The word coming out of this week's WWE television tapings is that there was a round of Wellness testing a few weeks back. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and a third name I have been unable to confirm had positive tests. As I reported earlier here on Richard's Backstage Blog, I'm told Orton's test revealed a form of Dianabol and traces of marijuana thus resulting in his suspension. This marks Orton's fifth suspension from WWE but only his second under the company Wellness Policy. In regards to Cody Rhodes, he thought that he was going to be suspended for a dietary supplement. Rhodes hinted at the forthcoming suspension with a post on Twitter last week that simply read "Time off." As it turns out, his positive test was cleared by doctors and he was not given a Wellness strike nor did he face a suspension. Due to the fact that I cannot offer 100% confirmation on the third name, I am withholding it. I'm told there's a good chance this worker will either be suspended or terminated, however, there are still issues preventing WWE from making a move. There is a very emotional story developing around the suspension of Randy Orton. I'm told he has a lot of backstage heat with many people lobbying for the company to fire him. One source directly connected to the situation told me the backstage segment on Monday's Raw Supershow where Dolph Ziggler was watching Orton on the monitor was WWE ribbing The Viper. The feeling from many WWE officials is that if Orton continues to get away with it and he continues to be pushed, he will do it again. There are obvious concerns from the writing team how they will be able to book him, especially in a role as the company's 1b, given the fact he now has "two Wellness strikes." Triple H, who has never seen eye-to-eye with Orton, is scheduled to meet with him along with Vince McMahon and other company officials later in the week. I'm told McMahon is livid and thought Orton had "grown up" and understood the ramifications this could have. It's believed Orton felt like he was "above" being tested and his cockiness isn't setting well with management or co-workers. I reported on Monday here on Richard's Backstage Blog that CM Punk had surpassed Orton as second in WWE, behind only John Cena. I'm told with Orton's latest suspension, that fate has been cemented. Some of the workers were hoping WWE would really take hard stand with Orton, with some wanting a longer suspension than the Wellness Policy would indicate given all his past problems. Keep in mind, in addition to the aforementioned suspension issues, Orton has defecated in Divas luggage, put food coloring in shampoo, trashed a hotel room and recently drew the company bad publicity when they had to pull him from The Marine 3. The heat is so hot right now I'm told Orton's future still remains very uncertain. However, there are a number of things keeping the company from releasing him, including the fact that he could literally end up "signed, sealed and delivered" to TNA during a time when I'm sure they would immediately act. The reason Orton was not written off television at Tuesday's Smackdown taping is the company flat out didn't want him there.
Emotions are so high that when WWE Champion CM Punk, who doesn't get along with Orton, made a joke about the company writing him off, it wasn't met with laughter.
