In an interview on On the Record with Greta Van Susteren earlier today, WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that two more wrestlers may be suspended tomorrow. He said they have to talk with the talents to confirm information first before making a decision. McDevitt aso added that WWE independently confirmed all information it received from the DA before suspending the ten wrestlers earlier today. According to McDevitt, the ten suspensions are without pay and will last for either thirty or sixty days (depending on whether it was a first or second offense). Regarding why WWE aren't revealing names today of those suspended, McDevitt said, "It's a fair notice issue to us." Although he also noted that talent has been told that they will be publicly identified in the future should they violate the policy. "We do that in the belief that it will give greater transparency to the program and hopefully operate as a deterent to anybody who wishes to engage in this activity," McDevitt said. Furthermore, McDevitt said that it's not just a WWE problem. He said Signature Pharmacy was sending drugs to policemen, firemen, and pro athletes. He said that he heard that the NFL will be releasing names of players linked to the scandal in a few days.
In an interesting note, four of the five wrestlers that consisted of Team Rated-RKO at last year's Survivor Series have been listed as being clients of Signature Pharmacy. The team consisted of Edge, Randy Orton, Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox and Gregory Helms. The only wrestler on the team not outed as of today is Mike Knox. Team Rated-RKO lost to Team DX in a clean sweep at the pay-per-view event.
To recap, all in all, 20 past and present WWE wrestlers were listed as being clients of the busted Signature Pharmacy in Orlando. Of the 20 listed, 15 of them are currently contracted to WWE. Three are deceased (Brian Adams, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero), one was recently released (Sylvain Grenier), and another wrestler was on the verge of being signed this week, if he hasn't already (Johnny Stamboli).
While not 100% official, the following ten wrestlers listed appear to be the wrestlers most likely to have been suspended by WWE after Sports Illustrated revealed that every single one of them purchased drugs over the Internet through Signature Pharmacy after the institution of the WWE Wellness Policy in February 2006 - a clear violation of the policy. WWE suspended 10 wrestlers today based upon information received in the Signature bust, though not necessarily these wrestlers. Here is SI's list again:
Email Updates
Email Story
Print Story
