It's true, history repeats itself. And once again we are reliving the abuse of steroids and other drugs that are running wild in wrestling. While most wrestlers would say that there isn't as much of the Ric Flair-like lifestyle today as there once was, there are still huge signs of problems to come.
The WWE is trying to do everything it possibly can to show that it's making an effort to eliminate steroids and other drugs from its company. They implemented a wellness policy, which has suspended a dozen at the minimum, they've opened up rehab for any current or past Superstar, and they even currently promoting Bigger, Stronger, Faster (a DVD that looks into the whole steroid problem).
But how come I don't take comfort that the problem is being taken care of? Why am I not assured that people like Chris Benoit (not saying that steroids had anything to do with his actions, but more about his mental health) aren't slowly deteriorating? Here are the signs that things aren't getting better.
The WWE claims that it is thoroughly checking its Superstars for steroids and other drugs. But how come the people who are suspended are always mid-carders or lower on the totem pole? Are you seriously saying that only a few of these larger-than-life stars are on steroids and the ones who are the ones at the bottom?
What about the big name stars? Batista, Triple H, John Cena? Scott Steiner told the story when he was asked by the WWE office whether he'd be able to pass the wellness test. He responded sure, just pick up Triple H and me and we'll go take the test together. He went on to say they never bothered him about it again.
And why is it that it takes a report by Sports Illustrated to call out the big time stars, for WWE to take action. It took a massive media mogul to out the WWE for stars like of Edge, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio to be suspended. Has anyone seen Rey Mysterio's transformation from his WCW days to his WWE days? He puts Barry Bonds to shame.
Look at the people outside of wrestling who've been busted for steroids, like Ivan Basso, a Tour de France cyclist. He's 150 pounds soaking wet and he was busted for steroids. Now I'm not saying that everyone who's got muscle is on the stuff. Everyone's body is built differently. I'm just saying let's be a little more realistic here.
But a majority of fans know the probability that a large majority of wrestlers are using, but show up to the shows and buy the merchandise anyways. But does that make it okay?
And I know it's not the WWE alone, as TNA is rumored to be implementing its own wellness policy. I'm just saying it shouldn't take an act of congress to see things truly change in wrestling.
Will it be cool to see wrestlers going at it who are the same size as me and you? No, probably not. But wrestling managed to survive after the steroid scare in the early '90s due to smaller guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. And I'm not saying that these guys weren't on anything, but I am saying it can prosper without everyone being larger than life.
It's not just those on the big stage; there's a trickledown effect. Smaller guys on the independents who think the only way they'll be noticed is if they're arms are the size of cannons. Teens looking to impress. The list goes on. And how many guys will be suffering from their years of abuse when they hang up the boots?
Only time will tell, but should we risk to wait and see?
31 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
jason savage 8 months ago
you may be right but what proof do you have that the top stars are on steroids?
batista is much smaller than he was a few years ago, go look at some old "evolution" era pics.
edge and orton look smaller and less "thanksgiving day parade balloon like"as well.
i have also wondered if the releases of chris masters and bobby lashley had something to do with the steroid crackdown. (no proof mind you but look at those 2 they sure looked like they were on something)...just an opinion.
i'm not saying steroids aren't an issue but i do think that some of the top stars are no longer abusing them. using them perhaps, but not abusing them. :-)
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Brandon Darnell 8 months ago
Good read. I'm currently working on a research project for my English 10 class and I'm doing it on drugs and alcohol abuse in Pro Wrestling. You made some very good points here. Hopefully mine will be able to keep up with yours.
Just to clear some things up for you Jason, Chris Masters was released due to failing two drug tests before WWE had implemented their "3-Strike" Wellness Policy, Bobby Lashley had asked for his release to try to pursue a career in MMA. ;)
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jason savage 8 months ago
that's the press release anyway...we really don't know for sure on Lashley....what drugs did Masters have in his system? steroids? just my opinion on these 2 because they sure had the steroid "look" if you know what i mean.
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
Hey, there's plenty of examples out there. Kurt Angle said that was one of the key reasons why he quit WWE when they wouldn't let him go to rehab. He was trying to get off of pain killers but knew he could simply walk to any wrestler in the hotel and get his fix. Drugs and 'roids are as assesible as candy. For anyone to deny it would be foolish.
Thanks for reading.
