Drugs and Professional Wrestling: A Cultural Problem

There are moments in sporting history that are forever printed in the mind—a single second of action that epitomises a monumental achievement.

In the summer of 1998, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa slugged it out, competing for the dream of beating the magical number of 61.

With every home run elevating the race higher, millions of Americans watched their screens as history was being rewritten. Two of baseball's finest were achieving what many had thought was impossible.

Yet it was all undermined by a lie. Drugs had been used.

When the former admitted in 2010 that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, the world turned on their former hero. Yet who was really surprised by the announcement?

We as a viewing public sometimes fail to see the truth when it’s before our very eyes. Whether we overlook it or convince ourselves otherwise, the use of drugs in sport has become inherent.

Cycling, wrestling, soccer, MMA, football, and athletics are just some of the sports that have been dogged by drug-related controversies in recent years. Every step to counter this evil is only met with more complicated concoctions that are more difficult to detect.

It is perhaps a mark of our times, but when a truly great sporting moment now occurs, the first question that is asked often pertains to whether it had been assisted by the use of drugs.

Those that are discovered to be using drugs react with disbelief and shock. They protest that it was not their fault; it was their manager, their friends, their cough medicine. Then, when no one is listening, they admit that it was them.

Wrestling is not a sport. It is therefore not bound by statutory laws governing its existence. The Wellness Programme heralded at present in Connecticut carries none of the stringent testing, simply because it does not need to.

The image of the wrestler is one with bulging muscles and superhuman strength. When Hulk Hogan lifted the 500-pound Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III, it signified the power of the superhero.

Or maybe the power of steroids.

The question remains: Is the world of wrestling so intrinsically reliant on steroids that it will never be able to rid itself of this epidemic?

For the last 30 years, these mighty warriors have dominated the wrestling ring: Hogan and Savage, Michaels and Hart, Austin and Angle, Cena and Orton. At the heart of each lies the use of steroids.

Their use in many instances may not be on par with other wrestlers, but the fact that even supposedly "normal" superstars like Hart and Michaels have dabbled in them highlights what someone must do to enter the squared circle.

The long-term ramifications of their use are known, yet still wrestlers willingly take them to facilitate their careers. Compare Randy Orton when he won his first World Title to a picture of him today, and it is a marked difference. Cena too.

Those found guilty of their use now face suspensions and public humiliation. But for some there is also a strange rebranding process. Triple H and Vince McMahon are suddenly bodybuilder enthusiasts; John Morrison is a fitness advocate, whilst Rob Terry and Scott Steiner are "freaks of nature."

The WWE has through both Linda and Vince McMahon shown themselves to be almost flippant in their response to this controversy. Claiming that they do not know the effect of steroids is simply wrong.

Our bodies are fragile. They need balance. Take too much of something and it will react. If a wrestler has a pre-existing heart condition, steroids will only make it worse. To hide behind any other argument is simply wrong.

With Ted DiBiase Sr. coming out this week in declaring that he too once took steroids, lessons of the past must be appreciated. Wrestling knows that steroids are wrong.

Unless the world of wrestling changes its culture and how a wrestler is perceived, it is an unlicensed carnival act that is putting its performers at risk. Praise and success for the over-inflated superhero must end.

The debate surrounding steroids would be bad enough, but when we also factor in the use of painkillers, the WWE and its rivals become even more marred in controversy.

Wrestlers are pushing their bodies to the breaking point, with many performing injured or only with the assistance of pain relief. Taking this week's schedule as an example, wrestlers are in America, Japan, and China; airtime, promotions, travelling, performances, and jet lag all point to a severe test of the body.

How much can a wrestler endure in the name of their profession? 

Wrestlers from the beginning of their career often have to take substances to get noticed. Many, especially those where drug laws are relaxed, continue to abuse their bodies in the name of art. Then they are given schedules that systematically break down their bodies to the point where only painkillers ease the suffering. After giving all to the profession they love, they retire, many crippled by their years of service.

Wrestlers are so riddled with the use of drugs that many have developed addictions and with it the long-term medical problems associated. Wrestling is not a sport; it has no laws. Only when this changes will wrestlers be protected from unrealistic idolisation and damaging schedules.

"There is no offseason in the WWE," but for some the luxury of retirement is not something they get to enjoy.

[Picture from fegonomics.wordpress]