WWE.com reported this morning that Jeff Hardy has been suspended for 60 days due to a second violation of the company's Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy. One more violation will result in Hardy's mandatory release from the company.

Since that announcement, Hardy has been removed from the Money In The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 24, a match many had favored Hardy to win.

The WWE locker room was informed of Hardy's suspension last night before Raw began. Chris Jericho was told he was to go over Hardy and win the Intercontinental Championship.

PWInsider.com is reporting that there was shock and disbelief in the WWE locker room last night when word of the suspension got out. Much of the roster was said to be have been very disappointed, with several guys asking out loud "Can you believe what an idiot he is?"

Most in the company, even those who have used substances in the past, realize that the rules have changed in WWE and you can't do things anymore that you might have gotten away with back in the day.

The story has been picked up by the Associated Press and by Newsday (Link). The articles do not give any new details.

Hardy's first violation of the policy happened last July during his feud with Umaga over the Intercontinental Championship. Hardy was suspended and was forced to miss SummerSlam the following month. He returned the night after SummerSlam on the August 27 episode of RAW, defeating Mr. Kennedy by disqualification after Umaga interfered.

A few days later on August 30th, ten WWE wrestlers were suspended (Full Story), which included then WWE Intercontinental Champion Umaga. Umaga's violation resulted in Hardy defeating Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship on the September 3 episode of Raw, a week after returning from his own suspension.

We will have more on the story in the coming days. Members signed up for our email updates received an email when this story broke. Our email updates are sent out only when a major story (that would appear in the Top Stories section of the site) breaks or after a PPV. Your email is kept confidential and is never given out to anyone. To sign up for our email updates, click here.