WWE Wellness Policy - 6 Wrestlers Badly Derailed (And 4 That Prevailed)
6. Derailed - Rob Van Dam
A Double Champion at the time of his 2006 suspension, RVD lost his long-overdue WWE World Title just a month or so into his reign.
Finding himself on the wrong end of an awkward police bust whilst driving with Sabu, a speeding ticket quickly escalated into a drugs charge for both of the ECW stars, having both been caught red-handed with marijuana, pills and other drug paraphernalia.
Van Dam had often struggled with the company up to his 2006 resurgence, several times being inexplicably shunted down the card whilst remaining one of the most over acts on any show he performed on. Flagging motivation on his part would inevitably follow, and he would find himself inadvertently vindicating his detractors with lacklustre displays.
The re-imagining of ECW in the mid-2000s completely changed that. RVD delivered an electric promo at 2005's One Night Stand pay-per-view, and followed it up by defeating John Cena at the 2006 edition, officially relaunching dug-up brand.
As a known public advocate of marijuana, the suspension wasn't a shock as such, but the ramifications of the charges were felt hard, with two high profile title losses back-to-back brutally denting his momentum.
Like others on the list, there was simply no possible return in sight to the top of the card after his 30 days off.