10 Superstars Who Gained The Most From WWE's Wellness Policy
One man's suspension is another man's main event push.
The WWE Wellness Policy scored one of its biggest headlines ever this week with the suspension of Roman Reigns. The recently former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is supposed to be the company's main man, but those plans are now on hold for 30 days. For the time being, his spot on the card is open.
In professional wrestling, there's a belief that one must protect his or her spot before someone else takes it. The WWE Wellness Policy has offered proof to suggest that's more than mere paranoia. There are new episodes of Raw and Smackdown every week and a new pay-per-view every month. The show must go on and WWE can't wait for policy violators to return.
There are numerous WWE wrestlers who directly benefitted from the WWE Wellness Policy suspensions of others. Some of them even owe their first main event pushes and title reigns to the WWE Wellness Policy.
This list highlights the biggest beneficiaries of WWE Wellness Policy suspensions.
10. Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio was the ultimate underdog story that WrestleMania moments are made of in 2006. Mysterio was fighting in honour of Eddie Guerrero, his friend who passed away suddenly in 2005. Guerrero's death was a leading factor in WWE creating the Wellness Policy to begin with.
After winning the Royal Rumble in January, Mysterio seemed a likely choice to upset then World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and fellow triple threat challenger Randy Orton at WrestleMania 22. Then, Orton pretty much guaranteed it.
In the weeks prior to WrestleMania 22, Orton was allegedly (WWE didn't officially announce what happened) caught rolling a joint backstage. Any chance Orton had of going over at 'Mania was gone and his 60-day suspension after the event helped guarantee Mysterio's title reign would not be cut short.
Technically, this suspension was not handled under the Wellness Policy, but it's exactly the kind of conduct the policy was put in place to prevent.