Hot on the heels of the drug allegations leveled at several WWE Superstars as well as the announcement of 10 suspensions, I took a special look at tonight's edition of Monday Night RAW. Seven wrestlers from the RAW roster were implicated in the multiple media reports that came out last week. Were bigger named talents treated differently than those lower on the card? Of course.
Umaga
Umaga was named in the SI report as receiving somatropin between July and December 2006. At the beginning of the show, he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jeff Hardy. Later in the show, he became a victim of the sledge hammer of Triple H.
Opinion & Analysis: When I think of what the body of a HGH user would look like, I wouldn't think of Umaga. I have been able to get a similar physique aided by the chemical powers of Dunkin' Donuts. Ironically, his cousin and former tag team partner Rosey was on ABC while RAW was on trying to get his health under control by walking on Fat March. It appears that Umaga is one of the suspended wrestlers. From a storyline perspective it is a minor hit for the company.
Santino Marella
Santino was named in the Daily News article. The drugs he is accused of buying and the dates of the alleged purchases are not in the Daily News report. Santino has been out of the ring for the past few weeks due to a shoulder injury but he has been on TV as part of an angle with Maria. On tonight's show, Santino was in the ring and was caned to the back by the Sandman and his cane. It will be interesting to see when Santino returns to TV.
Opinion & Analysis: I wouldn't bet one way or the other whether or not Santino is suspended. The beating he took is not the type of incident that would keep a wrestler off of TV for a month and he still has the angle with Maria going. On the flip side, it can always be written that the Singapore cane attack aggravated his shoulder injury. Four weeks of RAW without Santino would not mean anything to the company or the fans.
Randy Orton
According to SI, from September 2004 through February 2007, Randy received somatropin, nandrolone, and stanozolol. While he was not in the arena, he was granted a main event title shot at Unforgiven.
Opinion & Analysis: Even though named in the SI report, it is obvious that Randy hasn't been suspended. One possible explanation is that he received a 30 day Wellness Policy suspension last year and it might have been related to this. However, the dates seem to indicate that Randy continued these activities after his suspension ended. Without a doubt, Randy was the biggest RAW name to come out in the scandal. His lack of suspension and main event PPV title spot being named tonight just makes the WWE Wellness Policy and suspensions seem like a huge joke.
William Regal
According to the SI article, he received stanozolol, somatropin, genotropin, and anastrozole between November 2004 and November 2006. William Regal is the current GM of RAW and granted Randy Orton a title shot for beating up the father of John Cena. Cena came out and beat up Regal.
Opinion & Analysis: Of all the names on the list, this one bothers me the most. A few years ago, he almost died due to a heart ailment. In addition, he also battled chemical problems that were so bad that he was fired from both WCW and the WWE. I also can't believe that I read his book where he detailed his victorious battle against drugs that was written and released while he was taking them. As far as suspensions go, it appears that he will be missing time due to the brutal beating Cena gave him. From a storyline perspective the loss of Regal for a month means nothing. If anything, the beating he received has made the main event of Unforgiven more interesting.
Charlie Haas
According to the SI article, Charlie received anastrozole, somatropin, stanozolol, nandrolone and chorionic gonadotropin from August 2006 to January 2007. Tonight, Charlie and his partner Shelton Benjamin lost to Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Nothing special or out of the ordinary happened to Charlie.
Opinion & Analysis: Charlie's brother Russ died a few years ago due to a heart problem. If my brother died of a heart problem, the last thing I would do is take any of this garbage since I know I would be at a higher risk of heart problems due to heredity issues. As far as Charlie goes, not wrestling on RAW for 30 days seems like his normal career path anyway. However, I can't say with certainty whether or not we will see him on TV in the next four weeks.
King Booker
King Booker was implicated by the Daily News. He did not appear on the show tonight and is not currently in any major storyline. However, he is supposed to renew his wedding vows later this week when the WWE goes to South Africa.
Opinion & Analysis: I don't know what to think. It appears that the WWE is giving greater weight to the SI report than the Daily News, possibly due to both the dates given in their article as well as SI being involved with the D.A. in Albany. However, since King Booker spent part of his youth in jail, you would have thought that he wouldn't risk doing anything stupid that would force him to return.
Mr. Kennedy
According to SI, he got anastrozole, somatropin and testosterone between October 2006 and February 2007. Tonight, it was reveled that he is not the illegitimate son of Vince McMahon.
Opinion & Analysis: His new name should be Mr. Liar......Liar. After the Chris Benoit incident, Kennedy went on a tirade against the older wrestlers saying that they knew nothing about what was going on in the current locker room and that he was tested many times and passed the test. He claimed to be clean and that the wrestler's of today are much smarter than those in the past. It appears that nothing has changed in 15 years. This is just like the time that Hulk Hogan lied about his steroid use on Arsenio. Sadly, the only time a WWE wrestler has spoken out truthfully about the problems in wrestling, he was fired. That wrestler was Roddy Piper. If the legendary Roddy Piper could be fired, what chance does any current wrestler have to speak the truth and be able to keep his job.
Photo of Umaga: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
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