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Everything you ever wanted to know about the Orton situation:
The subject of drug testing is back in the news in a big way this past week when it comes to two of the biggest names in WWE and UFC, Randy Orton and Frank Mir.
The stories are not related past that point of being major names in each company.
WWE announced on 5/30 that Orton had been suspended for 60 days for a Wellness policy failure. It also came out this past weekthat the Nevada State Athletic Commission had granted Mir a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone prior to his 5/26 loss to Junior Dos Santos in a heavyweight title fight.
In the case of Orton, 32, it has been reported by Super Luchas and a number of other sources that Orton failed tests for both marijuana and the steroid Dianabol. Marijuana is a $2,500 fine, and a number of top stars view the fine as their pot tax. WWE increased the fine as a deterrent. Lower card wrestlers have been punished with more frequent losses and dropped pushes if they regularly tested positive for it, but main eventers have been pretty much left alone to pay their fines with no repercussions. The pot tax led to the use of Spice, a marijuana substitute, as something wrestlers were using frequently until WWE made that an illegal drug and unlike marijuana itself, one that would lead to a suspension, as happened late last year with both Ron Killings (R-Truth) and Matt Korklan (Evan Bourne).
Internally, those in WWE have been tight-lipped on the Orton suspension. The policy is considered confidential, past the reporting of failuires and suspensions, but no details as to the time frame or what were the details of the failure. The only person in the company who commented to us on it believed Orton was suspended for a positive test due to a tainted supplement. I was skeptical of Dianabol when the drug was named if only because you never hear about that drug anymore. It’s like the Betamax or eight-track machine of performance enhancing drugs, in the sense it’s not necessarily bad, but it’s now prevalent, never talked about and from another era. But the subject has been kept quiet regarding any kind of confirmation of the substance that caused the suspension (unlike with some recent suspensions like Rey Mysterio, R-Truth and Evan Bourne where it was pretty well established not only what the suspension was for, but when the positive test was first taken, which in the case of Mysterio and R-Truth, was months before the suspension). But there has been at least some accuracy of the Super Luchas stuff on this story.
They also reported Orton having a meeting on 6/1 with Vince McMahon, HHH and Kevin Dunn in Stamford which did not go well. However, another source claimed to have no knowledge such a meeting happened and said that if it had, Dunn would not have been part of it as that is not his department. Super Luchas described the meeting as hostile, claiming there are people lobbying for his termination as a cost cutting measure in the sense he has a ten-year contract through the early part of 2020 and his money is such that it’s not economically justified unless he is used in main events, and that with the second suspension, they will be leery to do so. The timing of the contract is believed to be accurate. The contracts are one-sided in the sense Orton can’t leave until that time to go elsewhere, but WWE can cut him at any time if they want to. Others have said that Orton is unlikely to be let go, but may not be brought back as soon as his suspension is over. But that may just be the normal protocol given the timing of a decision not to use him at SummerSlam to send him a message and cost him one of his biggest payoffs of the year. Another insider noted that there is a small, vocal pocket that is growing more outspoken about cutting bait on Orton, which is where the story came from. Vince McMahon is said to be going back-and-forth, but in the end, the belief was that they can’t and won’t get rid of him due to the depth issues. However, a new Smackdown opening was cut in production this week without Orton. A lot of Raw guys were put on it so because of the talent situation being what it is, the top guys are going to be appearing on both shows, but more often on Raw.
I believe it won’t be on the show that airs on 6/8, and was told it may never air, but internally they are saying losing Orton for a while isn’t going to be that big a problem and it’s the first time people are openly categorizing Punk as No. 2 as opposed to Punk and Orton being on the same level right behind Cena. In addition, the feeling is the face side on Smackdown will be fine with Sheamus, Christian and the returning Mysterio as well as Sin Cara, and if there’s a problem, they know they can turn Daniel Bryan whenever they want.
Even though there is a precedent with Jeff Hardy being pushed to the world title with two strikes, a number of people wondered, because of how close the Hardy thing came to blowing up in their face, that the mentality may change. Hardy was arrested on drug possession and trafficking charges just weeks after he had left the company and not long after he was world champion. Because of that, there has been discussion of how much of a spotlight you would put on someone with two strikes. While Orton brings differing responses from fans, among the wrestlers, he is almost universally regarded as one of the best performers in the company, and some would say the best all-around.
