10 Hushed Scandals That Rocked Wrestling

4. The Steroid Scandal

It was not billionaire Ted Turner who was the closest to taking down Vince McMahon’s empire, it was a doctor.

Dr. George Zahorian was a state appointed ringside physician for the WWF for a few shows in the early '80s. He soon befriended Vince and the wrestlers backstage. From 1984 to 1989, he supplied steroids and painkillers to many of the top names in the company like Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Roddy Piper and even Vince McMahon himself. All in told, 37 wrestlers in the WWF bought steroids from him.

Then after selling to a bodybuilding informant, Zahorian was indicted in 1991. The government then wanted him to cooperate, so they could go after a bigger fish in Vince McMahon. That trial commenced in 1994 with Hulk Hogan subpoenaed to take the stand. Vince was apparently worried enough about a potential prison sentence that he appointed Jerry Jarrett to take over the creative direction of the company if he was found guilty.

Through the testimonies of Hogan and Nailz, Vince was acquitted. Hogan said Vince never told him to take steroids, and Nailz came off as a hostile witness who clearly had an unhealthy level of built up animosity towards his old employer.

An interesting note is that the WWF nearly hired Zahorian as an employee before he was arrested, until it was rumored that Linda McMahon was “tipped off” that the government was looking into him. He did not end up joining the company, which is good for them, as the trial against Vince certainly could have gone very differently if he had.