Back in the 1990s, a wrestler's life was a riot – both inside and outside the ring.
Countless stars of WWF, WWE and WCW – including the likes of Hulk Hogan, Missy Hyatt and Lex Luger – have in recent years spoken candidly about how widespread steroid use was.
Others such as The Dynamite Kid have told how away from the ring, recreational drug use was almost as prevalent, with speed and cocaine among the illicit substances of choice.
It's perhaps no great surprise then that many of those who shot to global superstardom during that period encountered major problems after calling it a day.
Here, we look at six classic wrestlers who ran into big problems post-retirement, but lived to tell the tale – for now, at least…
Jake the Snake Roberts
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By the time Jake Roberts, real name Aurelian Jake Smith Jr, had risen to become one of WWF and WCW's biggest stars in the 90s, he was in the grip of a serious drink and drug addiction.
But speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2018, he said his problems started much earlier.
The WWE Hall of Famer claimed he was conceived in rape. He said his dad, wrestler Aurelian 'Grizzly' Smith, raped his mum, then a 12-year-old girl, while he was dating her mother.
He also alleged that he was raped by one of his stepmother and that his dad raped his (Roberts') sisters.
The Snake Man said he started drinking alcohol and "doing coke" at age 11 or 12. A lengthy, serious and crippling crack cocaine addiction, highlighted in 1999 documentary Beyond The Mat, followed in adulthood.
Speaking to Global News in 2018, he of his drink and drug demons: “I survived it and I shouldn’t have. I tried to commit suicide several times, you know,”
These days, after beating cancer and pneumonia, Roberts, 64, is on the wagon and in good physical form thanks to Diamond Dallas Page's yoga regime. This week he appeared in a AEW Dynamite promo.
Razor Ramon
In January 1983, 25-year-old Scott Hall – later known as Razor Ramon – killed a man.
The 6ft 7in man mountain, then working as a barman at a strip club in Orlando, Florida, got into a dispute with the man "over a girl". It ended with Hall wrestling the man's gun from him and shooting him in the dead.
A subsequent murder charge was later dropped due to insufficient evidence. Hall has since admitted it "burned his brain". Whether or not it contributed to his drink and drug problems, only he will know.
In the 90s, he became a star wrestler, in WWF and WCW. During that same period, he was also drinking heavily, as well as habitually abusing steroids, cocaine and painkillers.
He left WCW in 2000. Since 1998, he's been charged with offences including disorderly conduct, drink-driving and criminal mischief.
The Hall of Famer has also had heart failure, suffered seizures, been to rehab at least 10 times and had a pacemaker fitted. He got divorced and became estranged from his family too.
Now 61, Hall is clean and sober. When he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as Razor Ramon in 2014, he appeared to be in good health and is back in touch with his son.
Speaking in 2011, he said in a documentary: “There’s gotta be some reason that I’m still here. I should have been dead 100 times.”
Virgil
Virgil, real name Michael Jones, enjoyed a successful career in the 80s and 90s, wrestling in WWF and WCW.
But since the turn of the century, while he has not been know to be involved in drink and drugs, things haven't been quite so glamorous for the one time bodyguard of the Million Dollar Man
He parted ways with WCW in 2000, retired from wrestling and became a maths teacher.
However, he appeared on the independent wrestling circuit in 2009, performing at low key events.
In the years following, Jones, 57, has been spotted at conventions and at subway stations, signing autographs for $20.
As a result, he's become something of a figure of ridicule among fans, even inspiring a 'Lonely Virgil' website and hashtag, where people share pictures of the old wrestler on his own at small fry events.
Lex Luger
When it comes to drink and drugs, Lawrence Wendell Pfohl, aka Lex Luger, is clear: "I did it all, buddy."
A high school and college football star, Luger became a big noise in the WCW and WWF in the 80s and 90s. According to the man himself, the order of the day was "work hard, play hard" – and that meant a lot of drink and drugs.
