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Being a WWE Superstar comes with a set of strict rules and regulations that one has to follow. WWE is a global company and every action of its Superstars affects their credibility and image in front of the fans as well as their stockholders. So what happens when a WWE Superstar breaks some of these rules? Well, they are either suspended, fined, or both.
WWE has always attempted to blur the fine line between kayfabe and reality. Hence, they have used "fines" as part of storylines, especially ones which involve authority figures, to give their programming a realistic touch. But then there have been occasions where WWE has actually fined its Superstars for certain actions.
In this article, let's take a look at three times WWE fined its Superstars for real and then three occasions when it was part of a storyline. Comment down and let me know your thoughts on the same!
#3 WWE fined for real: Triple H and The Undertaker
Yes, you read that right! Two of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time, Triple H and The Undertaker were once fined by WWE for real.
The reason? They violated WWE's concussion policy, according to which chair shots to the head are prohibited as they have proven to be dangerous in the past.
The incident occurred during the epic WrestleMania 27 match between The Game and The Phenom. While the match was fought under "No Holds Barred" stipulation, chair shots to the head were still not allowed. But the two veterans went ahead with it, which led to WWE fining both of them.
Pursuant to WWE's Concussion policy, the stunt of using a folded metal chair shot to the head is prohibited. Triple H and The Undertaker have both been fined for violating this policy at WrestleMania XXVII. WWE penalizes through fine and/or suspension for violation of this policy, which is unchanged and still in effect.
The match between the two was indeed a very brutal one as the two took each other to the limit. Triple H came really close to avenging his friend Shawn Michaels' loss to The Deadman at WrestleMania 26 and breaking The Streak, but in the end, Taker forced the Game to tap out to his Hell's Gate submission move.
With this victory, The Undertaker extended his WrestleMania streak to 19-0. The match is considered to be one of the best in the legendary careers of both Superstars.
#3 WWE fined as part of a storyline: Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey was one of the biggest acquisitions by WWE in the last decade and The Rowdy One had everyone talking. The UFC Hall of Famer appeared at the 2018 Royal Rumble PPV, which featured the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match as well.
While there were major concerns over her in-ring skills, she proved the critics wrong with a great debut match at WrestleMania 34, teaming up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It was not long before she got herself a title match and became the RAW Women's Champion.
It was during her WrestleMania 35 rivalry against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair that Rousey had a change in persona, threatening both her opponents and WWE as a whole to expose the business.
It was during an episode of RAW on the Road to WrestleMania 35, where Rousey lost it and attacked a WWE referee. This led to WWE fining her, and releasing the following statement -
Ronda Rousey has been fined by WWE as a result of her unprofessional actions last Monday night on Raw.
Due to the confidentiality of Rousey’s contract, the amount of the fine will not be disclosed. Appropriate action has been taken.
Of course, this was all part of a storyline and an attempt to blur the lines between kayfabe and reality. Ronda, Becky, and Charlotte went on to create history at WrestleMania 35, as it was the first time that the Show of Shows was headlined by a women's match. We are yet to see Ronda Rousey back in action in WWE ever since.
#2 WWE fined for real: Batista
With WWE going into the PG era, blood on TV was a big no. But old school wrestlers have this desire of blading (intentionally cutting themselves open with a blade to bleed during a match) to give the match a more realistic and violent look.
Batista refused to adhere to the PG rules during his infamous World Heavyweight Championship steel cage match against Chris Jericho on RAW in 2008. He took upon himself to add the extra element of blood to the match for "the betterment of the business".
But when the two came back, there was a lot of yelling and screaming going on and Vince McMahon was furious because Batista bled all over the ring. Appearing on Talk Is Jericho, Batista revealed that he was fined a massive $100,000 by WWE. Ouch!
"Then he starts passing out fines. So my fine was $100,000…My heart dropped. I thought it would be like $25,000…When he said $100,000, I was just heartbroken. I literally think that he sucked the life out of me that day. I think that's the day that I knew things were never going to be the same."