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Joe Burgett 8 months ago
ya is ts documented in wrestling about the steroid use, you have Benoit and Eddie Guererro for two examples, I'd have put one of their pics at the top, Triple H may look like he has, but has never been tested positive for them, he has been working out since he was a teen, he even one Mr. Teen Connneticut, random fact, sorry, but Edge, Mysterio, and many wrestlers have tested positive for them, and have died far to young, its terrible and I'm glad they had the wellness policy put in place after Eddie's death.
I hate what its doing to spoorts in general not just basball or wrestling, we hear about it more in mainstream sports, but not as much in wrestling, good article, something should be done, but I guess they are trying, they even hav the wellness policy in the FCW, so maybe we will see healthy non-steroid stars coming up. Good job for pointing this out dude
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
yeah, triple h may have been working out since he was a teen - competing in body building competitions - but that's just a exuse for his size. Arnold Swartzineggar also competed in body building and admitted to doing roids. Could it be that he's Vince's son-in-law and doesn't have to face wellness policy? i.e. Scott Steiners' comments that I referenced in the article.
thanks for reading
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Joe Burgett 8 months ago
YA I know dude, but really Stiener was off, and we all know he is on the juice. But Vince doesn't care, he got in trouble some time back for the illegal steriod thing, it wouldn't matter if he ws the son-in-law or not, he would face jail time, and Vince would never do that for anyone, you know that aswell as I. And as for Arnold ya he did them, but Triple H stopped body building after he won the contest I refrenced. Arnold did it way longer than Triple H, that is why you knew Arnold did them.
Triple H went to Killer Kowaliski's wrestling school right after high school, and has been wrestling since, there is no way that he would have done them in that time, I mean they were tested pretty much everyday there. And then when he got in WCW the same thing, tested alot by that time Vince went to court about the illegal steroid use and was putting in tests every week, for the wrestlers, they did it every week at the same time, now there are surprise tests
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Ronnie Bryce 8 months ago
I wouldnt put to much faith in anything Scott Steiner has to say.
He's done so much steriods his brain and his testicles are about the same size now.
Just look at an M&M for comparison.
It's obvious Stiner has issues with Triple H as I've heard his rant before. He's just bitter because he blames Triple H ans Shawn Michaels and Vince for him not getting the push he wanted in WWE.
The fact of the matter is he is a has been and cant sell merchandise and the pay per view buyrates when he was in a main event in WWE was dismal.
He hasnt done anything exciting since 1997 yet he still think the world and wrestlign owes him something.
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Rosemary Bell 8 months ago
I think Roger Ebert when reviewing Bigger Stronger Faster* Directed by Christopher Bell says it best "we are devout in Congress but heathens in the grandstands" This movie jolted me, when I saw what the USA did when they discovered that the Russians used steroids to beat the USA. The USA created their own, we created our very own "Frankenstiens" if you will. We created them, encouraged there use, applauded the athletes and movie stars. We as a culture promoted there use by showing people they can be something they very well might not be. I have been asked if I ever witnessed "roid rage" my answer is NO. I have however; witnessed alcohol rage, it's not called that, because most don't want to consider it as a drug, or in the same catagory as steroids. Alcohol's & abuse, is called prettier or cooler names like "wasted" "hammered" "grizzled" "under the influence" "inebriated" "a little tipsy" you recognize the names and probably have a few of your own. I applaud Vince McMahon in anything that he can do to stop the use of any drugs, he's only one man, and the tests are only as good as the deciever.
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
oh, no doubt steiner's high on himself and blames everyone else. You can throw Flair on his list as well. But he had no reason to lie that statement as it points the finger at him as much as Triple H.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
of course Steiner has a reason to point fingers. Flair had recently had the retirement thing and Trips is, well, Trips. Why not go after two top names to get attention back to yourself. Steiner is still trying to hang on to some glimmer of spotlight though he is faaaaaaaar past his time
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
Heyy Daris.....nice topic brought up n what I would like to say is that I dont remember but I had read somewhere Triple H sayin that he is a very big fan of Body physique n has been workin out since a long time........but Daris...u may be right.....HHH being the son in law Of Vince.....so no prob for him.....u never know guys......therez politics everywhere...........but jus look at guys like Murdoch.....Nitro n Mercury.......these guys hardly have any physique..........I mean Murdoch.....doesent have ANYTHING.......as far as wrestlin is the topic.......cmon......a good physique to show the audience is essential atleast......that they r wrestlers.......otherwise jus any1 can enter WWE.....seriously.......I would say without hesitation that I have a better physque than Murdoch......Iam Serious man..........I mean this is jus an xample of guys with arms like cannons n others with only fat but no muscles or physique at all...........
