The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

A while back I did a post about the WWE's new Drug & Wellness policy in response to the death of Eddie Guerrero that happened in late 2005. I was not terrible optimistic this policy would be taken seriously, as the history of the company has shown.

But I have to give WWE a little credit. It hasn't been perfect, but I'll give it a passing grade for now.

The most recent punishments involved a fine and one month suspension for ECW stars Sabu and Rob Van Dam. Most people don't really care they were caught with weed (and charged by police). But, a policy is a policy. The sentence was relatively light, maybe they deserved a bigger punishment, but it's something.

The Smackdown! show has been criticized for being short on star power, so reading about suspensions handed to Smackdown! stars Lashley, The Great Khali and Super Crazy was eye opening. They were willing enfore the policy despite missing some key faces on their program. Add to the fact Chris Masters hasn't been seen in some time on RAW (maybe it's related to the Wellness policy, maybe not) on the surface, it appears the WWE is trying to do the right thing.

The WWE recently re-hired Jeff Hardy, a wrestler who was let go three years ago for refusing to enter rehab. He has now pledged he has cleaned up and will stay that way. So if the Wellness policy allows for second chances, I also look at that as a positive sign.

Don't get me wrong. You still have to wonder when you see the physiques of guys like Triple H and Batista if it's more than bowls of Wheaties that make them look like the way they do. But, for a policy that isn't even a year old, it seems to be headed in the right direction.