WWE star Alberto Del Rio made one of the more surprising comebacks in recent professional wrestling history, shocking the world in a return at WrestleMania earlier this year to take John Cena’s United States championship.
However, since that time, things haven’t gone exactly as planned for the Mexican superstar. In fact, he wasn’t even on the card for one of the four big pay-per-view events the WWE puts on — this weekend’s SummerSlam.
Now it appears the move to not include him on the SummerSlam card may have been a good one, as Del Rio has been suspended for 30 days for his first violation of the company’s wellness policy. As is usual, the company did not provide details on exactly what caused the violation.
The WWE issued the following statement:
WWE has suspended Jose Rodriguez (Alberto Del Rio) for 30 days effective tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 18, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.
Del Rio was still in prime position within the newly re-branded Smackdown Live, as he was working a program involving two of the biggest names in professional wrestling — John Cena and A.J. Styles — following the brand split and draft last month.
He even appeared in the main event of Tuesday’s show in a one-on-one matchup with Cena. This bit of news puts that program on hold and likely ends his run up the ladder for some time now.
Del Rio has to be on thin ice within the company, as he was previously fired after an incident in which he allegedly slapped a non-wrestling employee backstage following what he believed to be a racist joke.
[WWE]
