I haven't noticed him looking any bigger than usual.
As for using him as a "scapegoat", please. Look at all the time they've invested in the guy. They gave him big wins, they made him look like a star, he was obviously being primed to win the Money in the Bank ladder match, and now - through his own idiocy - he's thrown it all away. It's not like the guy doesn't have form.
The idea of WWE protecting people is unfounded. They suspended Kennedy, who they were very hot on. They also suspended Orton for smoking weed, and he's the company's darling. Now Triple H, that would be another story...