Huge news coming out of WWE this evening is that Roman Reigns, the next face of the company, has been suspended effective immediately for 30 days following his first violation of the company's talent wellness policy.
Reigns, real name Joe Anoa`I, has been earmarked by chairman Vince McMahon as the top guy in the company. He has had three different WWE World Heavyweight title reigns and main evented Wrestlemania, WWE's version of the superbowl, on two occasions with matches against Brock Lesnar and Triple H respectively.
The former American footballer has been billed as a main event player and has been one of the most protected wrestlers in the company - his first clean loss coming at the recent Money in the Bank pay-per-view at the hands of arch nemesis Seth Rollins.
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Reigns never loses so seeing him drop the title on Sunday was a huge shock for fans. But with this news, one can understand why such a decision has been made, and the man himself has commented on the news:
The strict wellness policy WWE has in place can include a number of different substances and the details as to how Reigns violated the policy are unclear at this time.
It could well be that he has made a simple mistake, something that a number of WWE wrestlers have done in the past. The likes of Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy have all fell afoul of the wellness policy but achieved success afterwards. However it is certainly not ideal for WWE to have their top guy under suspension.
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And it gives WWE a huge dilemma because Reigns is currently in a main event program with former Shield members Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Shane McMahon announced on Monday Night Raw that all three members will compete in a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Battleground - the next WWE pay-per-view on July 24.
Reigns' suspension is scheduled to be over on July 21, mere days before the event in Washington D.C. He will miss the WWE draft, which will take place on July 19 live on Smackdown. It's certainly a major blow for WWE as he was widely speculated to be the face of either RAW or Smackdown.
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It's very possible that WWE keep the 31-year old off TV and keep him in the main event of Battleground, after all it is his first violation. But the suspension may well alter plans, with WWE potentially leaving Reigns out of the title picture and instead having the eagerly anticipated triple threat match between members of the Shield at Summerslam.
With his family ties to the Rock, it's unlikely that Vince McMahon and WWE will ease off Reigns too much. He will probably continue as one of, if not the top guy in the company, but his suspension has certainly thrown a spanner in the works.
Words By: @JoshLawlessMCFC