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Joe Burgett 8 months ago
dude anyone has a better body than the Brokeback Mountain Murdoch, I mean really come on, who can tell me how he became a wrestler, he isn't a good one if you have not noticed, thank god WWE released him, but they didn't because of his lack of ability, I wrote an article about it, chack it out Shocking WWE Release it what its called I think, sorry Daris, don't mean to pimp my articles on your dude
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
Hey no prob. this topic seems to be a touchy one for some. We've got some good comments going back and forth. This is interesting.
But to catch your comment from earlier (Joe) about Vince not doing jail time for anyone, remember he assumed that he was going to be convicted in that steroids trial. He had everything set up so he could run WWE (WWF) from jail. So would he go to jail to protect his son-in-law? I'd say yeah if the other end was his product looking bad. I'd think he wouldn't let his ego be bruised and he'd do the time no problem.
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Joe Burgett 8 months ago
Well I don't think he could run it from jail first off, second this steroids thing was befoe Triple H's tme in the WWE, he was either still with Kowalski or starting in WCW, Shane was stll in college, I don't know if Stephanie was out of high school yet or if it was her firts year in college, and Linda knew nothing about wrestling, she only knew business. So having Vince go to jail would be terrible at that time.
Now it would be ok, but then it was to hard, he couldn't do it from hail even if he wanted to, it just wouldn't work. ANd with that said, he would never go to jail for another person, its Vince McMahon dude, think about that, its not just anyone we are talking about here.
Now would he go to jail for John Paul Leveseqe(Triple H) to protect the company? In his words NO Way in Hell. I mean he still has Shawn Micheals, The Undertaker, and others to fill in for Triple H, so he would never do jail time, now if he were to get caught using some however, I bet he would give him more warnings than others though
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James Turner 8 months ago
good article.
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Big Anabolics 8 months ago
The whole steroids in wrestling thing is never going to go away. Just like it will neveer leave baseball, football, cycling, and probably the owrst of them all BODYBUILDING.
The wellness policy of the WWE is clear, they have established a baseline for every athlete and any deviation from the baseline must be justified by a Doctor's prescription.
One need only look at the Signature Pharmacy scandal to see that drugs are available via a Doctor at 'wellness clinics' or 'anti-aging clinics' to see that the problem will never be solved until there is a zero tolerance for everyone.
I might also add that I stood next to Bret Hart during the late 80's and while I will not point the finger and say he was guilty...there are however few men in the world with a chest as THICK. The man was simply HUGE. To put in perspective I had a 54 inch chest at the time and I paled in comparison.
Just a thought though...has anyone seen the Muscle and Fitness pictorial that feature HHH and Vince. Vince is huge and old....the two don't generally go hand in hand.
As a reply to the comment about steroid testing at wrestling school...don't fool yourself a test runs 1500 per so it wasn't happening at school and probably didn't happen weekly. Anyone who remembers the steroid guru Dan Duchaine will that a test can easily be beaten with nothing more than vinegar and baking soda....so there were no sure things in the old days.
Keep up the good work....if the issue isn't kept in the forefront it will surely fall away and history will continue to repeat itself.
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warcroft 8 months ago
Wellness policy or not. . . whena wrestler takes time off for 'injury' you know theyre juicing up for their big return.
They cant take steroids while theyre touring/performing, so they take those few months a year to use steroids and bulk up for their return.
My biggest shock was seeing Vince McMahon about six years ago come out for his first match in a year or so against Austin(?). He was wearing pants and a singlet top and he was absolutely massive! Fucking huge!
There was no doubt he did a very rapid steroid boosting program.
For someone who was nearing 60 he was huge!
But this isnt competitive sports. This is sports entertainment. Who cares if theyre using steroids. The whole point of pro wrestling is huge looking guys performing feats of strength and such.
What, you want every match to be a cruiser weight match?
So long as theyre looking after themselves then I say let them go.