While Orton would be fired with a third strike, which would then eliminate the contract, nobody’s downside is so outrageous in WWE with the exception of probably The Rock and Brock Lesnar, since the big stars make most of their income based on production, pay based on their position on shows, PPVs and merchandise percentages and generally all top guys would be expected to beat their downside guarantee. Plus, with the company’s depth issue being what it is, and fear that it will get worse before it gets better, giving up on the No. 3 guy in the company who is only 32 and can work on top as a face or a heel for years to come makes no sense. It makes even less sense with so many guys who are at the top level (C.M. Punk, Alberto Del Rio) openly saying that aren’t going to be around that many more years. Add to that, John Cena has been having a lot of nagging injuries, Lesnar is unlikely to be around for the long haul, Rey Mysterio is likely having a few years left and Big Show, Mark Henry and Kane are all past 40. The only talent likely to have a ton of longevity from now, besides Cena, who will always be around, would be Daniel Bryan and perhaps Sheamus, and Sheamus is already 34. Bryan is probably going to wind up having a long run as a star, but is still the antithesis of what Vince McMahon has educated the people for the last generation of what is a headliner.
Another aspect is if Orton is cut, TNA would make a big play for him. While if one looked at things strictly as a business, it’s obvious Orton would be hired back again some time down the road, and he can over the long haul earn as much or more in one year in WWE as he could in two years in TNA. But TNA would offer a better schedule. And unlike many of WWE’s current stars who use gimmick names, since he goes by his real name, TNA will be able to bill him with his familiar name.
In addition, Orton, while not being in main events because of the company’s big push to make Sheamus as world champion into a legitimate top-tier star, was still the most popular wrestler on the Smackdown brand. Right now, with Orton out, the Smackdown house shows are headlined by Sheamus vs. Del Rio, Christian vs. Cody Rhodes and Kane vs. Khali (in the Orton spot). Rey Mysterio is scheduled to return at the end of the month, with him being available to start on the 6/25 Raw. With the strict Raw/Smackdown delineation a thing of the past, one would expect some people on the Raw side to be sent to the Smackdown side for touring, and in particular, Brodus Clay has been made for now a full-time Smackdown performer to add babyface depth. As noted last week, Cena was already booked for all Smackdown TV tapings for dark matches due to concern over ticket sales for the Tuesday shows which were not good in a lot of markets even before Orton was off the shows.
That move may or may not have been made with the knowledge of Orton being gone. Cena was advertised for several days on the same shows as Orton, but the lineups are made by Laurinaitis, who is one of the few people with knowledge regarding guys who may be suspended. Knowledge of impending suspensions can be weeks or months before the suspension is announced. But the booking of Orton in recent weeks makes absolutely no sense if the company had even two days of lead time of knowledge of the failure and the announcement of the suspension. And we’ve seen in many cases, often the knowledge of the failed test can be a couple of months before the suspension is announced.
This also is notable because reports were the writing team was not aware of Orton’s suspension until the company released it publicly and most read it on web site reports. The general protocol for someone who his suspended is to do an injury angle or come up with a storyline reason to explain their absence in their final television appearance. With Orton, his last TV saw him come out and they showed Dolph Ziggler, his scheduled replacement opponent at No Way Out, when Chris Jericho was suspended, watching. But Orton got in the ring and immediately laid out The Miz with an RKO, and that was the only thing he did on the 5/28 TV show. Orton didn’t work the 5/29 Smackdown taping (since the plan was to announce his suspension on 5/30 and Smackdown wouldn’t air until 6/1). This is hardly what the company would do to a suspended guy in most cases, let alone one that they were considering letting go, or would be leery to push upon his return. If anything, he seemed protected far more than someone who just failed a test. Most recently, R-Truth was booked in an injury angle before starting his suspension, and the normal protocol is to bring someone in for one last TV, and either beat them or hurt them on the last show. The obvious move for his final TV appearance would be for Ziggler to get a surprise win over Orton, thus elevating somebody, which they desperately need to do. It wouldn’t hurt Orton since by the time he came back a few months later, it would either be forgotten by fans happy to see him back, or could be used to start a program where Orton could get his wins back but Ziggler still benefitted by having one major televised win over a top guy.
