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Nobody likes to get punished, but if you've done something wrong, certain action has to be taken.
Whether you're at school, at work, or just living life, there are certain things that people can and cannot do, and often, a fine is the best course of action to stop bad behavior being repeated.
In the WWE, this is no different, as there have been plenty of stories of Superstars paying huge fines for breaking the rules the company has laid out for them.
Here are five fines WWE Superstars were forced to pay, and what they did to incur the punishment.
#5 John Cena’s bad words cost him
There was a time in wrestling, where Superstars were allowed, and even encouraged to use some strong language against their opponents.
During the Attitude Era, stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Triple H were allowed to give their opponents a smackdown, both in the ring and on the mic.
Nowadays, though, things are very different, as the company has shifted to be orientated more at kids, leading to a lot of words being cut from WWE’s vocabulary.
No Superstar is above this rule, not even John Cena, who revealed that he was once fined for using the word “ass” in a promo at CM Punk.
There’s no denying that the feud between Cena and Punk was one of WWE’s best in recent years, though it must have been very bizarre for fans to see the Goody-two-shoes Cena use the A word.
We’ll never know how much he was fined, but Cena himself said it was enough to stop him from doing it again.
#4 Stone Colds walks away
Arguably the greatest Superstar of all time, Stone Cold Steve Austin dominated the Attitude Era, from 1998 to 2001.
But by 2002, Austin had had enough of the company, and when he was asked to lose to a rookie Brock Lesnar on RAW, the Rattlesnake decided to walk away, with McMahon saying his employee had taken his ball and gone home.
Whilst McMahon couldn’t fine someone for quitting, when Austin returned to the company 6 months later, Vince pounced on the redneck.
Initially wanting to fine him $650,000, Austin said the amount made him question returning at all, as it would’ve meant he’d be working for free for the WWE.
Compromising on a quarter-million, the fine was still an insane amount of money for Vince McMahon to charge someone he had practically begged to return.
#3 D’Lo Brown loses thousands, or so he thinks
No-one likes being late, especially to an important meeting at work.
Your hands clam up, your throat tightens, as you prepare to give your best reasons for why you’re tardy.
In the WWE, this is no different, as regardless of whether you’re opening the show or in the main event, Superstars are expected to be on time.
So when D’Lo Brown was late to board the bus to a live event in South Africa, the first ever Euro-Continental Champion must have felt awful.
What made this even worse, was that the entire busload of Superstars had to wait for Brown to show up, meaning the show nearly had to be postponed because of him.
Facing the music, Brown received a tongue-lashing from higher-ups, before getting hit with a 10,000 Rand fine.
This number terrified Brown for weeks, who worried how he would be able to manage without the 10 grand, until he did the maths and discovered 10,000 Rand was only $10 at the time.
#2 Brian Knobbs passes the most expensive gas in history
As one-half of the Nasty Boys, Brian Knobbs was a hard-hitting tag team wrestler, working alongside Jerry Sags to capture three WCW Tag Team Championships, as well as one reign as the WWF Tag Team Champions.
But in this shocking fine from the Hulkamania era, the Nasty Boy certainly lived up to his name, much to the expense of the lovely Miss Elizabeth.
According to the Honky Tonk Man, Knobbs once farted directly in the direction of the first lady of the WWF, which drew the ire of her real-life husband, Randy Savage.
The story goes that the Macho Man went into a frenzy upon finding out about the flatulence, leading to Knobbs paying a whopping seven-thousand-dollars, quite possibly the most expensive fart in history.
Whilst the Honky Tonk Man clearly isn’t a fan of the company, and isn’t exactly known for being honest in interviews, we really want to believe the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion on this one.
#1 CM Punk’s half a million-dollar blood
When CM Punk won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 2011, few could’ve expected the second city saviour would hold the title for an astonishing 434 days.
Throughout his 15-month reign, Punk took on all-comers, from established stars like John Cena, to up-and-comers like Ryback, to even RAW commentator Jerry ‘the King’ Lawler.
It was during a 2012 steel cage match with the King though, that Punk bled, and claimed he was fined half-a-million dollars because of it.
Whilst Punk claimed the cut was legitimate, the company believed that Punk had deliberately bladed, in clear violation of their no-blood policy. To make the matter more confusing, the Wrestling Observer was quick to report that Punk wasn’t fined at all for the offending liquid.
Now, 6 years later, it seems we will never get the truth behind the incident, though it seems possible that whilst Punk was fined for the blood, but probably not as much as a third of his yearly salary.
