Roman Reigns Suspension Update: Reigns May Have Taken Amphetamines

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After failing a drug test, Roman Reigns can not participate in any WWE event for 30 days. (WWE.com)

New details have emerged regarding the suspension of Roman Reigns following the wrestler’s violation of the WWE’s wellness policy.

According to Ringside News, a new rumor suggests that the drug found in Reigns’ system was some sort of amphetamine, which means it could have been anything from ADHD medication to MDMA. However, whatever Reigns was taking was for non-medical use; the WWE’s wellness policy notes that “The non-medical use of an amphetamine, methamphetamine, Ectasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA), MDA, PMA, Phentermine and other amphetamine derivatives and related compounds is prohibited.”

In The Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer reports that following his suspension, Reigns was forced to apologize to all of his coworkers in the locker room. It was evidently Mark Carrano, head of talent relations, that gave this order, and so Meltzer noted that Vince McMahon himself was not involved in that decision.

Reigns’ forced apology was evidently met with mixed reactions among his coworkers, with many feeling it was unnecessarily cruel and that there was no need to make him embarrass himself like that. What’s unclear is if Reigns was also forced to issue his Twitter apology, which was posted shortly after the suspension news broke, or if he did that on his own.

Another interesting note from Meltzer is that Reigns will not be receiving any pay during his 30-day suspension, and so considering the number of house shows he was scheduled to appear at, Reigns is expected to lose about $100,000 during his month-long probation. Clearly, the WWE takes their wellness policy very seriously, even if it’s violated by the person who is arguably the face of the entire company.

But according to Inquisitir, the WWE may not always have been planning to go public with Reigns’ suspension. Evidently when Vince McMahon first heard about Reigns’ violation, he wanted to sweep it under the rug; he apparently knew of the failed drug test prior to Money in the Bank, which is why Reigns lost his title to Seth Rollins.

Though Reigns will be absent for 30 days, he will return in time for July’s Battleground pay-per-view, even though Seth Rollins and several others argued on Raw this week that he should no longer be allowed to participate. Surprisingly, the WWE made Reigns suspension into a major storyline rather than writing him off with some sort of fake injury. On Raw, Seth Rollins said Roman Reigns’ drug violation was an embarrassment, and he went as far as to mock the performer’s apology, saying, “Roman Reigns has never apologized for a thing in his life, so why start now, Roman?”

However, Dean Ambrose defended Roman Reigns on the show, saying that everyone makes mistakes and that Roman deserves another chance.