10. Randy Orton
Back in 2006, I heard through the grapevine that Randy Orton, then serving a suspension for unprofessional conduct, had overdosed on painkillers and was hospitalized somewhere near his home in St. Louis. A few days later, when nothing came of it, I figured that it was just some B.S. rumor. Over year later, when beginning research for his book about the Benoit murder/suicide, journalist Irv Muchnick
became the first person to report on this publicly. It got a lot of play on wrestling websites as well as some coverage in St. Louis, but again, it soon fizzled. The mood at the time was that it was true, but Muchnick was the only one comfortable reporting on it. It wasn't until 2011 that the whole truth came out: While promoting his soon-to-be released DVD, which discussed the episode in-depth,
Orton came clean on an Arizona radio show and admitted that yes, he had ODed five years earlier. It doesn't seem like Orton ever went to rehab as much as his drug problem may have been tied to his legendary immaturity in his first few years as a star in WWE. The stories back then were the talk of the wrestling business: Ribbing new Divas by destroying property (which somehow got turned into defecating in their bags by fans on the internet), trashing hotel rooms, throwing a fan's phone off a nightclub balcony for no good reason, etc. He's grown up a lot since then, and his drug problem has gone the way of his other disciplinary issues.