WWE Suspends Paige For 60 Days, Wrestler Explains Wellness Policy Violation

Just when it looked like Paige might soon make her return to the ring, it appears that she won’t be wrestling anytime soon. WWE has suspended Paige for 60 days for violating the company’s talent wellness policy.

It’s Paige’s second suspension in the last two months. She received a 30-day suspension on Aug. 18, along with wrestlers Alberto Del Rio and Eva Marie. A third such violation for Paige could result in the termination of her contract.

WWE has not specified exactly why Paige has been suspended, but the two-time Divas Champion hasn’t kept quiet. She claimed a failed drug test was not the reason for her first suspension. In an Instagram post last month, Paige called it a “procedural issue” in which she failed to show up for her drug test on time.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Paige’s father, English professional wrestler Ricky Knight, claimed that his daughter has not used illegal or performance-enhancing drugs. Instead, he and Paige say the WWE star has been suspended for a second time because she's taking medication prescribed for a neck injury that is in violation of the wellness policy.

Paige might have been referring to Brock Lesnar, who has failed multiple drug tests in 2016. Lesnar was tested for performance-enhancing drugs by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for his brief return to UFC in July. While Lesnar is facing a two-year ban from UFC, WWE specified that part-time superstars like Lesnar are not subject to the talent wellness policy. He was in the main event of SummerSlam just a few weeks after it was announced he failed two drug tests, and he won’t be suspended by WWE.

Paige isn’t the first wrestler to claim she was suspended for taking a drug, even though she had a prescription from a doctor. Eva Marie was reportedly suspended after testing positive for Adderall in a similar instance.

During her first suspension, there were rumors that Paige was set to leave WWE. She denied those reports, but her latest suspension and reaction leave questions surrounding her future with the company.

Paige’s first suspension ended in mid-September, but she hasn’t returned to action because of her injury. Now it appears that she won’t wrestle again in WWE until at least December, if at all. She hasn’t been seen on WWE TV since she had a match on “Monday Night Raw” on June 27.