Orton was also critical on Twitter of the decision to take him out of the lead of the new "Marine" movie, but realistically, the company had to do that once the pressure came from the Marines themselves over casting someone who deserted in a movie.
As we’ve seen with a number of the suspensions over the past few years, suspensions can come from a violation from months earlier.
Dianabol was the original anabolic steroid developed in the 1950s. As a general rule, it is believed to have only a four-to-ten day detection time in urine testing, although to be safe it’s considered a good idea to cease usage 17 days out.
But what makes the Orton case so unique is his standing, as for years, whether there is any validity to this or not, wrestlers in the company have always considered Orton as one of the company’s favorites. Again, whether true or not, the feeling is there is a double standard when it comes to testing. Still, Hardy was super popular, perhaps the single most popular wrestler in the company (although he was not pushed at that level as Cena was always the public face of the company since he is low maintenance and considered no-risk to have in that position, but he was Smackdown’s main star) when he was suspended 60 days and missed a WrestleMania. And he continued to be pushed at the same level, and was even given the world title again, even with two strikes and even after giving notice he was leaving. Both Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara are kids heroes and both were publicly outed for failures.
Still, with Orton, there has been controversy over him not being suspended in the 2007 Signature Pharmacy scandal along with the other wrestlers on the list of recipients of packages of steroids and other banned substances.
Of the full-time wrestlers, Orton had been No. 2 on the pecking order behind Cena, since Hardy left, until the rise of Punk. Even with Hardy there and before Edge was forced out due to a career ending neck injury, Orton was really pushed and protected as a top guy more than anyone but Cena. Only of late has Punk surpassed him for that position. He’s still young, actually younger than Punk and Sheamus for that matter, but has the experience in the sense he understands how to work his character better than almost anyone on the roster, and is an established long-term main eventer. Orton was the person chosen by the company and THQ to be the face of last year’s video game, which is a big deal because that means doing a lot of game marketing with the trust that you won’t embarrass the company in a spotlight position.
Until this past year, when the company has made the effort to brand Punk and Sheamus as champions, there was a string dating back years where almost every PPV show had either Orton or Cena in a title match.
As Orton’s second strike on the drug policy, his 60 day suspension would end 7/29, meaning Orton would miss the 1,000th Raw in his home city of St. Louis on 7/23. He would be able to return on the 7/30 Raw, in time for SummerSlam. The general company rule had been that if a wrestler’s suspension goes into the period building the show, he or she is usually not used until after that PPV. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but more that with a mid-level wrestler it really doesn’t matter. Orton is the type of wrestler who can be plugged into an angle in a week, so he could very well be at SummerSlam, the company’s No. 3 event of the year, but from all accounts, the mood right now seems to be to at least not have him appear on that show.
Estimates regarding 60 days off and what a wrestler of Orton’s level would be earning over the summer were that this would likely cost him in the range of $200,000. If he is not booked on SummerSlam and kept off a few weeks of TV and house shows after the 60 days, the amount he would have lost due to the positive test would be closer to $275,000, so this is no financial slap on the wrist.
It also means one more drug test related suspension and he would be fired. Based on the policy, if fired, he could not return to the company for one year, and then, if he did return, he would come back with two strikes. Orton was quietly suspended in August, 2006, before the period when WWE publicly announced test failures. He missed 30 days and there was an excuse given regarding taking time off to remodel his home, but it later came out it was exactly as reported. He had several other incidents that resulted in suspensions, disciplinary action, as well as non-action in 2006 and 2007 that did not count as strikes in the drug policy.
Orton, Matt Korklan (Evan Bourne), Robert Huffman (Booker T), Darren Matthews (William Regal) and Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio) also have two strikes on the current roster. No WWE wrestler has ever been suspended three times on the drug policy and the company been forced to fire them. The rule is that a third suspension means termination and the earliest they could be hired back would be another year. They would also return with two strikes. Huffman quit the company in 2007 after he was suspended for being on the Signature Pharmacy list, which was his second failure and a 60 day suspension that he quit over. When he returned, his two strike status returned.
