12 Wrestlers Who Competed Under The Influence
Doing jobs to their demons when they shouldn't have been doing their jobs at all...
A important word first ahead of discussing some rather painful periods - though these entries will feature wrestlers intoxicated, incapacitated, unprepared and unprofessional, they are also not necessarily representative the end of their respective roads.
Both a cardinal sin and an occupational hazard, being otherwise-impaired with your own and someone else's body on the line can have fatal consequences - in the moment and in the years that follow. Yet, drink, drugs and medication have so often provided the ups, downs and shortcuts required to keep particular wrestlers from going insane in their ludicrous line of work. And the anecdotes are often shared in great detail; war stories brought up by the soldiers that survived and reframed as scars of war. With the exception of one notable Giant, every other legend listed lived long enough to tell their aforementioned tales.
The lifestyle outside of the life can often be the best friend and worst enemy of the ultra-tough men and women that fill locker rooms the world over. It can be electrifying, amazing and rewarding, while in equal amounts lonely, isolating and exhausting. Such is life, or at least was for these...
12. Jake Roberts
An infamous performance from an infamous industry addict, Jake Roberts' Heroes Of Wrestling turn was a darkly amusing but devastating glimpse into the life 'The Snake' was confined to before he finally defeated his demons.
Ostracised from all major organisations for his spiralling drink and drug addictions by 1999, Roberts was still a huge name for the bizarre supershow in Las Vegas, but was in no fit state to even cut a promo, let alone get walked through the planned singles match that had to follow his less-than-wise words.
Not long before Beyond The Mat laid bare the extent of the damage he was doing to himself, the WWE icon exposed himself in more ways than one - he was fortunate at least that show was poorly bought and attended.
Almost serving as a broken tribute act to himself, Jake catastrophically blew his gambling analogy, before taking to the ring and pretending to masturbate with his snake before his bout was turned into a tag match just to ensure everybody got through it unharmed.