While not necessarily popularized until the 1980s, use of anabolic androgenic steroids goes back to the 1950s in professional wrestling. Some wrestlers, like Lance Storm, have speculated that the most muscular wrestlers of the early 1900s may have even been practicing primitive forms of steroid use like eating chicken testicles, but we have no way of knowing if that's the case. It's understandable that the wrestling business is at least somewhat cosmetic. Even if there weren't fans and promoters that favor a certain look, you're going out in front of the world in your underwear. Throw in the fact that your job has odd hours that make healthy eating and proper training difficult, and plenty of wrestlers would be drawn to steroids without any other kind of pressure. If someone was around during an era without drug testing, then it was quite easy to do whatever you felt you needed to get ahead. Every single person on this list has admitted use or was caught by some either means, like drug testing, arrests, busts of internet pharmacies, or even autopsies. This is not about baseless accusations. This is about wrestlers whose use of steroids is a matter of public record and not just conjecture based on their appearance over the years.
Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