Orton was suspended for 60 days after the 2006 WrestleMania when he was reportedly smoking marijuana inside the building at a live event shortly before Mania. The company did delay the suspension until after the big show. This in a sense was a drug issue but it was not a failed test and not counted against him. Orton has spoken about it, and blamed it on the official who turned him in (believed to be TNA Executive Bruce Prichard). It wasn’t the marijuana that was as much an issue, since WWE does not suspend talent for marijuana positives, as doing it so flagrantly in a public setting where it could have been very negative publicity for the company. The suspension at the time was meant to send a message to Orton. There were a number of incidents that he was not suspended for
when it came to discipline, so while the punishment may sound harsh, it was more an accumulation of things that led to the time frame of the suspension than a single incident.
In April, 2007, Orton was sent home by management after trashing a hotel room, doing a reported $30,000 worth of damage to the room, while on a European tour. He was not suspended for that incident. He did have to pay all damages. In fact, Orton headlined the Backlash PPV which took place right after the tour.
Orton’s name also came out in the Signature Pharmacy case in August, 2007. Unlike the other wrestlers whose name came up in an investigation of an Internet steroid distribution ring which would have doctors routinely write prescriptions for clients, including nearly 20% of the roster at the time, Orton was never suspended, nor was he given a second strike. Nobody has ever given an answer that holds water as to what happened.
Jerry McDevitt in 2010 told Irv Muchnick it was because Orton’s name was not on the list of wrestlers receiving packages from Signature Pharmacy when Albany prosecutors contacted the company. It’s also been reported in other places Orton wasn’t suspended because he had already been suspended in August, 2006, for the same violation. But both responses seem to have issues.
We spoke to someone who had a copy of the list of athletes on the list, and when I asked about Randy Orton, was given specifics of what and when. According to information in the documents, that went reported at the time, Orton received Somatotropin (a Growth Hormone) along with steroids Nandrolone (Decadurabolin) and Stanazolol (Winstrol V) in packages. The final package came February 2007, so it would seem to make no timing sense that a suspension in August could cover a violation six months later.
Orton was scheduled for the main event against Cena on the September 16, 2007, Unforgiven PPV at the time. Nandrolone was a red flag because it is the drug avoided the most by athletes in drug tested sports because it can stay in ones system and be detected usually for six months, and if someone is unlucky, as long as 18 months and the idea of wrestlers using that drug and not getting caught, unlike steroids that can’t be picked up for more than a few days, raised significant questions at the time.
Three different news sources (ESPN, Sports Illustrated and the New York Daily News) had different names although the lists were similar, of those receiving packages from Signature Pharmacy, along with the list we were able to reference. Orton’s name was listed in all three stories, so it doesn’t seem to make sense his name wouldn’t be on the list of names WWE received. In addition, another party with the complete list, when informed Orton was the only major name not suspended, responded by saying Orton was one of the most flagrant violators.
There was also a prior investigation where his name came up that had noted Orton receiving Stanazolol, Nandrolone, Testosterone, Oxandrolone (Anavar), Anastrozole (a drug used by steroid users to minimize side effects from steroids such as the development of Gynocomastia or bitch tits) and Clomiphene citrate (Clomid), but those were all during the period before the death of Eddy Guerrero. WWE did have a drug policy that included steroids in place at the time, but was doing no testing and not enforcing it. The company felt it was unfair, and it would have been, to take action against wrestlers during that period since it was tacitly understood that it was okay. After the death of Guerrero, McMahon told the wrestlers in a meeting a few days later that he was going to implement drug testing, and picked it up a few months later. But there was widespread skepticism of the validity of the program, particularly with so many wrestlers using steroids that should have been easily detected in packages from Signature Pharmacy and other investigations of doctors that came out in the wake of the Chris Benoit murders.
Still, the belief was Orton, who legitimately went through anger management classes, was a more mature and different person than he was years ago, when he seemed a lightning rod for trouble.
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_________________ Drop In wrote: I'm picturing a 12 year old Bob Loblaw bitching out a Randy Savage Wrestling Buddy for botching his finisher. Also envisioning Bob Loblaw getting bitched at for lighting the living room table on fire for said finisher.
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These puds are turribul.