5 Reasons why Superstars were "punished" on WWE TV
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.