10 Times WWE Immediately Broke Its Own Rules
3. The Wellness Policy Exemption
WWE first launched the Wellness Policy in the wake of and in response to the death of Eddie Guerrero.
As became tragically apparent, it was nowhere near as robust nor stringent as was insisted; in the two years that followed, it was revealed under the most harrowing circumstances imaginable that career steroid abuser Chris Benoit had contrived to avoid being tested or in violation of the policy. Moreover, within months of the double murder-suicide tragedy, WWE was swept up in the Signature Pharmacy scandal, in which several name WWE stars, 10 of whom were written off television, were found to have procured and ingested banned substances. The more things change, the more they stay the same; the sheer volume of violations, and the tier of talent involved in the probe, made a mockery of the much-touted programme.
In the years since Chris Benoit's death, WWE largely escaped scandal, and was praised by critics and rehabilitated, erstwhile talent alike for making genuine strides to detoxify the industry.
But then, in 2016, Brock Lesnar was slammed with a USADA doping violation that didn't cover his run in WWE; a spokesperson confirmed to TMZ that the policy "does not apply to part-time performers such as Brock Lesnar".
Of course, the part-time phenomenon was not in place when the initial policy was drafted. WWE could revise it, for the benefit of Lesnar et al.'s health, but then, the company isn't under the microscope, so why bother?