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DONTREL QUINN 8 months ago
Joe jus saying if you werent there with Triple H all those yrs how can you say he has never used steriods. The Freak may have a point if they were so sure why didnt they just test em both like Steiner said and then could have let it rest if he passed it but they didnt and that sounds fishy by the way Triple H is one of my alltime favorite wrestlers other than the Roc & Stone Cold!!!!!!!!!
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Ryan 8 months ago
To say big name guys aren't getting punished is wrong.
Jeff Hardy got hit twice on the Wellness policy and is in danger of losing his job. Kennedy, in line for the biggest push of his life, got busted and sat for 30 days. Orton already has had a run-in with the wellness policy. Kurt Angle left WWE because they told him to go get clean (according to the rumors), telling him he was welcome to come back when all was well. Hell, even way back when, Shawn Michaels got suspended 30 days for steroid use.
There's a difference though. These big name guys who get caught for steroids don't get called out, save for Booker T. And Booker was the perfect patsy as he was just big enough to make it seem the WWE was doing something about the steroid issue but not big enough to ruin any of Vince's significant plans.
For the most part, Vince has been far better dealing with them than in the past, even if we all don't hear about it.
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Ryan 8 months ago
What's funny, Patti, is that you think you're being clever and funny when all you're doing is inching towards "banned" status.
It's nice when obnoxious, immature snots like you think that your "opinions" matter or that anyone's listening. Enjoy the cuddling with Jay!
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
True, but most of those that you mentioned were already outed by sports illustrated and other media outlet. Angle wouldn't even have been outed if SI didn't report the internet claims (he still says he's legit, and could've gotten a prescription).
So to say there's no bias for top level stars is a little strewed.
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Ryan 8 months ago
Oh, no doubt there is a favoritism. And Angle being outted in SI had little to do with him leaving the WWE. He was a mess and everyone knew they were going to have a tragedy on their hands if he didn't get help. So WWE told him to beat it, get help and come back when he wasn't a liability.
Triple H is a different case. The last thing Vince would want to do is out his own family and embarass them. So unless Triple H slips up and gets caught away from the WWE, he'll never be mentioned when suspensions come up.
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
could be bribes?......could it.....?.......but if we think frm the positive side of HHH......then I would say that hes one guy really on the beat for body building.........but could be the other way........AAAhhhhh!!!?? God Knows...........
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
Heyy Ryan....look the way u mentioned abt these stars being suspended for a certain time right........so jus imagine if HHH was found guilty......they could have suspended him for a certain time too right but not necessarily kick him out........n we would have observed him being absent frm WWE for sometime but then he has been continuously like........u know...rocking in the industry.......n last I remember he was absent frm WWE was whn he injured his leg orsomethin n then they were showin videos of his knee surgery in the hospital.........n he shared his feelings on the camera while he was still in the hospital after the surgery while recovering..........Thats the only time I remember HHH being absent frm WWE.........
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
Ryan, I agree, heck Angle agrees he was a mess. But the difference is he requested time off to get cleaned. and Vince told him that he was an Olympic gold medalist and he needed to man up and deal with it. And that's why HE left. He wasn't fired.
And you're absolutely right on triple h, and it's the shame. He should be on equal playing field as far as that goes. You may be the best in the game right now, which allows you to have some special treatment... but this isn't one of those special cercumstances.
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
Ahhhh so.....Kurt angle.....was on his own huh........n wasn`t kicked out........never knew abt it....!!!
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
Yeah, here's an interview with him where he talks about that, mma, how long before tna beats raw in the ratings and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-ruhabeSSs
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
but logically speakin........does any1 have a solid proof that HHH n the others whom we r not certain of have ever been found guilty......I mean read it somewhere or through some news or somthin.....
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
Ok Daris I`ll look forward to it............
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
Nope. no evidence. It's all speculation. Is it fare to judge? Absolutely not. It would be more accurately to say that I wouldn't be surprised if he were.
And if he says he's clean, I'd respect that until proven otherwise.
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Prashant Wadhwani 8 months ago
yea true Daris........but sometimes when I see Scott Steiner........Gosh!!?? Then such questions do arise......u know regardin the steroids n stuff........shit man his hands r BIG man..........it truly looks unreal.......n all the veins n stuff poppin out......God hard to belive whether he actually wrked for it or......u never know.......
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