OOOAHHHHHHH – Samoan for* “Roman Reigns suspended by WWE for violating their wellness policy”
*not true
This is an interesting story, because Roman Reigns is a main-eventer and come from a reputable wrestling family, most notably related to, The Rock. Typically wrestlers under certain circumstances are inexplicably exempt from ever being in violation of the WWE Wellness Policy, and are often times alternatively given a private slap on the wrist, much to the dismay of other wrestling superstars who are not within said circumstances.
This is unofficially called the Randy Orton Line, on account of Randy Orton being caught multiple times throughout his career for steroid use or other undocumented violations of the same wellness policy, but not getting any substantial reprimand or punishment, popularly believed to be because he was a main-eventer, as well as coming from a reputable wrestling lineage, one that has always been in good relations with Vince McMahon and family. Those underneath the Randy Orton Line in the roster hierarchy and lacking in legacy clout typically face the suspensions that range anywhere from 30-90 days, if not outright firing.
So what does this mean for Roman Reigns? Well for starters, now it begs the question of what specifically he did. Did Roman Reigns take steroids? I mean, he is a walking mountain of muscles, so it’s easy to assume so, but given the fact that wrestling is not a real sport and that Roman is undoubtedly above the Randy Orton Line, he’s probably not going to get busted for steroids. So, I suspect something a little more serious and a little more illegal is involved.
I’m now also wondering when the initial infraction had occurred. At first, I assumed that this infraction was not recent, because it would have easily explained why Roman Reigns lost so cleanly to Seth Rollins at the Money In the Bank PPV, but then the storyline progression on RAW had set for Roman Reigns to partake in a triple-threat match at the next PPV; something that he will not be able to do, now that he’s suspended, so now I guess he was caught as of the last 24 hours.
I’m actually beginning to wonder if Roman Reigns was caught with something pretty misdemeanor and that there may have been some sort of legal or police involvement in it. Being over the Randy Orton Line, a guy like Roman Reigns should have gotten away with any sort of infraction scot-free, unless there was some sort of involvement from the law that would have made the whole situation very public knowledge.
And if there’s one thing the WWE cares more about than its own talent, it’s its own image and reputation, which would take a pretty nasty ding if it turns out that one of their spoon-fed faces of the company were busted for some sort of drugs. In the case of Roman Reigns, the WWE can’t outright prevent news from leaking out, but they most certainly can embark on some damage control and preventative matters, like breaking news of substance abuse and announcing a suspension, and trying to dampen the blow before anything more severe comes out.
So I’m going to guess that Roman Reigns probably got a DUI or got caught with some pot or cocaine or something. Given the fact that his last televised appearance was in Phoenix, maybe some crystal meth, since crystal seems to be a pretty popular drug out in American southwest. He got busted, and before the mugshot or the official police reports come out, the WWE enacted on some preventative damage control.
But if it turns out that he was “just” busted for steroids, then the Randy Orton Line is now a myth in the past, or Vince McMahon really does have racial biases against Samoans.
Either way, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when Roman Reigns returns to television; the boos will be pretty loud and a little more merciless, and the question there is how much more of them will be legitimate boos versus the typically troll-like ironic ones?
