When it comes to maintaining the rules, WWE is always very strict. This is why they have a wellness policy violating which a superstar has to suffer serious consequences. This is applied to every superstar present in the locker room and even to the face of the company. This always remains as an example to the other locker room members of how professional the company could be in times.
An unfortunate incident occurred on this past edition of Monday Night Raw with none other than Roman Reigns. It was the very first Christmas edition of a live televised episode hosted by the company on December 25th. To hype up the show, WWE brought back John Cena in the opening segment.
Also, the other face of the show, Roman Reigns was also back on the show after one week’s hiatus. He was back on business to prove his dominance by defending his Intercontinental Championship on WWE Raw. This time around, the opponent pitted against him was none other than Samoa Joe.
I’m a man of my word.
If you hurt my brother, I WILL hurt you.
Just ask @SamoaJoe. #WitnessMe #Raw— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 26, 2017
Now, considering the last few weeks, there was a serious bad blood between Joe and Reigns. The heel superstar tried to injure the IC champion on multiple occasions by attacking him from behind. On the December 18th episode of the show, Joe delivered an ambush to Dean Ambrose that caused him an injury. He had to undergo a surgery and went out of action for nine months.
So, The Big Dog was in vengeance-seeking mode on Joe in their match. He went relentless and attacked Joe with steel steps and chairs. In the intensity of the match, Reigns even shoved the referee off his feet causing him a fine of $5000 by the officials. WWE released an official statement that says,
“Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns has been fined $5,000 for shoving referee John Cone during his title defence against Samoa Joe on Raw last night, WWE.com can confirm.
The incident occurred after Reigns backed Joe into the corner of the ring and continued to attack him past the official’s count. When Cone attempted to intercede, Reigns shoved him aside to continue his attack. The champion was subsequently disqualified, though he kept his title as a result of champion’s advantage.”
This was not the first time that Reigns has suffered such punishments, in 2016, he was handed a one month suspension for taking illegal substances. Despite being the franchise player of the company, WWE kept him off the board. Hopefully, the Samoan superstar will not have to deal with further consequences after this unprecedented altercation.