The WWE Wellness Policy was put in place February 2006. Hardy wasn't in the company at the time, but he came back in August 2006. The hope was that he had overcome the drug issues that caused WWE to fire him three years. That wasn't the case because he had two violations in his career. Hardy's first Wellness Policy suspension took place in July 2007. There were actually various reports at the time with Hardy claiming he was just taking off for a month to rest and heal injuries. It was actually a drug suspension, so he was out for 30 days. The second Wellness Policy violation led to a 60 day suspension starting on March 11, 2008. One night earlier, Hardy lost the Intercontinental Title to Chris Jericho. He was scheduled to be a part of the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 24 and a lot of people believed he was going to win. It went to CM Punk instead. He was back on television two months later. A big reason why WWE was hesitant to really push Hardy as a top guy was because of his suspensions. He did eventually win his first WWE Title in late 2008, but that reign only lasted one month. He was the World Champion in the summer of 2009 although again that wasn't a really long run. They couldn't count on him with a really long reign because if he failed another test he would have lost his job and that would have been terrible news for WWE. Hardy left the company after three years and two drug suspensions. His contract was up, so it was his choice. There were rumors that WWE wanted him to go to rehab and he refused although that's not confirmed. If he ever comes back, his Wellness Policy violations will likely be wiped away since it's been over five years. Of course, it's not like WWE wants you to know that he's violated the policy twice already.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
