WWE Wellness Program is there to monitor the health of talents and hopefully prevent them from suffering series issues later in life and even death. And now, with the policy back in the news with it reported Matt Riddle has failed twice, many fans have mentioned that he is one more test away from being fired due to the WWE three-strike policy. That, though, has now been called into question, as Dave Meltzer has reported on his messageboard that WWE no longer automatically fires someone for a third strike. With it noted, the company is at war with AEW and wouldn’t want a talent being able to use the system to get out of their deal.
The WWE launched its Wellness Program on February 27, 2006, with the general belief being that it was introduced due to the death of Eddie Guerrero. A first strike previously saw a wrestler suspended for 30 days, a second for 60 days and potentially sent to rehab, and a third terminated. Clearly, now it’s all subjective, and someone’s place on the card will play a factor and whether they would be beneficial to AEW. Therefore hopefully, a policy that was started with the best of intentions doesn’t end up being watered down and only being followed by those who aren’t deemed to be stars.
