[EmpireWF]

WWE posted on their corporate web-site this afternoon the following:

WWE® Statement On Performer Suspensions

STAMFORD, Conn., August 30, 2007 - Based on independent information received from investigators from the Albany County, NY D.A.’s office, WWE has today, under the penalty provisions of its wellness policy, issued suspension notices to 10 of its performers for violations. It has been WWE’s practice not to release the names of those who have been suspended, but notice has been sent to all WWE performers that names of anyone who is suspended under the Wellness Policy as of November 1 will be made public.

The 10 wrestlers who have been suspended aren't known yet...but TV for next week will be taped within the next few days. So by process of which regulars aren't on TV, it should be known then. Of course there could be some who weren't regulars...word should get out within a few weeks.

As far as the change to the Wellness Policy, it says starting in November, names of those suspended due to the Policy will be made public. In the past, that hasn't been the case. The most recent example would be Jeff Hardy who just finished serving a month long suspension. WWE never came out and said he was suspended (in fact, no reason was ever given besides Jeff saying he was given time off to heal injuries).

[Lefty Noob]

Didn't take long for the fear of those Congressional hearings to force McMahon's hand, did it?

[EmpireWF]

A new Daily News online article says:

"The WWE stars are among the first athletes to face discipline for their part in the nationwide Signature Pharmacy scandal, the Internet steroid ring that has already led to guilty pleas from nine doctors, anti-aging clinic owners and operators. Law enforcement sources have said they expect the names of numerous NFL and Major League Baseball athletes to emerge as well."


They listed names who have been tied to the Signature Pharmacy scandal in the past. But remember, this is NOT the list of people who may have been suspended.

"In a list obtained exclusively by the Daily News, top wrestlers Randy Orton, Charles Haas, Jr., Adam "Edge" Copeland, Robert "Booker T" Huffman, Shane Helms, Mike Bucci, Anthony Carelli, John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan, Darren "William Regal" Matthews, Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and Chavo Guerrero were all identified as clients of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando..."

If any of those guys are among the 10 suspended, that would be a pretty big hit.

[Lefty Noob]

Wow, that's quite a list. Edge, ECW Champ John Morrison, Orton (who's in an angle with WWE Champ John Cena), Edge is a headliner... but Empire, educate me. Who are Mike Bucci and Anthony Carelli? They're the only names I don't recognize.

[EmpireWF]

Mike Bucci is the former Simon Dean, or Nova from ECW. He works in the offices now and is one of the top guys in WWE Talent Development.

Anthony Carelli is known as Santino Marella.

[Lefty Noob]

Well, 11 guys named in the paper, 10 of whom are active wrestlers. I have to imagine that those guys are the 10 suspended.

[EmpireWF]

ESPN picked up on the story and has added some more names to the list of guys allegedly involved in the Signature Pharmacy Scandal.

The other names are: Shoichi Funaki, Dave Bautista and Chris "Masters" Mordetsky.


The AP contacted WWE to find out the names but were rebuffed.

We won't know for certain until the TV tapings that take place over the weekend (they're going overseas I think next week so no live TV). If any of the big names aren't on the shows, put 2 and 2 together.

[EmpireWF]

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer offered some interesting (and logical) analysis on the names connected to the Pharmacy...

Based on records obtained through sources by the Observer months back, Copeland's last reported prescription came several years ago, when he was recuperating from neck surgery. So many of these incidents here may have predated the Wellness policy implemented in February 2006. It is known Orton and Helms' had transactions that predated the policy, and that the timing of both Copeland and Helms' transactions at the time came during periods of injury rehabilitation. So it may not yet be the time to make Ken Anderson look like a fool, depending on the date, because he has admitted use prior to February of 2006.

It is by no means confirmed that these men are among the ten who were suspended earlier today.

WWE was aware of many of the names months ago from a Sports Illustrated investigation and chose not to suspend the wrestlers at the time because the time frame predated the Wellness policy.

If the prescriptions did predate the policy, suspensions are questionable, but perhaps due to government pressure, WWE feels it has no choice. If the prescriptions were dated after February of 2006, the company had little choice in the matter.

Three other names, now deceased, Chris Benoit, Brian Adams and Eddy Guerrero were also on the list. There are believed to be several more former WWE wrestlers on the list, including one that was expected to be hired this week.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Was Barry Bonds among the suspended?...oops...no wait...that's baseball and it needs a positive test result...my bad.

[azrael492]

If I remember correctly, wasn't Masters already suspended for this once before. He came back with a goatee and a lot smaller.

[EmpireWF]

Originally Posted by azrael492

If I remember correctly, wasn't Masters already suspended for this once before. He came back with a goatee and a lot smaller.

I can't remember if he was ever suspended before but there was a time when he was off TV for awhile then returned smaller. Then he got big again.

It's unknown whether he's one of the ten suspended today though.

[vincesanity82]

Although neither WWE, nor the NY prosecutors have released the names of the ten suspended wrestlers, The New York Daily News has published the following names as the suspended performers: Randy Orton, Charles Haas, Jr., Adam "Edge" Copeland, Robert ``Booker T" Huffman, Shane Helms, Mike Bucci, Anthony Carelli, John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan, Darren "William Regal" Matthews, Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and Chavo Guerrero.

The newspaper also reports that the suspended were clients of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Florida - the same company which had the wrestler Chris Benoit as a client. WWE says that they will officially release the names of the 10 suspended wrestlers on November 1st, despite past practice not release the names of suspended wrestlers.

WWE suspends 10 wrestlers, no names released

[EmpireWF]

Originally Posted by vincesanity82

Although neither WWE, nor the NY prosecutors have released the names of the ten suspended wrestlers, The New York Daily News has published the following names as the suspended performers: Randy Orton, Charles Haas, Jr., Adam "Edge" Copeland, Robert ``Booker T" Huffman, Shane Helms, Mike Bucci, Anthony Carelli, John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan, Darren "William Regal" Matthews, Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and Chavo Guerrero.

The newspaper also reports that the suspended were clients of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Florida - the same company which had the wrestler Chris Benoit as a client. WWE says that they will officially release the names of the 10 suspended wrestlers on November 1st, despite past practice not release the names of suspended wrestlers.

WWE suspends 10 wrestlers, no names released

That article is wrong.

The NY Daily News article doesn't say who the 10 suspended people are. The names they talked about are simply names connected to the Signature Pharmacy company in the past. Whether they were involved with them prior to February 2006 or after is the important thing. Edge and Helms for example are said to have used them before. That would mean they aren't among the suspended performers.

WWE has not and won't release the names of the 10 performers. The 11/1 date is where if anyone is suspended from that day forward due to the Wellness Policy, then their name will be released.

[Nuke]

This just shows that Vince McMahon DOES care about his wrestlers...and congressional hearings that could reveal an illegal drug system that would destroy his company which by the way shares it's stock to the public so the govt. would piledrive Vince's little circus to oblivion.

[azrael492]

Originally Posted by Nuke

This just shows that Vince McMahon DOES care about his wrestlers...and congressional hearings that could reveal an illegal drug system that would destroy his company which by the way shares it's stock to the public so the govt. would piledrive Vince's little circus to oblivion.

I wouldn't go so far as saying he cares for his wrestlers. There has been too many stories to the contrary, but he does care for his company. He would stop at nothing to keep that clean.