10 Forgotten WWE Suspensions

When a WWE star is suspended, it is typically a big news story – especially if it’s a major star and if it has further implications or leads to a firing. 

WWE stars, along with referees, writers and other personnel, can get suspended for just about anything, from missing shows to getting in fights to being caught using illegal or prohibited substances. 

Salacious as the reasons may be and as notable as the names sometimes are, not every suspension lingers long in the memory. Sometimes, they barely get reported on at all. 

These are 10 Forgotten WWE Suspensions. 

10. Bull Nakano

Bull Nakano arrived in WWE from Japan during the mid-1990s and, alongside Alundra Blayze, did much to change the perception of women’s wrestling in the United States at the time. 

Nakano and Blayze clashed over the WWE Women’s Title on many occasions, including at the 1994 SummerSlam pay-per-view. 

Their matches were a breath of fresh air and it looked like Nakano, with her hard-hitting style and eye-catching appearance, may become a fully-fledged WWE star for the long term. 

In December of 1994, however, she was suspended for six weeks. It wasn’t specified exactly what Nakano – who was the reigning WWE Women’s Champion at the time – was suspended for, but she did come back for a brief spell before dropping the belt the day after WrestleMania 11. 

She was subsequently fired in April after she was reportedly found in possession of cocaine. 

This blip hasn’t affected the legendary Nakano’s legacy and she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024.

9. Justin Credible

After scrapping the yellow mask and leaving WWE for ECW in the late 1990s, the former Aldo Montoya saw his career go from strength to strength as Justin Credible. 

A headliner for Paul Heyman’s promotion, Credible came back down to earth when he signed with WWE following ECW’s demise in early 2001. 

Initially thrown into the X-Factor group alongside X-Pac and Albert, Credible quickly became lost in the shuffle and had all but disappeared from television when WWE suspended him in December of 2002.

Having lost his passion for the business, Peter Polaco had found a kindred spirit in the burned-out Jeff Hardy, the two men indulging in activities that caused them to habitually show up late for shows. 

WWE suspended the pair of them, though Jeff (being a bigger star) was only taken off the house shows and still used on TV. The suspension turned out to be the end of the road for the former ECW Champion, however, as he was let go on January 20, 2003. 

8. Eugene

In the wake of Eddie Guerrero’s death in November of 2005, WWE informed their roster at a TV taping in Sheffield, England just days later that they were going to institute a new talent wellness policy as a way of trying to prevent any future tragedies. 

The announcement seemed even more timely due to an incident that happened four days beforehand. According to reports, Nick Dinsmore (AKA Eugene) had been acting erratically during the tour when, following the November 17 house show in Manchester, he took one too many somas (a popular muscle relaxer among wrestlers) and some other prescription medication, locked himself out of his hotel room and passed out in the lobby. 

When he couldn’t be revived, Dinsmore was rushed to the hospital. After he had regained consciousness, the former WWE Tag Team Champion was duly informed that he was being suspended, sent home and ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation programme. 

WWE put all this information on their own website, perhaps to show they were serious about their new drug programme. 

Eugene returned in the 2006 Royal Rumble match, but his WWE career was never the same afterwards. 

7. Hardcore Holly

There were a few things that Bob Holly very well could have been suspended for during his WWE career. He was actually suspended, though, when, according to reports, he was found going through other wrestlers’ bags backstage in September of 2008. 

It was alleged that Holly had been caught stealing painkillers that didn’t belong to him and, when management found out about it, suspended him and sent him to rehab to help with his addiction. 

This wasn’t publicly disclosed by WWE, since it wasn’t an official Wellness Policy violation, and most fans likely didn’t realise Holly was gone since he hadn’t been used much – and wouldn’t be again, since he was fired in January 2009 without making another WWE appearance. 

6. Jesse James

It’s no secret that Brian James, AKA The Road Dogg, struggled with substance abuse problems during his professional wrestling career. Road Dogg has been very open about this fact and is, thankfully, clean and sober and thriving in a backstage role in WWE today.

Back during the prime of his in-ring run, however, The Roadie’s habits resulted in him being sent to rehab and, ultimately, let go in early 2001. There had been warning signs prior to that, however.

In March of 1997, it was reported that Jesse James had been out of action because of a six-week suspension due to a violation of company policy. 

Since WWE had ceased widespread drug testing when it came to the wider roster, that meant company officials had reason to believe that the second-generation star had a problem and decided to not-so-randomly test him. 

He then had to sit at home during most of February and March, though few fans would have clocked this since James was basically a glorified jobber by that point. 

