Matt Riddle is a WWE superstar that at one point this year was looking like a wrestler that was going to be a big part of WWE’s future. He was in a tag team with one of the biggest wrestlers in WWE history, got super over with the crowd, and even had a WWE Universal Championship match with Roman Reigns. It all went downhill because of a wellness policy violation.
What Happened Between WWE and Matt Riddle
From all of the information that I have gathered, Matt Riddle has been hit with his second wellness policy violation in about six months. The first one was somewhere around SummerSlam which is why his match with Seth Rollins was altered.
WWE gave Riddle a choice to make. Either go to rehab and clean himself up or give up his WWE contract.
I know that many people don’t understand why it is such a big issue and I have heard that Tony Khan allows the wrestlers in AEW to smoke, but that is a different company.
I completely understand why WWE don’t want their talents smoking marijuana, even though it is becoming legal in more and more states. It’s a safety issue and WWE don’t want to be a part of it.
Also, WWE is a publicly traded company. They have a certain image that they have to put out there, especially when a lot of their fanbase are children and teenagers that look up to some of these wrestlers as role models.
What My Issue is With Matt Riddle’s Suspension
I have absolutely no issue with Matt Riddle getting suspended for breaking the rules. That is 100% fine with me. My issue is more so with WWE.
I find it very strange that like with Rob Van Dam, you have rules against smoking marijuana in the company yet allow your talent to work gimmicks that is clearly of someone who is a pot head.
Either you are fine with it or you aren’t and I think that WWE is playing both side with this situation. They want the money that the image of being a pot head and the money from the merchandise that have 420 and other weed related symbols on it, yet don’t want the people who are working these gimmicks to actually smoke.
I think that this is something that is very shady on WWE’s part and paints them in a bad light in my eyes. I completely understand that they are a business and they are in it for the money, but at some point, you have to draw the line, and that line should be very clear. Either we don’t mind it or we don’t allow it.
I think that the only bright spot in this is that HHH is doing a great job with the on-air product and the ratings are looking up. Him and Stephanie has already made many quality-of-life changes that make the wrestlers overall happier.
I can see somewhere in the near future where they make a rule that you can smoke marijuana, but it cannot be at work or in public, or on any social media no matter if it is a personal account.
Also, I can see this not happening because sometimes, things like this start a snowball effect where if you allow this drug, then you will be pressured to allow this drug or that drug, but only time will tell.
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