Why are wrestlers still using steroids? Let me put it another way, why are specific wrestlers still using steroids? I wouldn't be shocked if Ryback had HGH in his bag because he needs something to get noticed. But Borne? He was already an established guy who was (probably) as high (on the card) as he was going to go. Plus, his spot was specific to someone who can do fancy highspots and appeal to the kids. Nothing is about Roid-Monster would've helped him with those Reqts. The same is even more true with Rey.
And what does Orton have to worry about in terms of his spot (I know he also got busted on marijuana but that's beside the point)? His competition (if they are in competition) is Punk. Besides which, he's been their main guy for ever. The office seems to always be looking for an excuse to put a rocket up his ass (as opposed to in his checks). Am I missing something? Are these people using steroids for reasons other than physique?
Also, on a related topic, if WWE is so pissed about the above talent why not just push guys who aren't shooting up or whatever either to set a good example or purely out of spite. The obvious example is Zig but what about Kofi? Between his partners and the office, he's screwed over more than anyone. Plus, they always seem real high on him. What's the problem? (On a side topic, why aren't they pushing more black wrestlers? They fall all over themselves to push latino talent and I bet the black market is much bigger.).
This became kind of a rant. Basically, what is the psychology behind wrestlers taking steroids in this era?
Thanks.
OK, well first, Borne wasn't busted for steroids, he was busted for synthetic pot.
The Rey thing is definitely troubling, because he's carrying 230 pounds of muscle on a frame that is built for 120. The last guy who was walking around like that was Eddie Guerrero, and we all know what happened there.
Orton's been getting noticeably smaller over the years, but steroids aren't always for building muscle mass. HGH is just as effective for sheer bulk and can't be traced. Steroids are often used for speeding up healing and giving a more sculpted look to the frame, and it can be really difficult to just look at someone and say "Oh, they're on steroids." Guys you'd never think of as being roid-freaks were admittedly on them for years. You wouldn't think Eddie Guerrero was a big user, but he was a big enough user to kill him.
Kofi's been screwed over by the Orton incident for a while now, and they just don't see him as a main guy, and obviously Kofi is happy doing what he's doing and won't make waves. They've got a pretty high concentration of black wrestlers right now, though, with the tag champs, the Primetime Playaz, Mark Henry, AW, Big Zeke, and some of the guys in developmental.
He answered his own question with Punk. The WWE have started to push Punk as their number 2 guy and Orton just can't stand it. The WWE might favor him over Punk for most things, but at the end of the day, only Cena is bulletproof and the WWE has decided that for once they will listen to fans and basically shove Orton into midcard hell to make it easier for Punk to be their number 2 guy. And that's mainly because Punk got the mainstream media sucking his dick in ways that Orton could never get them to do.
ReplyDeleteToss in Sheamus and you could almost (almost) feel sorry for Orton; his time has passed and since he won't/can't go heel and reinvent himself (seriously, they should be fucking doing Punk vs Orton since their feud is bascially the wrestling version of Sabretooth versus Wolveirne: two men who hate each other's guts and will stop at nothing to kill the other man), his career is fucked unless he leaves to go to TNA.
Looking at Eddie in 1995 than anytime passed 1997-98 it became increasingly obvious that he was roided to the gills. Even after Guerrero's death, Benoit's wife had sent Chris text messages about how obvious it was that the wellness policy is a joke and that he was a roided up freak. Than Benoit went and ruined it for everyone, so these days unless you're Triple H or John Cena, you'll be made an example of. The fatsos in "tap out" t-shirts will criticize talent for smoking synthetic marijuana & suspect guys that are turning them on a little more than usual are roiding and/or HGH it up while stuffing their grotesquely obese faces with "treats", now is the time for the indy midgets to be the heroes for full grown man tittied dweebs to mark out to their dimwitted delight. "The business" as usual continues and prospers. <3
ReplyDeleteI thought Orton got busted for roids, and Rey for speed, though there's no doubt that he is carrying way too much bulk for a guy that's about 5'2". He looks like a freak, and not in a good way, especially when you compare him to his WCW days. Back then he at least looked human. They can test for HGH, MLB started doing it this season.
ReplyDeleteOne way to mostly kill the steroid thing in wrestling is to start pushing guys on talent, rather than just looking all jacked, never mind if they suck. No way in hell that's gonna happen.
I read in the Observer (or FFW, I forget which) that Orton WANTS to go heel. It's obvious he's much better as a heel than as a face, so I don't know why they don't go with that. Maybe they will after the suspension (again, rumor said it was Sheamus v. Orton for Summerslam before the suspension, and I don't think Sheamus is turning).
ReplyDeleteMaybe the WWE feels that Orton is in that place where we gets cheered as a heel so turning him heel doesn't do any good?
