WWE Suspends 10 Superstars

[Rappy Veteran]

Dave Meltzer is reporting that WWE suspended ten performers today based on information that the company received from investigators in the Albany, NY district attorney?s office. While the names of the performers have yet to be released, it should be fairly obvious within the next week at least who some of them are.

Apparently the suspensions are based on information on superstars that were using Signature Pharmacy or another Internet prescription service prior to WWE?s implementation of the Wellness Policy. WWE has informed all talent that starting on November 1st the company will release the names of anyone suspended because of Wellness violations

And from WWE.Com

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.

Good idea trying to stop the next big incident they certainly don't want another Benoit on their hands.

[Yorak]

Lol. *waits for list*

I hope that John Cena and Chris Masters are a part of that list. They're too obvious.

[Zoom7000]

The New York Daily News has posted up an article in which they identify several WWE wrestlers as clients of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando. Those names include Randy Orton, Charles Haas, Jr., Adam "Edge" Copeland, Robert "Booker T" Huffman, Shane Helms, Mike Bucci, Anthony "Santino Marelli" Carelli, John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan, Darren "William Regal" Matthews, Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and Chavo Guerrero . Only ten of the eleven wrestlers listed are currently on-screen performers for WWE. Simon Dean hasn't wrestled in over a year -- he's currently an office worker for WWE. It would appear as though that these are ten wrestlers who have been suspended by WWE.

It was reported earlier today that a number of the suspensions -- if not all the suspensions -- were based on proof of wrestlers using Signature Pharmacy or another internet prescription type firm for their drugs. Getting drugs from one of these internet prescription firms is a violation of the WWE Wellness policy.

Here is the article. You can also read it at this link:

Breaking News

Top WWE names emerge in doping scandal

BY T.J. QUINN

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Thursday, August 30th 2007, 4:27 PM

The WWE was rocked again today, after several of wrestling's top names emerged in the Albany district attorney's probe into a widespread Internet doping scandal.

The wrestling conglomerate based in Stamford announced that it will suspend 10 of its biggest stars for violation of its wellness policy.

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, the site raided by Albany County and Florida law enforcement agencies in February for distributing steroids and other prescription drugs to clients who had not been examined by doctors. The investigation is part of a probe into illegal Internet drug distribution by Albany D.A. David Soares.

The WWE said in a statement that it issued suspension notices based on independent information received from the Albany D.A.

The WWE's announcement comes as members of Congress prepare to investigate steroid use in professional wrestling, as the Daily News reported today.

Two of its recently deceased stars - Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero - also received steroids and other drugs from Signature, as prescribed by Florida physician Gary Brandwein, who has pleaded not guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal diversion of prescription drugs. Benoit murdered his wife and son before killing himself in June and Guerrero died in a Minneapolis hotel in 2005 from heart disease.

Guerrero received the steroids testosterone and nandrolone, along with the estrogen-blocker anastozole, a drug commonly taken by men on steroids to prevent developing breast tissue, Nov. 2, 2005, just 11 days before he died of heart disease.

Guerrero's nephew, Chavo Guerrero, found Guerrero unconscious in the hotel room.

Benoit received steroids from Signature, based on a Brandwein prescription, in February, 2006.

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.

Woah, some real big names in that list. This is gonna hit WWE big time!

WWE have posted this on their site:

Wellness Policy Suspensions

Written: 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.

[azz0r_wugg]

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

Crikey

[ZonoBurk]

Good. Maybe WWE will fail. It hasn't been "entertaining" in 7 years.

[LOC Veteran]

Of all the names, I'm shocked at Chavo. After what happened with his "brother" Eddie, and what happened with Benoit, of all the people to use steroids at all...sigh.

But anyways, Randy Orton and Edge SO don't look like they've ever doped. They are so small and unremarkable - I guess you can never tell just by muscle mass alone eh?

And people wonder why Rey Mysterio and HHH lost muscle mass while gone this time huh, I think its pretty obvious - though with HHH he got a step back in his speed and wrestling ability by "toning" up this time instead of "bulking" up.

[azz0r_wugg]

Rey has packed on weight.

[Rappy Veteran]

I am actually surprised also at Chavo because of that Eddie situation and what happened to him and of course Benoit which was even worse.

Randy I couldn't give a crap because he has been warned so many times and let off its about time he got done but there are some names there that I am shocked at.

Shane Helms on a sidenote is recovering from a broken neck so maybe why he needs them.

[Allan]

Randy Orton, yes...

Charles Haas, Jr.,

Adam "Edge" Copeland, yes...

Robert "Booker T" Huffman, yes, yes YEEEEESSS!

Shane Helms,

Mike Bucci,

Anthony Carelli,

John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan,

Darren "William Regal" Matthews, who's gonna GM the show now?!?

Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and about bloody f*cking time!

Chavo Guerrero

Crikey

[Yorak]

Randy Orton, (Honestly I'm suprised. People on steroids are built a certain way. Not always "big" but a certain way, I cannot explain it.)

Charles Haas, Jr., (He got a LOT bigger recently.)

