going to change very much,
especially taking into consideration the special treatment they gave Orton for so many years in the face of his overt disregard for the rules, or if
things will go back to business as usual once he returns?
One thing I can't help but wonder is how the crowds are going to treat him once he gets back. They're already savage enough towards him
and I don't think some circlejerk wellness/suspension-related chants will be out of the question. Hell maybe this can be a blessing in disguise
for the guy and make that sorely needed heel turn even more effective.
What's funny is now you can add the Wellness Policy to the exclusive "Went Over Roman Cleanly" list along with Seth Rollins and Adam
Rose...wait, are we sure Roman didn't get busted for Adderal? 
Twitter and Instagram
Check out my Wrasslin Doodlez Thread
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G. Jonah Jameson
Showstopper
Posts 964
Registered 12-28-2010 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 02:42 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CM Crunk
I'm not crying scandal in any way, I'm just curious because I seem to remember there being a precedent for holding off on suspensions so
as not to completely derail the onscreen product. Back in the mid-to-late Aughts I feel like maybe it was Orton got suspended but they held off
several weeks before the actual punishment was enacted so that they had all of their bases covered storyline-wise. I can't remember if the
person in question was performing at lesser pay or what but I'm pretty sure I'm not just making this all up. Anybody recall what I'm
talking about?
Sounds like you're thinking of 2006, when Randy Orton did ... whatever he did (got caught smoking a J in the locker room? I forget which of his
violations was which) just prior to Wrestlemania 22, but WWE held off for a few weeks so he could lose to Rey Mysterio a couple times, then have his
ankle kayfabe-broken by Kurt Angle to explain his absence from TV. That was during the nascent stages of the Wellness Policy -- it only having been
enacted a couple months prior, after the death of Eddie Guerrero -- so there wasn't really a precedent set for how punishment was to be meted
out. I remember that being a question in those early days of the policy, actually: "So it's a 30-day suspension, but when does it start?"
Orton didn't have a title at the time, but WWE has generally allowed champions to lose their titles before starting their suspensions: Rob Van
Dam in 2006, Umaga and John Morrison in 2007, Jeff Hardy in 2008, and Evan Bourne in 2012 all come to mind.
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bopol
Showstopper 
Posts 574
Registered 1-18-2013 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 02:47 AM |
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This is a good one from Stan Ford at blogofdoom
"There is something crazy about The Shield now having a failed drug test and a hacked dick pic out there and Ambrose is the well-behaved one."
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punkerhardcore
American Dream 
Posts 7738
Registered 7-16-2005 Member Is Offline Mood: Lickable
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 05:28 AM |
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For those saying it could just be marijuana... hasn't that always been only a fine under the wellness policy? Jack Swagger wasn't
suspended a couple years back when he was busted for weed between winning at Elimination Chamber and his World Heavyweight Championship match at
Wrestlemania.
Is everyone mad here?
Of course they are, and you are too... otherwise, you wouldn't have come here.
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Paddlefoot
Rocco Rock of Jabroni
Posts 5911
Registered 1-19-2008 Location Scarsguard Member Is OnlineMood: Finally Deleted
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 05:41 AM |
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They probably take a failed test for pot much more seriously when it's the champ as opposed to a challenger that gets caught. I also suspect
that WWE would be far more severe on someone like RVD who came from a rival promotion and built his own fame outside their system as opposed to one of
their own built-from-the-ground-up good ol' boy projects like Orton, Swagger, or Reigns.
You know, everyone says it's not supposed to make sense, like that's the whole point, dude. And I'm just saying, you know,
that's like an excuse for lazy storytelling. Just don't sell me shite and tell me it's gold, all right? I might be stoned, but
I'm not high. You know what I mean?
- Cassidy from Preacher, commenting on The Big Lebowski and/or professional wrestling
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Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2878
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 06:29 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore
For those saying it could just be marijuana... hasn't that always been only a fine under the wellness policy? Jack Swagger wasn't
suspended a couple years back when he was busted for weed between winning at Elimination Chamber and his World Heavyweight Championship match at
Wrestlemania.
I'm too lazy to go look it up (the wellness policy is publicly available), but I do believe you are right... and if memory serve correct
it's a pretty steep fine at that (relatively speaking).
We could see the WWE enact the "Orton rule" as others have been mentioning; unless they changed since it was last needed, but I seem to remember a
clause wherein if it served the purposes of TV, the talent could basically suffer a financial suspension, but still be called upon for TV.
I also don't think this will hurt Reigns all that much... Vince has firmly been behind Reigns since day 1, RVD kind of caught fire, and earned
his way in... I think we're talking about two different leash lengths here. Roman might have to eat the pin in the eventual triple threat as
"punishment", but you don't suffer through this much with the guy to finally give up on him when he's slowly winning some segments of
the crowd over, and for the first time in a year threatening to become interesting.