Orton does get cheered as a heel, but Cena gets booed as a face.
ReplyDeleteOn Twitter Orton has been pretty clear that he wants to go heel. He's retweeted people asking if he'd come back a heel, and he's made a few comments to the effect of "I want to"
Face Punk vs. Heel Orton and Face Sheamus vs. Heel Orton are matches I want to see.
My only concern is that since Orton has went face his ring work has gone to a whole other level. When he was a heel he played the character which hurt match quality sometimes. I just hope he can maintain the awesome streak he's been on.
i honestly believe that cena n punk are the better pairing cuz wit those two u get the "big match feel". both mitb and ss were given a lil more oomph... per se while punk and orton had a throwaway match at mania.
ReplyDeletecena punk could be hogan piper given the mic work and personaa they portray while punk orton would be piper/jake. interesting but not marquee imo.
Actually, Cena is all natural. He's never once bullshitted about it, and said he'd take a test no matter when. I've seen the guy up against normal folk, and he's just got some of those perfect genetics. Like Arnold, Ronnie, Lee, Jay, Dorian, all the big time body builders, he's a mesomorph to the letter.
ReplyDeleteBut Triple H, yeah, he was either on steriods, probably just Decca, or HGH.
HGH is awesome stuff, and something I feel will be available and legal within 10 years. It's fantastic for older guys. It's how Stallone looks so good, being near 70.
The reason why people still mess with the juice is because they have to.
ReplyDeleteThey're passionate about the business, and know a special look will get them noticed faster than work-rate. Plus, with all they put their body through, they want to heal up a hell of a lot faster.
Steroids are awesome, and do incredible amounts of good. So long as people are smart with them. Like almost anything, you abuse it, bad things will happen. But if you use them properly, under a doctor's watch, they can do crazy good.
Unfortunately, we've had nothing but usual American scare-tactic bullshit about the juice since the 80's.
People visit the ER more often for multi-vitamins than they do for anabolic steroids.
i will attest that he has been programmed with people that compliment his methodical style but he has stepped it up while being pushed down the card.
ReplyDeleteface orton is alot more giving while heel.orton just eats people up.
i thought arnold took roids in the 70s
ReplyDeleteThat's what I always thought about Orton, too, when he was heel. I loved him as a character at times, but I hated how they couldn't decide if he was going to be chickenshit heel or psycho, punt everyone heel. In the ring, he was just soooooo slooooooow.
ReplyDeleteAs Scott said, HGH is big for healing. And that's necessary when you're bumping 250 days a year.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wasn't saying all those bodybuilders were natural. I was saying that they were mesomorphs with fantastic genetics that when coupled with steroids, and a hell of a work ethic, turned them into legends.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to kill the steroid thing is to lessen the workload.
ReplyDeleteoh ok. no problemo.
ReplyDeleteDude, Fuj, are you drunk?
ReplyDeletei wish, but no.
ReplyDeletei just off work and im typing from my phone.
I saw "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" too.
ReplyDeleteFantastic film. Probably the best documentary I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteAny pro steroid facts the guy had were kind of ruined by the fact that his brother died not long after it was made though
ReplyDeleteit could be the latter. because being an amazing heel is what turned him face in the first place (for weeks it looked like the WWE was trying to turn either Rhodes or DiBiase - but the crowd didn't buy into as much as they did into Orton himself turning).
ReplyDeleteRonnie Coleman, Lee Priest, Jay Cutler, and Dorian Yates references on a wrestling board? Bravo, good sir.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, it's not just the roids that are giving these guys the bodies they have. Roids have to be used along with a whole cocktail of other supplements of things like cutting agents, diuretics, creatine, nitrous, and of course copious amounts of protein. All of that stuff together can put wear & tear on your body systems. And regardless of physique, just to be able to take bumps and perform as an athlete nonstop all year round, these guys need to train hard. And to be able to train hard every day and continue to do so while dealing with injuries and fatigue, a lot of guys turn to steroids. And then when they do, they look great and end up getting pushed for it. So it's not hard to see why they do it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a hilarious way to end a documentary, though.
ReplyDeleteSteroids is really the only way to get really big. You can only go so far with weight lifting and supplements alone. I know several people who are literally obsessed with working out and fitness and don't look anything like a WWE Superstar or a football player. HGH is still undectable in urine, I guarentee almost everyone in WWE and for sure the NFL is on HGH. Blood testing for HGH was convientently left off NFL's latest CBA. HMMMMM
ReplyDeleteExcellent on all points. I worked in the fitness field for about 10 years and yeah, under proper supervision steroids will do "crazy good" as you put it. But they are like any other drug they can be abused. It's also worth noting that even though steroids didn't help they were NOT the main cause of the death for guys like Pillman, DBS, Eddie etc, (or Beniot but thats. Those guys had been abusing to many other drugs for to long.
