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WWE Superstars have to adhere to all kinds of rules once they have been officially signed to the company and when these stars break rules, often there will be a punishment attached to it.
Whilst regular jobs usually include being fined or suspended, WWE often decides that there could be a smaller punishment for the superstar if the issue in question isn't considered to be a severe one.
This means that the company's creative team will often make a decision to have the Superstar "punished" on TV instead, which could include losing a big Championship match or losing a title that they would have retained under regular circumstances.
More often than not, the WWE Universe becomes aware that a Superstar is being punished on TV because of the situation, if a punishment comes out of the blue.
The following are just five occasions where WWE Superstars have been punished on live TV as well as the reasons why the company felt compelled to book them in this way.
#5. Baron Corbin is "punished" by WWE after backstage issues
Back in 2017, WWE Superstar Baron Corbin won The Money in the Bank ladder match and it was believed that the former NXT star would go on to win the World Championship following the victory.
Instead, Corbin went through a whirlwind of issues following a backstage argument, which also went on to cost him his Money in the Bank contract and a potential World Championship reign.
It was reported by PWInsider that Corbin's push was halted that year after he interrupted a meeting backstage to call out Dr. Joseph Maroon, the head of WWE's Wellness policy, whilst he was giving a talk on concussions.
Corbin is a former NFL player who was suing the league for concussion-related injuries and thought that he had some worthy input in the meeting, but this seemingly wasn't the case.
Maroon and Corbin had an argument and the entire situation was described as awkward. This later led to Corbin cashing in his Money in the Bank contract prematurely and losing his match to WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. It was later revealed that the original plan was for Corbin to cash in at SummerSlam and go on to become World Champion, but this was changed after the backstage altercation.
Corbin has since remained with WWE and is now known as King Corbin after winning the 2019 King of the Ring tournament.
#4. WWE Superstar Finn Balor is punished for using "Too Sweet" at WWE TLC 2017
Finn Balor was originally scheduled to face off against Bray Wyatt back at WWE TLC in 2017, but illness meant that Wyatt was pulled from the card at the last minute and replaced by AJ Styles.
This was a fantasy match between the two WWE Superstars who were once at the helm of The Bullet Club and they decided to mark the occasion by performing a "Too Sweet" at the end of the match. Reports later revealed that this move was not granted permission from WWE officials backstage and there was later punishment for Finn Balor.
The current NXT Champion took on Kane the next night on RAW and despite many fans believing that the match would end when Braun Strowman became involved, this didn't happen. Instead, Kane delivered three chokeslams and pinned Balor clean.
This was seemingly a bizarre decision that even The Wrestling Observer questioned following the show. It was believed that this was Balor's punishment for being part of the "Too Sweet" pose the night before. The Bullet Club's gesture has since been used by several Superstars on WWE TV.
#3. WWE Superstar Lana is "punished" for leaking news of her engagement in the middle of a WWE storyline
Lana has been part of several storylines alongside her husband Rusev since the couple was aligned together on WWE TV back in 2013. When the duo was later promoted to the main roster, the couple was put into a storyline where Lana had left her husband and Rusev was set to marry Summer Rae.
This storyline had to be axed by WWE after the WWE Superstars became engaged in real life and leaked the news to TMZ. After leaving WWE, Rusev, who is now known as Miro in AEW, went on to confirm this news.
Miro later revealed on Talk is Jericho that Lana “sent that picture to the office and to some of the girls” and it was later leaked. This lead to Lana being part of an embarrassing backstage segment with The Rock where he belittled her and, despite it being known that she was engaged to Rusev, the Superstar claimed that the couple still had sexual relations.
Rusev was also punished by becoming a jobber for several months on WWE TV.
#2. WWE Superstar & Hall of Famer Mark Henry is "punished" after Vince McMahon gets buyers remorse
Mark Henry was signed by WWE back in 1996 after competing in the Olympic Games. At the time, it was an unprecedented 10-year deal that was believed to be worth $250,000 a year, which was considered to be huge back then for a WWE Superstar.
Henry didn't have any experience in the ring at the time and he reportedly didn't click with the business in the way that McMahon had hoped. The incredible contract that the had penned meant that WWE would have to hand over a big payout if they were to fire him, so instead, Vince McMahon apparently decided to put the Superstar into several humiliating storylines.
One of the worst was when he became "Sexual Chocolate" and went on to have a child with Mae Young who was actually a hand.
Luckily, Henry pushed through and is now a WWE Hall of Famer and a former World Champion, but The World's Strongest Man put up with his own fair share of humiliating gimmicks before he was handed a decent shot.
#1. WWE Superstar Roman Reigns is "punished" after violating WWE's Wellness Policy
Roman Reigns is currently one of the biggest stars on WWE TV and the current Universal Champion, but back in 2016 The Tribal Chief violated WWE's Wellness Policy for the first and only time.
At the time, Roman Reigns was World Champion and it meant that Seth Rollins was able to pin him clean for the title at Money in the Bank. It's likely that the company knew that the Superstar would be out of the picture for some time and decided that Rollins could take the title instead.
Dean Ambrose later cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and took the WWE Championship over to SmackDown.
Roman Reigns hasn't lost a lot of matches clean in WWE, so it's very possi that this was a punishment from the company for violating their Wellness Policy. It was believed that WWE had a plan for Reigns to remain as Champion for some time ahead of his suspension, but this then had to be changed when the news about the Superstar's violation was made public.
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