Batista retired from in-ring competition at WrestleMania 35 and will soon be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, class of 2020.
#2 WWE fined as part of a storyline: Becky Lynch
WWE has some weird rules when it comes to wrestlers hitting referees. It's not very rare to see WWE Superstars accidentally hit the referee during their match and WWE doesn't really do much about it. Although, on this particular occasion, they ended up fining Becky Lynch $10,000 for accidentally striking a referee.
The incident took place at the Clash of Champions 2019 PPV where The Man defended her RAW Women's Championship against a returning Sasha Banks. After a brutal match, Becky Lynch accidentally knocked out the referee with a steel chair, which she originally intended to use on Banks. This led to the match being called-off and Becky Lynch lost via disqualification but retained her title.
WWE later announced that they fined Becky Lynch $10,000 for her actions.
Becky Lynch has been fined $10,000 for inadvertently striking a referee during her Raw Women’s Championship Match against Sasha Banks.
The Man had intended to deliver the chair strike to The Boss but ended up hitting the referee instead. After the referee went down, the title match descended into chaos, as the two rivals took their brawl to the concourse.
This was all part of a storyline, but one has to wonder why does WWE not fine other WWE Superstars for hitting referees then? Weird!
#1 WWE fined for real: Titus O'Neil
Titus O'Neil's suspension by WWE in 2016 was a massive topic of discussion at that time. It was during the highly emotional retirement ceremony of Daniel Bryan in 2016, when the entire WWE locker room including Vince McMahon, came out to the ramp to cheer Bryan.
After the segment ended, as everyone was making their way back, Titus O'Neil gave the WWE Chairman a friendly push. He grabbed Vince, just to allow Stephanie McMahon to exit first. But this little push ended up being a disaster for Titus, as Vince didn't like this gesture of his. While Vince initially wanted to fire Titus, he later handed him a 90-day suspension, which was further reduced to 60-days.
As revealed by Jim Ross in his blog, Titus was also fined around $5,000 for his actions.
"I have heard that Titus was fined in the neighborhood of 5K for his conduct plus a 60 day suspension. One has to wonder if this punishment was also utilized to get the attention of the entire roster especially if some talents were thought to be becoming to lax in their approach to their job.”
Titus would surely not have imagined such a heavy punishment for his little friendly push. But well, Vince is the boss!
#1 WWE fined as part of a storyline: Kevin Owens
SummerSlam 2019 saw a huge angle between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon as they faced each other at WWE's "Biggest Party of the Summer" with the stipulation that if KO lost, he would quit WWE.
At the PPV, Shane O' Mac introduced Elias as the special guest enforcer for their match, further stacking the odds against Kevin Owens. As expected, the Drifter did everything in his capability to ensure that Owens loses the match. Ultimately, KO had enough and attacked Elias with multiple chair shots. He then low-blowed Shane and hit the Stunner to win the match.
On the following episode of SmackDown, Shane McMahon fined Kevin Owens $100,000 for attacking Elias, who was a designated WWE official for the match.
Kevin Owens kept his job this Sunday when he defeated Shane McMahon at SummerSlam… but that doesn’t mean he’d get much time to enjoy his victory.
Owens wanted to look ahead to his participation in the King of the Ring Tournament, but Shane-O-Mac quickly rained on KO’s parade to kick off SmackDown LIVE, fining Owens $100,000 for striking a WWE official during their match two nights ago (for point of reference, that official was Elias). This fine, of course, did not sit well with KO, who pointed out that 100 grand is a large sum of money that he cannot stand to lose, unlike Shane. Owens demanded that Shane reconsider. Shane declined.
The rivalry ultimately led to Kevin Owens filing a lawsuit against Shane McMahon. The two finally clashed at the 20th Anniversary episode of SmackDown in a ladder match, with the stipulation that the loser had to leave WWE. It was Kevin Owens who won the match, and hence, Shane was fired. Sweet revenge!