Adam "Edge" Copeland, (Same as Orton ^)

Robert "Booker T" Huffman, (He has looked the absolute same since his early WCW days, he's iffy in my eyes.)

Shane Helms, (Uhm, okay? Little dude is like my size.)

Mike Bucci, (Hate this guy, so I can care less.)

Anthony Carelli, (He's not a good talent anyways, so I could care less.)

John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan, (He's on steroids? No ****, look at his insane abs.)

Darren "William Regal" Matthews, (LOL, and may I add...LOL)

Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and (He doesn't look that special to me, but it certainly will affect the storylines.)

Chavo Guerrero (Yeah he started to bulk up around the time Benoit died. I would've guessed that.)

Now let's play the game of, "how will they compensate the storylines?"

[Rappy Veteran]

Good thing about Edge is he is still "out" with his injury so he can be written out but Orton he was meant to win title at Unforgiven from Cena but now that will be squashed and guess what ANOTHER YEAR OF CENA!!! :ermm:

[Yorak]

Good thing about Edge is he is still "out" with his injury so he can be written out but Orton he was meant to win title at Unforgiven from Cena but now that will be squashed and guess what ANOTHER YEAR OF CENA!!! :ermm:

My thoughts exactly mate. I would be willing to let Cena kill me if my efforts would switch the title to HHH or anybody else for that matter.

[Allan]

The ones I said "yes" to are becuase I dispise them.

I'm glad to see Cena wasn't - and isn't - on roids ... it shows he's a TRUE athelete....

[Yorak]

The ones I said "yes" to are becuase I dispise them.

I'm glad to see Cena wasn't - and isn't - on roids ... it shows he's a TRUE athelete....

Are you that delirious? I'm willing to bet atleast 85% of professional wrestlers are on something. If it isn't steroids, it is HGH. Most are great athletes, but they didn't get that way naturally.

[DrunkenMaster]

But anyways, Randy Orton and Edge SO don't look like they've ever doped. They are so small and unremarkable - I guess you can never tell just by muscle mass alone eh?

There are other tell-tale signs. Muscle mass is the most noticeable. But it also depends on the person. Some will bulk up a lot more than others. I'm not an expert on the matter, but from all I've read, Orton would not be my first guest at least compared to the other superstars. Edge walked by me at a fan thing before Wrestlemania (the one and only time I've gone to a WWE event some time ago lol) and I could tell then he was probably using.

IMO, some of these guys 'look' small on TV. I thought Shawn Michaels was 'small' based on *how* he looks on TV. But when you walk to him, he's much taller, more muscles, more defined than you probably think. Don't let that deceive you into thinking they use or not. Or wether you can beat them in a fight. LOL (I'd really not recommend that for the UFC guys) ;)

[azz0r_wugg]

It shows hes a freaking suckass...you know I wouldn't mind if Cena's leg snapped in his next match...the mans an ego maniac far worse than HHH was.

Speaking of Triple H, hopefully he takes the title of Cena if Orton can't.

[Rappy Veteran]

The ones I said "yes" to are becuase I dispise them.

I'm glad to see Cena wasn't - and isn't - on roids ... it shows he's a TRUE athelete....

You realise he didn't get that way with weights?...look back at some earlier pics and he was thin.

[Rappy Veteran]

? Sports Illustrated has received information on the drugs and dates received by various WWE wrestlers, all of whom fall after the institution of the Wellness policy.

? Based on these dates, the entire policy's credibility is shot in the sense there were detectable drugs purchased by talent through Internet doctors, a practice banned by the company's Wellness policy.

? In addition, Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy) comes across like a complete fool because his last package was sent in February, one full year after he claimed to have gotten clean due to the Policy. Between October 2006 and February 2007, Anderson received Anastrozole (which is not a steroid, but used to counter affects of steroids such as development of female breast tissue), Somatropin (a Growth Hormone) and testosterone (an anabolic steroid).

? Benoit, who died June 24, 2007, received nandrolone and anastrozole in February 2006. (Anastrozole is used by athletes to counter side effects of steroid use, such as water retention and breast enlargement.)

? Two weeks prior to Eddie Guerrero's death on Nov. 13, 2005, he was sent nandrolone, testosterone, and anastrozole. Guerrero died in a Minneapolis hotel room due to what a coroner later ruled as heart disease, complicated by an enlarged heart resulting from a history of anabolic steroid use.

? Chavo Guerrero, who found his uncle Eddie dead in the Minneapolis hotel room, received, among other drugs, somatropin (HGH), nandrolone and anastrozole between April 2005 and May 2006.

? Between November 2003 and February 2007, Shane Helms, a/k/a The Hurricane, received, among other drugs, testosterone, genotropin (HGH) and nandrolone. (As previously reported by SI, he allegedly received HGH from an Arizona doctor in 2005.)

? Starting in September 2004 through February 2007, Randy Orton received somatropin, nandrolone, stanozolol.

? John Hennigan, a/k/a Johnny Nitro, a.k.a. Johnny Morrison, is the current WWE Extreme Championship Wrestling's heavyweight champion. Between June 2006 and February 2007 he was prescribed somatropin, anastrozole, testosterone, stanozolol and chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone produced naturally during pregnancy. (HCG is taken by anabolic steroid users to stimulate the production of testosterone, which is suppressed as a result of steroid use.)

