5 Times Vince McMahon was forced to suspend a top star in WWE

Since the mid-2000s, WWE has been especially strict about violations of the Wellness Policy. Over the years, this has seen a number of WWE Superstars get suspended for Wellness Policy violations including some top stars, sometimes at the most inopportune moments. Some WWE Superstars' pushes were left completely unaffected while others like Rob Van Dam, who isn't on this list had his push completely killed because of the suspension.

Superstars can also get suspended for a number of reasons other than Wellness Policy violations like what happened to Titus O'Neil when he pulled Vince McMahon back after Daniel Bryan's retirement on WWE RAW.

Let's take a look at incidents when Vince McMahon was forced to suspend some of his top stars.

#5 Chris Jericho - 2012

The incident that led to Chris Jericho's suspension is almost legendary at this point.

The year was 2012 and WWE were having a Live Event in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He faced babyface CM Punk at the event. As Punk waved a Brazilian flag in the ring, Jericho snatched the flag from him and kicked it after first crumpling it up. If you didn't know, desecrating the Brazilian flag is an actual crime in the country and police immediately stopped the Live Event.

Police reportedly wanted to arrest Jericho on the spot but WWE quickly ushered him out of the country and issued a public apology to the government of Brazil. Jericho was suspended from WWE for a month and returned to action on the June 25 episode of WWE RAW.

During one of his one-man shows in 2014, Jericho opened up about the incident saying that he was about to be thrown in jail adding that one particular Brazilian colonel was out for his blood. He added that Vince McMahon made some calls and made sure he was flown out of Brazil immediately. Jericho ended up back in the US via Guatemala.

#4 Jeff Hardy

2008 was a tough year for Jeff Hardy

The first time Jeff Hardy was suspended for violating the terms of WWE's Wellness Policy was in 2007 when he was suspended for 30 days.

Jeff Hardy was once again suspended in 2008 for a Wellness Policy violation. Hardy was one of the most heavily pushed Superstars in WWE at the time. We also all know Hardy's history of substance abuse. Hardy was suspended for 60 days for his second strike which also caused Hard to miss WrestleMania that year.

Hardy returned on the May 12th episode of RAW and went on to with the WWE Championship later in the year at WWE Unforgiven.

2008 was a really challenging year for Jeff Hardy and WWE legend Jim Ross addressed his hardships in his blog:

"The fall out of the 60 day suspension of Jeff Hardy for a second violation of the WWE Wellness Policy is still making the news. Sadly, Friday night, Jeff’s home in North Carolina burned to the ground and he lost essentially everything he had and most sadly his dog."

#3 Kurt Angle - 2006

Kurt Angle has overcome his demons

Kurt Angle's problems with addiction to pain medication started with an injury before the 1996 Olympics. It only got worse after repeated injuries as a pro wrestler and things got so bad that WWE suspended him in 2006 for issues with not just prescription painkillers but also PED's.

Angle has said in interviews later on that the problem got worse with him not given time off despite wrestling while hurt. He also said this caused him to eventually ask for his release in 2006.

In an interview with ESPN, Kurt Angle gave an insight into how bad his trouble with addiction got at one point:

“The thing is, everybody drank down there [in TNA]. So I started drinking with my meds. And then I started manipulating my meds. I would save all of them until the evening and drink it with alcohol. And it got me in a lot of trouble — four DUIs in five years.”

#2 Roman Reigns - 2016

Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns was suspended in 2016 following a Wellness Policy violation. Reigns lost the WWE Championship the night before it was put into effect at WWE Battleground where he faced his Shield brothers - Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.Money In The Bank. Reigns was beaten by Seth Rollins before Money In The Bank holder Dean Ambrose cashed in on him on the same night he won the briefcase.

Reigns put out the following message on Twitter after his suspension was announced, apologizing for the situation:

"I apologize to my family, friends and fans for my mistake in violating WWE’s wellness policy. No excuses. I own it. "

Reigns made his return a month later at a WWE Live Event in Delaware.

BREAKING: @WWERomanReigns RETURNS at #WWENewarkDE. @WWERollins #DeanAmbrose #WWEBattleground pic.twitter.com/n2Z5VfILAj

— WWE (@WWE) July 23, 2016

After his return, Reigns faced his Shield brothers for the WWE Championship at WWE Battleground. Reigns push was not impacted by his suspension.

#1 Randy Orton

Randy Orton

Randy Orton was suspended for 60 days in 2007 for as part of the signature pharmacy scandal. He was suspended along with 12 other WWE Superstars including Edge, Booker T, Chave Guerrero, William Regal. Mr. Kennedy and John Morrison.

The Signature Pharmacy in Ontario, Canada was found to have illegally sent steroids and prescriptions drugs to their clients. A number of WWE Superstars were found to have been connected with The Signature Pharmacy and were suspended.

Orton was suspended again in 2012 for violating the Wellness Policy - his third strike.

In an interview with WWE magazine, Orton addressed his 2012 suspension:

"That was really hard for me. Not because of how fans would look at me or how my folks would look at me. To be honest, my mom and dad were happy that I had 60 days off. I was worked to the bone for the last four years. What really hurt most about this suspension is that when my [4-year-old] daughter's older, she can go back and [read about me online]."

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