Speaking to ESPN in 2007, he said: "If you snort it, spray it, shoot it, inject it, I did it, buddy. Or I was around it. That was my life. Alcohol? I abused it all, buddy. I took a lot of pills. I was a pill popper."
Things went downhill rapidly after he retired.
In April 2003, a year into his retirement from major wrestling, Luger was charged with battery after a domestic dispute left his girlfriend Elizabeth Hulette with facial injuries.
Two days later, he was arrested for driving under the influence after police found him with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. He also had a suspended licence.
The following month Hulette died in the house she shared with Luger after mixing strong pain pills and anxiety medication with vodka.
Luger was charged with drug possession after cops found illicit substances including steroids and pain meds at the house. He pleaded guilty and was fined $1,000. Hulette's death was ruled accidental.
In 2007, Luger was left paralysed after he suffered a nerve impingement in his neck. He later regained mobility but still needs a cane to walk.
Now 61, he's a born again Christian and speaks openly about his demons to help others.
Sunny
Another Hall of Famer, Sunny, or Tammy Lynn Sytch as she's known to friends and family, lit up WWF in the 90s.
She first opened up about her drug issues in the late 90s while after being fired by WWF.
Sytch then had a brief stint in WCW, but left amid rumours she had been found passed out after injecting nubain, a strong pain med, in the showers.
Over the next few years, she worked on the independent wrestling circuit with her ex-boyfriend Chris Candido until 2005 when tragedy struck.
After signing to TNA, then an up-and-coming company, Candido suffered an injury in the ring and died four days later due to pneumonia.
By 2007, things seemed to be picking up for Sytch. She got back into education, studying medical technology, and started a relationship with a New York cop. In 2011, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
But when the couple split up in 2011, the drink and drugs rumours resurfaced.
She was accused by a wrestler of asking him to kill her most recent ex. She was then arrested five times in four weeks for offences including disorderly conduct, burglary and violating a protective order.
A spell in jail followed before she reentered society and became a cam girl, reportedly pleasuring herself on screen for $100 a pop. In 2016, she appeared in a porn movie called Sunny Side Up: In Through The Back Door.
After a stint in rehab, she had a few more run-ins with the law. Now 47, earlier this month she was incarcerated in Pennsylvania where she had been since March 2019.
It came after a warrant was issued for her arrest on February 15th, 2019, after she missed a drug test and didn't pay the $120 a month required to stay out on parole.
Marty Jannetty
One half of The Rockers with Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty was part of WWF's 'Golden Age' in the late 80s and early 90s.
He was first released by WWF in 1992 after being placed on house arrest for attacking a police officer – but there was a greater element of mystery over his second uncoupling with the company.
A few years earlier, in 1990, his trademark Rocker Dropper finishing move, left Chuck Austin paralysed after causing him to break his neck. Austin sued Jannetty and Titan Sports, aka WWE.
When it came to court in 1994, Austin was awarded $26.7m. Around this time, Jannetty disappeared from the circuit.
He returned in September 1995, but by 1997 he was on the independent circuit. He had a brief stint in WCW and did some work with WWE, but has effectively been retired for the best part of a decade.
Now 60, he's best known for his worrying outpourings on social media, where he has been known to document his sex addiction, hard partying ways and health issues.
Last year, he issued a "cry for help", opening up about his problems with sex and drugs.
He said: "What the hell else am I gonna do during the week? Drink, smoke a lil plant and possibly throw a lil powder up, then have sex with all the neighbor gurrls."
Jannetty also talked about going into withdrawal and going to rehab for drink, drugs and sex addiction – where he ended up having sex with his counsellor.
Sparking concern, he also alluded to health problems, adding: "My heart is talking to me.. hasn't been beating right for 2 days now. not to scare anyone, especially my family but just further proof Ive got to stop!!! Just told my heart, I will stop, just let me ween [sic] down so it not dangerous."
- WWE
- Drugs
- Alcohol
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