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Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2878
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 06:29 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore
For those saying it could just be marijuana... hasn't that always been only a fine under the wellness policy? Jack Swagger wasn't
suspended a couple years back when he was busted for weed between winning at Elimination Chamber and his World Heavyweight Championship match at
Wrestlemania.
I'm too lazy to go look it up (the wellness policy is publicly available), but I do believe you are right... and if memory serve correct
it's a pretty steep fine at that (relatively speaking).
We could see the WWE enact the "Orton rule" as others have been mentioning; unless they changed since it was last needed, but I seem to remember a
clause wherein if it served the purposes of TV, the talent could basically suffer a financial suspension, but still be called upon for TV.
I also don't think this will hurt Reigns all that much... Vince has firmly been behind Reigns since day 1, RVD kind of caught fire, and earned
his way in... I think we're talking about two different leash lengths here. Roman might have to eat the pin in the eventual triple threat as
"punishment", but you don't suffer through this much with the guy to finally give up on him when he's slowly winning some segments of
the crowd over, and for the first time in a year threatening to become interesting.
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drmuerto
Man of a Thousand Holds 
Posts 1425
Registered 11-17-2005 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood: PhDeceased
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 06:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by bopol
This is a good one from Stan Ford at blogofdoom
"There is something crazy about The Shield now having a failed drug test and a hacked dick pic out there and Ambrose is the well-behaved one."
It's a sign that in this day and age, only members of society's most unstable lunatic fringe haven't taken a selfie with their dick
out or smoked pot.
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denverpunk
The Rowdy One
Posts 2440
Registered 6-27-2007 Location Mile-Hi Member Is Offline Mood: Stoked
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 10:56 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CM Crunk
One thing I can't help but wonder is how the crowds are going to treat him once he gets back. They're already savage enough towards him
and I don't think some circlejerk wellness/suspension-related chants will be out of the question. Hell maybe this can be a blessing in disguise
for the guy and make that sorely needed heel turn even more effective.
I think this could be a positive event for Roman in the long-term. The problem with him has always been the fans don't think he was built into
'face of the company' status in the right way. If this is considered a small depush where he has to move back up the card organically,
then this could be a blessing in disguise.
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Chris Is Good517
Best There Is Was or Ever Will Be 
Posts 12476
Registered 1-10-2002 Location Little Rock, AR Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-22-2016 at 11:30 PM |
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Yeah, Reigns has that Orton golden boy status, and by all accounts is a way nicer and more professional human being, so I can't imagine this is
going to hurt him all that much in the long-term, although he might have to regain a bit of trust before they run off and hand the belt back over to
him. I can see him eating the pin at Battleground and being out of the title picture for a few months, but I think that's probably as bad as it
gets for him unless he just fucks up again immediately, and let's face it, that's pretty unlikely.
Monday Night Flaw, a podcast about professional wrestling starring OO's own
Figure Foreskin as Andy the Smarmy Host and Chris Is Good517 as Cousin Balki.
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salmonjunkie
Best There Is Was or Ever Will Be 
Posts 11441
Registered 6-25-2002 Location Sunny Seattle, WA Member Is Offline Mood: Authoritized
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 12:44 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Paddlefoot
They probably take a failed test for pot much more seriously when it's the champ as opposed to a challenger that gets caught. I also suspect
that WWE would be far more severe on someone like RVD who came from a rival promotion and built his own fame outside their system as opposed to one of
their own built-from-the-ground-up good ol' boy projects like Orton, Swagger, or Reigns.
RVD's was also unique in that he didn't fail a piss test, he got pulled over and arrested or cited for possession (I'm don't
remember if DUI was part of it as well).
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Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2878
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 01:22 AM |
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Looks like Roman will be riding the bench during his suspension, as he was said to have gone home after Raw, and wasn't at Smackdown tapings....
So the whole Orton rule is maybe out the window.
With the WWE having known about this a few days before the PPV and still having gone ahead with the stip at Raw, there's probably not going to
be any major rewrites to the planned feud... at least one would expect.
Question for the masses....
The WWE wellness policy has sometimes been called into question by some in the past because the general argument of the detractors is that Cena is
massively ripped, and must therefore be on something, and since he's never been "caught" the wellness policy is bullshit.
Granted Reigns isn't Cena, but he's clearly a guy that the WWE is eager to build around... does his getting caught legitimize the wellness
policy now?
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First 9
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1934
Registered 1-22-2013 Member Is Offline Mood: Doing the Emma Dance
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 05:41 AM |
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The policy will always have it's doubters. How the generation that performed under it live in the next 25-30 years will be what will finally
show how effective it is.
If Reigns defaults to the new Orton, that leaves Ambrose and Rollins battling out for the top guy status with being the new Batista left to second
place.
Man, if you want any proof on how much things have improved just look at how much better the new golden trio is.Even Reigns is a better worker than
what Cena, Orton, and Batista were in 2005. I think Kurt Angle's only meh PPV Main Event was against Cena in that year.
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Frank Lloyd Wright
Man of a Thousand Holds 
Posts 1603
Registered 10-2-2007 Location Fallingwater Member Is OnlineMood: Megalomaniac
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 04:19 PM |
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I have two ambitions in life: one is to drink every pub dry, the other is to sleep with every woman on earth -- Oliver Reed
American architect, interior designer, writer, educator, and wrestling fan.
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SpiNNeR72
Showstopper 
Posts 599
Registered 10-21-2006 Location Shetland Member Is Offline Mood: Amused!
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 07:53 PM |
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With hindsight, no wonder he reacted to the "you can't wrestle" chants
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GodEatGod
Showstopper 
Posts 935
Registered 1-14-2004 Location Monroe, LA Member Is Offline Mood: Weird
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 08:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by SpiNNeR72
With hindsight, no wonder he reacted to the "you can't wrestle" chants
I don't really see how they relate, I guess. I also just don't get the chant - Roman's deficiencies have been in character and mic
work. He's just fine in the ring, especially for a muscle/power guy. He has a few repetitive spots he leans on too hard, but so do a lot of
wrestlers (including Dean Ambrose, who's my favorite wrestler but sets up that clothesline so obviously it hurts).
"It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like
Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist." - Tina Fey
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Chris Is Good517
Best There Is Was or Ever Will Be
Posts 12476
Registered 1-10-2002 Location Little Rock, AR Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 11:13 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by GodEatGod
I don't really see how they relate, I guess. I also just don't get the chant - Roman's deficiencies have been in character and mic
work. He's just fine in the ring, especially for a muscle/power guy. He has a few repetitive spots he leans on too hard, but so do a lot of
wrestlers (including Dean Ambrose, who's my favorite wrestler but sets up that clothesline so obviously it hurts).
I totally agree. There are a billion reasons to dislike Reigns, but his ringwork is about the only aspect of him that I'll stand up for. If
anything, as a worker, he's probably honestly better than Ambrose at this point. Before you guys flame me for saying that, think about the
amount of truly good, memorable PPV matches Reigns has had in the last 18 months, and then think about the amount of truly good, memorable PPV matches
Ambrose has had in the last 18 months, and I think it's kind of a no-brainer in favor the Reigns. You can argue that Reigns has been given
better guys to work with and we can look at that objectively but right now that's where I'm at on the issue. And that isn't meant to
be a sleight against Dean, who is obviously wonderful and is a much better overall all-around product than Reigns; it's meant to be a compliment
for Reigns, or at least Reigns' ringwork: put him in a PPV environment and you can generally count on him to deliver.
Monday Night Flaw, a podcast about professional wrestling starring OO's own
Figure Foreskin as Andy the Smarmy Host and Chris Is Good517 as Cousin Balki.
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denverpunk
The Rowdy One
Posts 2440
Registered 6-27-2007 Location Mile-Hi Member Is Offline Mood: Stoked
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| posted on 6-23-2016 at 11:26 PM |
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I'm not against that assessment. Ambrose is more of a brawler, although I would argue that his lack of memorable matches might have to do with
PG and not being allowed to do a bloody, hardcore match (like he wanted to do with Lesnar, and was told no). He's got Mick Foley-type skills,
and nothing's wrong with that. I think Reigns repeats his moves too much, but I'd say they look good when he does them.
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Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2878
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 6-24-2016 at 12:16 AM |
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I think the joke about "you can't wrestle" wasn't a jab at his talent, more that he'd be riding the bench for the next 30
days....
Just my opinion in the Ambrose/Reigns comparison, but I believe the pendulum swings a bit farther for Reigns than it does for Ambrose... we already
are into Ambrose, normally great spots, are a bit less spectacular because it's routine amongst a tapestry of good matches. Reigns on the other
hand has to fight for everything, and is starting a bit further back... To his credit he busts his ass and does wow (at least at PPV), but I think in
part that's because the bar is set a bit lower for him to wow us...
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CheMateo
Showstopper 
Posts 686
Registered 1-9-2008 Location Charming, Ca. Member Is Offline Mood: Ponce De Leon
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| posted on 6-24-2016 at 01:12 AM |
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Ambrose really should be the guy they get behind. If they were not handcuffed by the being so "corporate" and PG Ambrose would really get to shine.
I suppose many have forgotten the seeds planted by Twitter when Ambrose was supposed to start a program with Foley. Foley was to pay and think on his
sins for allowing a generation to worship him for his hardcore exploits. Can you imagine a Foley/Amborse feud going full tilt and unrestrained! It
could have finally led to WWE's first ever full no rope barbed wire match. Or even the second ever, and first full fledged Kawasaki Dream match
in WWE. It was supposed to happened with Cactus and Funk at WM XIV but Vince pussed out.
Even I 05, 06, 07, Foley and Ambrose could have torn th house down. Ah, what could have been.
Heck, even a toned down Ambrose I will take over Rome.
I hope all that make sense. I apologize in advance. I am inebriated.
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