Randy Orton's Drug Suspensions

[kingofkings190260]

First of all I rarely get the time to use these forums so I apologise if this is in the wrong place and please feel free to relocate if it is.

Now that the midcard is done, let's move on to the main event....

I am currently sitting watching Randy Orton's Evolution of a Predator DVD and a certain part has got me thinking. Randy himself says after his wife found him passed out and he was admitted to hospital, "I was then suspended for 60 days".

Now the interesting part of this for me is that as far as I am aware(and correct me if I am wrong) a first offense is a 30 day suspension, 2nd offense is 60 day suspension and 3rd offence = good luck in your future endeavors.

Going by this logic, that would mean that Orton's latest suspension should actually have been his 3rd strike and therefore he should've been fired. Of course that didn't happen. Which has now got me thinking that the 'injury' that kept Randy out at the start of this year may actually have also been a wellness failure in which the WWE covered up so that they wouldn't have to fire one of their top stars.

I am just curious to know what everyone else feels on this. And just to clarify, I am not in anyway saying I want Randy fired as he is actually one of my favourite ever WWE stars but I am just confused after watching the DVD again and hearing him admit to the 60 day suspension.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Orton has failed the Wellness Policy twice. The other suspension that you're referring to was due to unprofessional conduct backstage. Randy Orton & Kelly Kelly have had some animosity for several years. I know that Orton has even gone on radio talk shows and practically called her a **** and that half the locker room has been with her. I think he also made some very negative comments at various times backstage towards her and they just finally had enough of his unprofessional behavior.

Going by various backstage reports, Randy Orton's pretty much a dick with a huge ego. The only reason he hasn't been released is because, quite honestly, the guy's damn good at what he does.

 

[anvilx8]

WHO THE HELL CARES!? WAAAAAY more guys used drugs back in the 80s and 90s than do today, the only difference is in todays wwe, ppl actually DO something about it, and people aren't blind to the idea of wwe wrestlers doing drugs.

ideally, it'd be awesome if all wrestlers were drug free.. but thats impossible and will never happen. So that being said, the only thing that matters (in my mind anyway) is that orton goes out to the ring and puts on a good show. And if he wants to use drugs and whatnot is his personal life... then whatever.

 

[vikesfan]

Exactly,if WWE suspended wrestlers for drugs nowadays there'd be nobody on the roster now.And who are your "backstage sources" Hammer? Im sure you have many.

And odd,I heard the same stuff about Dolph nowadays and how huge his ego is rubbing the roster bigtime. But just like Orton and HBK and the probs they had w/ them,theyre keeping Dolph just because he's too talented to maybe lose to TNA.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

I am just curious to know what everyone else feels on this. And just to clarify, I am not in anyway saying I want Randy fired as he is actually one of my favourite ever WWE stars but I am just confused after watching the DVD again and hearing him admit to the 60 day suspension.

What Jackhammer said...

We had a thread like this and it was explained that this was his second welness policy and not the third.

Going by various backstage reports, Randy Orton's pretty much a dick with a huge ego.

Well, that depends on who you asked.

Some say that they met him and that he is very nice and some say that he is a dick. He had various incidents involving WWE Divas(in adition of Kelly Kelly, Amy Weber and Rochelle Loewen claimed that he was harrasing them when they were in WWE) so you are probably right about that part.

 

[Airehk]

Now, lets suppose Randy does violate the wellness policy again? How would it be handled? I really can't see WWE just snipping the cord with such ease as they have with other superstars. Then to risk losing Orton to TNA, that would be quite the low to WWE. So what exactly would they do?

Of course at the end of the day, rules are rules, but its just too hard to imagine such a simple "so long, Randy" from the WWE.

 

[Brothervis]

3rd strike = a year paid vacation so he doesn't go to TNA but he has such a huge ego I doubt he would go to Kurt Angle's TNA and if he did Kurt would call up Vince because Randy would be the face of TNA for a year before leaving that vacation to back to the wwe

 

[Mustang Sally]

Exactly,if WWE suspended wrestlers for drugs nowadays there'd be nobody on the roster now.

That statement makes me think of pro baseball. In the media, you often read about minor leaguers being suspended for failing a drug test, while guys in the major leagues rarely do. From that, a person might infer that more guys in the minors abuse substances than guys in the majors, which is, of course, ridiculous. The truth lies in the manner both groups are monitored, i.e., how hard the player's union in the majors has successfully fought the testing process. Major leaguers have more clout (no pun intended) and apparently have a better chance of not being busted than a minor leaguer, who is less valuable than the guy in the majors.

Translation: The guy in the minors can sooner be sacrificed to the process, allowing baseball to demonstrate how vigorously they're policing the situation.

The same thing applies to WWE. The organization has to strike a balance between trying to keep their employees on the straight and narrow in order to protect them from their own abuses.....and keeping the top stars on the roster so the company doesn't lose their services. Sometimes, this balance truly gets in the way of WWE's goals. In the case of someone as important to the company as Randy Orton, the policies can be a real pain in the ass. They don't want to suspend him when he goes off the deep end, but they're sometimes forced into it because they're really trying to save Randy from his own excesses (better to lose his services for a while so he can dry out than losing him for good if he kills himself).

But let's be real: giving a third strike to Randy Orton? He's too important to the organization and, paradoxically, his knowledge of that fact might be one of the reasons he figures he can get away with repeated abuses.

Who knows how many times he's actually used stuff? Who knows how many times the company caught him and could have suspended him? Who knows how many times his "misbehavior" on the road actually involved more than just tearing up a hotel room?

The lower card employees must be aware they can get away with less than someone of Randy Orton's stature. A Trent Barretta probably knows well he'd get bumped out of the company for far less than Orton could get away with.

Is it fair? No, but it's not much different in other professions. The more valuable the employee is to the company, the better chance he has of surviving his misadventures with substances.

And so it goes.