ReplyDeleteactually they did agree to HGH blood testing in the latest CBA, however the details were then ironed out as the NFLPA is stalling like crazy. In april the league was optimistic that testing would be ready for 2012, but in late May the population study agreed to by both parties fell through, so now they have to find a new one before the players will officially uphold their side of the deal. It really is a stalling tactic, but the players claim they want the study to set the parameters of what constitutes a positive test because in their words "existing standards may not apply to NFL players." Yes it's all a crock but the league is going along trying to play nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm aware that you're referring to his physique, and that his freakish face is plastic surgery, not any kind of roids, but bwahahahhahaa to the idea of stallone looking good.
ReplyDeleteI actually meant Lee Haney, but Lee Priest is damn good too.
ReplyDeleteI also have to give my props to Mike Mentzer, easily my 2nd favorite body builder, and a freaking genius.
His brother didn't die from the juice though, it was from other drugs.
ReplyDeleteI mean, vitamin C can cause heart attacks. I get sick when I drink milk. Different people have different reactions to drugs.
His brother was also the guy that Saturn beat up on, that lead to his whole Mopy angle. I was surprised they didn't mention that.
The main reason is time.
ReplyDeleteFor a wrestler to achieve the bodybuilder look that McMahon likes you have to work out twice a day. You simply can't do that on the WWE schedule, so the quick way is performance enhancing drugs.
Hey, something I agree with Caliber on. Holy shit.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, the reason wrestlers use this stuff isn't hard to figure out. The reason many end up abusing these drugs is even easier. With the stress they put on their body it's ridiculously hard to maintain a good physique. The body doesn't respond well to injuries or even the internal stress we place on it, so the lack of sleep from life on the road, up and down dieting due to accessibility on the road, and any numbers of other factors can stunt training progress. If you don't abuse whatever steroid you're using then it's as safe as almost anything else you're putting in your body.
People forget but doctors will often prescribe steroids on a limited basis to assist in physical therapy as a way to help aid recovery.
In the WWE, and other non-competitive fields, steroids are fine and dandy if give under a doctor's care. In competition, most sports have a flat-out ban for a reason. It's not the health of the competitor, it's the edge it gives him against other competitors that AREN'T juiced to the gills.
ReplyDeleteLook at the UFC; they've had a record number of "medical-use exceptions" applied for, and authorized. Those fighters are typically the top fighters in their divisions. Hmmm... I wonder why? Give me a naturally gifted fighter over a loud-mouth 'roid head like Sonnen any day of the week.
Medical-use exceptions are covered under Wellness. If you get hurt and need to take steroids to recover, or for "hormonal replacement therapy", you just need to provide a prescription.
ReplyDeleteMike Bell? I didn't know he died. He was a job guy with WWE forever. That's why Saturn got punished so hard, if it was just some local jerkoff no one would have cared.
ReplyDeletePeople don't like admitting this but genetics plays a huge role in it. I have a pretty thin frame, lousy pec insertions and uneven abs. I could lift 3 times a day, 7 days a week and still look like crap with my shirt off. I spent my early 20s bulking and just started looking...round (for lack of a better term) even at 12$. Cutting muscle and staying thin looks best for me even though it sacrifices strength. That's life.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side there are guys who can get huge, symmetrical and have frames that aesthetically support mass without roiding. Life isn't fair.
Yup. He'd tried to commit suicide before, but survived. Then he moved out to California to make his dreams come true, and ended up dead. Just like his dad predicted.
ReplyDelete"why aren't they pushing more black wrestlers? They fall all over themselves to push latino talent and I bet the black market is much bigger"That's so hilariously wrong, I don't know where to start.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, as a HUGE Rock fan, he's bigger that he has ever been. Have you seen him in Fast & Furious? In Hollywood, you can get away with using whatever. Stallone has done it for years. I think Pro Wrestling should apply too. Over the years, 'Roids haven't killed these guys like Hawk, Perfect, Bam Bam...It's been the extra stuff like coke, uppers, downers and alcohol. HGH and Roids alone....they don't kill you. Everyone talks about Eddy and him putting too much muscle mass on his frame but he was doing copious amounts of "extra curriculars" early in his career that stopped his heart. Somas kill you, coke kills you...but only in conjunction with Roids.
ReplyDeletePro Wrestling is performance art...just like acting. Arnold and Sly were roided to the tee in the 80's and 90's...let's give pro-wrestlers a break. Just lose the pills, fellas.
ReplyDeleteSteroids were specifically cited as a contributing cause on Eddy's death certificate.
ReplyDelete"You wouldn't think Eddie Guerrero was a big user"
ReplyDeleteWut.
http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/g/guerreros/11.jpg
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/002/322/678/EddieGuerrero1_display_image.jpg?1339937068