The suspension would have been a distant memory by the time James teamed up with Billy Gunn and formed the New Age Outlaws at the end of the year. 

5. Hornswoggle

When most WWE fans think about those who violate the company’s Wellness Policy, they naturally flash to the stars with the artificially enhanced physiques or those with noted substance abuse issues. 

The truth is, however, that anyone can get a strike and it’s not always for the reason you might think. Take, for example, Hornswoggle, who got slapped with a 30-day suspension for his first Wellness Policy violation in September of 2015. 

According to the man himself, he hadn’t actually taken anything. The real reason for his testing failure and consequent suspension was because he was unable to provide a urine sample in the time allotted. 

While Swoggle didn’t appreciate the stigma that came with the so-called ‘failure’, he did later say that he understood why it was classed as such and was fully on board with and supportive of the Wellness Policy.

4. Rick Steiner

Though Scott Steiner has a reputation for being a loose cannon – a reputation that was well earned - those who know the Steiners personally say it is actually older brother Rick who is the really wild one in the family.  

While the Dog-Faced Gremlin hasn’t been involved in as many notorious incidents as Big Poppa Pump, he does have a history that speaks to his freewheeling nature. As well as various backstage ribs and in-ring shoot incidents, Rick Steiner has also found himself serving a suspension for falling afoul of WWE’s drug policy. 

The University of Michigan alumni picked a bad time to fail, since WWE were getting serious about their testing due to the pressures of an ongoing federal investigation. 

In September of 1993, both Steiner brothers were taken off WWE house shows. It was initially believed (and reported) that Scott was the one who had been suspended, but further reports clarified that it was, in fact, Rick who had been put on the shelf. 

They still worked TV tapings, but missed about six weeks’ worth of house shows. Rick later claimed WWE told him he had tested positive for an ‘unnamed substance’, causing him to go to a separate lab and take a further test that he says proved he was clean.

3. Tatanka

WWE clearly had high hopes for Tatanka, debuting him to much fanfare following a lengthy vignette campaign and then booking him to go on a long winning streak.

Tatanka was over and looked good for an Intercontinental Title reign at one point, but it never happened and his career was faltering when he was suspended by WWE in August of 1995. 

He hadn’t missed any shows or failed a drug test, but was being accused of something that was a lot more serious. Tatanka was named in a lawsuit a female fan had filed that Summer, alleging that Tatanka and Jimmy Del Ray had drugged and assaulted her following a house show in Anaheim the previous December. 

Del Ray was let go, while Tatanka was sent home pending an investigation. WWE were adamant he wouldn’t be brought back until things were settled, which they evidently were in early 1996 as Tatanka returned in the Royal Rumble. 

Kevin Nash later said that Tatanka had basically been in the wrong place at the wrong time and wasn’t actively involved in the unsavoury hotel incident, while most had suspected Del Ray of being the culprit.

2. Jamal

Before being given a second opportunity as Umaga, Eddie Fatu might well have thought he’d blown his chance with WWE due to how disappointing his first run in the promotion was. 

Three Minute Warning member Jamal’s initial spell in the big time was blighted by controversial moments, including an outside-the-ring incident that led to a suspension. 

According to reports, Jamal and his wife had been drinking at a bar in Pensacola, Florida, in November of 2002, when she may have accidentally broken a tip jar. 

An off-duty policeman believed she was causing a disturbance and attempted to remove her from the bar, which is when the Samoan Bulldozer got involved. 

It took the cop and another bar patron to subdue Fatu, who was taken to the hospital and then a local police station while allegedly making threats to several police officers and their families along the way. 

When Jamal was charged with battery and resisting arrest, WWE suspended him – though only from house shows and not TV, as was their policy at the time. 

As a further punishment, Jamal (while still serving his suspension) was booked to take a Stinkface from his very own brother in the 2003 Royal Rumble match.

1. Ryan Reeves

Despite failing to win 2004’s Million Dollar Tough Enough competition, WWE decided to hire the muscular Ryan Reeves to a developmental deal anyway. 

It was hardly a shock when, in July of 2006, the future Ryback (who was toiling away in feeder farm Ohio Valley Wrestling) was suspended for 30 days due to his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy. 

According to Reeves, however, he had been taking nothing but over-the-counter bodybuilding supplements, one of which contained something that resulted in a positive test. 

Reeves claimed that the offending product was subsequently taken off the market and that he returned to training after passing a second test. 

WWE released Reeves in January of 2007, then hired him back in the fall of 2008, making him the first talent with a Wellness Policy strike to return to the company after being fired.