? Ken Anderson, a/k/a Mr. Kennedy, lost to Eddie Guerrero in Guerrero's final match on Nov. 11, 2005. Kennedy received shipments of anastrozole, somatropin and testosterone between October 2006 and February 2007.

? Shoichi Funaki received somatropin in March 2006.

? Brian Adams, a/k/a Crush, who retired from the pro circuit in 2001, was found dead of unknown causes on Aug. 13. He received nandrolone, testosterone and Somatropin or HGH in December 2006.

? Charles Haas was prescribed anastrozole, somatropin, stanozolol, nandrolone and chorionic gonadotropin between August 2006 and January 2007.

? Edward Fatu (Umaga) received somatropin between July and December 2006.

? Between November 2004 and November 2006, Darren Matthews (William Regal) received stanozolol, somatropin, genotropin, and anastrozole.

? Adam Copeland, a/k/a Edge, received somatropin, genotropin (both HGH), and stanozolol between September 2004 and February 2007.

? Sylvain Grenier received somatropin, nandrolone, genotropin and stanozolol, starting in February 2005 through July 2006.

? The company by the wording of its policy would be forced to suspend these wrestlers, aside from Benoit and Guerrero, because this would indicate flagrant violations of the policy after implementation.

? The company suspended ten wrestlers, but this list only includes nine active wrestlers, two of whom, Helms and Copeland, are out indefinitely due to injuries.

wow just wow.

[Rappy Veteran]

More Details...

- After confirming information from the Albany DA today, Mr. McMahon himself informed the 10 talents that they would be suspended.

- Nine of the suspensions are the Superstar's first offense while one is the second offense for the Superstar. First offenses carry 30 days while second offenses carry a suspension of 60 days. Again, McDevitt didn't name any names or speculate as to who may have what.

- All of the suspensions come with no pay.

[azz0r_wugg]

So lets assume

- Orton is no longer competing for the WWE title

- HHH V Cena abit earlier than expected

- Booker T is going to get buried

- Kennedy storyline with McMahon is ruined

- Umaga will lose the title to Hardy

- Coach takes back over as GM

- ECW finally will have Punk as its champion

Its fair to assume that next week on Raw, Umaga will drop the title to Hardy (hardy vs carlito feud?), Orton will somehow be written out for 2 months, HHH and Cena will start building there feud, Regal will take some sort of vacation...then on ECW somehow Punk will take the belt off Morrison. Actually knowing the E, they'll probably give it to BDV.

[red.]

Funaki, lmao

Anyway i'm surprised that Edge, Regal and Chavo were on the list. Not so much Orton, i heard he was on some stuff and got suspended before. The others don't surprise me too much and as someone said just look at Nitros abs... I heard Batista is also a client of that pharmacy.

I wonder if these 'suspensions' just mean that they get no pay for 30 days but still have to work on PPVs and normal TV shows.

Oh, and anyone that thinks Cena is natural then they a really deluded. He may not be listed here but that just means he doesn't use Signature Pharmacy or another internet prescription service.

[Rappy Veteran]

So lets assume

- Orton is no longer competing for the WWE title

- HHH V Cena abit earlier than expected

- Booker T is going to get buried

- Kennedy storyline with McMahon is ruined

- Umaga will lose the title to Hardy

- Coach takes back over as GM

- ECW finally will have Punk as its champion

Its fair to assume that next week on Raw, Umaga will drop the title to Hardy (hardy vs carlito feud?), Orton will somehow be written out for 2 months, HHH and Cena will start building there feud, Regal will take some sort of vacation...then on ECW somehow Punk will take the belt off Morrison. Actually knowing the E, they'll probably give it to BDV.

I want to think that Punk will win the title finally but Big Daddy V will be what they will do just to screw Punk even more.

[+StevoFC MVC]

Oh, and anyone that thinks Cena is natural then they a really deluded. He may not be listed here but that just means he doesn't use Signature Pharmacy or another internet prescription service.

Heh, I don't think anyone really said he was "natural" but you have to remember everything that was on that list isn't necessarily illegal. Things like steroids are, but testosterone and HGH are not.

[red.]

So lets assume

- Orton is no longer competing for the WWE title

- HHH V Cena abit earlier than expected

- Booker T is going to get buried

- Kennedy storyline with McMahon is ruined

- Umaga will lose the title to Hardy

- Coach takes back over as GM

- ECW finally will have Punk as its champion

Its fair to assume that next week on Raw, Umaga will drop the title to Hardy (hardy vs carlito feud?), Orton will somehow be written out for 2 months, HHH and Cena will start building there feud, Regal will take some sort of vacation...then on ECW somehow Punk will take the belt off Morrison. Actually knowing the E, they'll probably give it to BDV.

And they'll have a surprise draft and SD will lose anyone that is slightly over and be left with 5 people.

[Rappy Veteran]

Why can't Khali be on that list! :laugh: