Randy Orton has been lucky enough to have a long and successful career in the professional wrestling business, but there was once a time when Orton’s personal issues were impacting his professional career.
The Viper was surrounded by controversy during his early days, and he was suspended from WWE for 60 days back in 2006. Recently Orton joined Steve Austin on Broken Skull Sessions, and when the former WWE Champion was asked for a “family friendly version” of the events that led to his suspension he said that there isn’t one.
“I don’t think there is one, Steve (family friendly version). Off the reservation, dark, dark, dark. That 60 days happened for reasons and then during that 60 days I did some other sh*t that kind of landed me in a spot where I needed some help. And I got the help and I came back and I still wasn’t right. And then it was about probably a good year, in the middle of 2007 where I was working with Edge and then Cena where I kind of came out of that funk. And luckily, everything was alright.”
Randy Orton went into more detail about his 2006 suspension in the September 2006 issue of WWE Magazine when he confirmed that he was caught smoking a joint. It’s believed that Bruce Prichard found out about the joint and told WWE officials.
“I’m not anymore. Not since my 60-day unpaid suspension. My problems came to a head when I decided to smoke a joint and someone smelled it and stooged me off. You know who you are, so if you’re reading this, thanks. But I also had a few outbursts of anger on the road. I get loud and verbally abusive. But I’ve nipped that part of me in the bud.”
In addition to Randy Orton’s 2006 suspension he was also suspended for 60 days in 2012 when WWE announced that he had violated the company wellness policy.
H/T Sportskeeda
