5 Worst-Timed WWE Wellness Policy Suspensions

William Regal has a history of substance abuse issues, which is detailed in his 2005 autobiography Walking a Golden Mile. In the book, Regal tells of how he was hopelessly hooked on GHB, while also consuming a laundry list of other drugs including Somas, Hydrocodone, Nubian and Percocet.

Regal (real name Darren Matthews) sorted himself out in the early 2000s and earned himself a job with WWE.

On August 30th, 2007 Regal was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy. This came about after he was named in a Sports Illustrated article as receiving stanozolol, somatropin, genotropin and anastrozole from an online pharmacy between November 2004 and November 2006.

Just 24 days earlier, Regal had won a battle royal in order to become Raw General Manager. When he returned he was right back in the thick of storylines after aligning himself with Vince McMahon. A one-night-only face turn and match with Randy Orton in his home country of England impressed WWE officials enough for them to award him with a King of the Ring tournament win the very next week.

However, just a few weeks later Regal would be gone again, this time for 60 days as a result of his second Wellness Policy violation. The suspension stunted Regal's momentum. It looked like he was being positioned to be a top heel on Raw, with a World Title programme possibly in his future, but when he returned he was feuding with the likes of Jamie Noble and Santino.