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The world of professional wrestling can be an extremely tough one to be a part of. The facade that your favourite WWE Superstars put on every night when they come to the ring doesn't often show how beaten up and tired they are from being part of a business that never stops.
Granted, in the present day, the WWE are likely a lot more sympathetic to that plight. In the past, wrestlers had to look elsewhere for ways to cope with the grind of being a Superstar. Sometimes that could be alcohol, often painkillers, or maybe even worse.
What makes that dark corner of the business even more troubling is that when a wrestler does come to the end of his or her career, they're often left with those addictions and their lives begin to spiral. This list details just five of many former wrestlers who hit rock bottom after their time in the business was up.
#5 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle was recently welcomed back into the WWE family and deservedly inducted into the company's Hall of Fame. Ever since then, the Olympic Gold Medalist has acted as the General Manager of Raw and everyone in the business is thrilled to see Kurt return, as he referred to it, home.
What makes his return even more satisfying is the bridge that was rebuilt between Kurt and WWE. Angle's injuries over the years had meant he was suffering from a lot of pain and became addicted to painkillers and alcohol. It began when he was in WWE but escalated after he left.
In a documentary on the WWE Network Angle opened up about his addiction. It led to him being arrested numerous times for driving under the influence and for other reasons (total 5 times) until he eventually went to rehab. Those days are behind him now, and as well as being back with WWE, he's also in the business of helping others who were in a similar situation to him.
#4 Miss Elizabeth
Miss Elizabeth was, and still is, one of the most beloved figures in WWE's history. Anything involving herself and real-life husband Macho Man Randy Savage would go down an absolute storm with fans in the late '80s and early '90s.
However, her relationship with Randy Savage eventually came to an end — both off the screen and on it. Although she would spend a few years in WCW later on, she would never reach the heights that she scaled in WWE.
On the surface, Elizabeth hardly seemed the type to get mixed up with drugs and alcohol, but sadly, it was a mix of the two that caused her death in 2003. She was living with Lex Luger at the time, and shortly before she passed away, the two had been stopped when Lex hit another car while driving under the influence.
#3 Scott Hall
Scott Hall is often cited by many of his peers that have worked with him throughout his career as having one of the greatest minds in professional wrestling. A terrific wrestler with a great mind who was started on a bad path long before he had ever stepped foot in a WWE ring.
In 1983, Hall was involved in an altercation that ended with him shooting and killing a man in self-defence. Almost 30 years later, Scott discussed the incident during an interview and said that he was still unable to forget about it, understandably. His close friend Kevin Nash attributes the PTSD from that incident to the drug and alcohol issues he has battled with in later life.
Hall's substance abuse has led to him having multiple health issues. Recently though, the Hall of Famer has been attempting to turn his life around with the help of good friend Diamond Dallas Page. The Bad Guy seems to be in good shape now, but for a while, the future looked bleak for the former WWE Intercontinental Champion.
#2 Chyna
While Scott Hall was lucky enough for loved ones to step in at the nick of time, not every ex-wrestler with issues was afforded that opportunity. The Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna, passed away in 2016 at the age of just 46 after a long battle with substance abuse. She was found dead at her home — a death that was later attributed to her mixing prescription drugs with alcohol.
To her own admission, Chyna revealed that she felt her life had begun to spin out of control when she left WWE. Sean Waltman, who was her boyfriend for a number of years, explained that she was having problems with drug and alcohol addiction. The two of them also famously made sex tapes together during this time.
Despite giving so much to the business Chyna is yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Triple H has gone on record to explain that the company wouldn't want younger fans looking up more information on Chyna and stumbling across the sex tapes that she made.
#1 Jake 'The Snake' Roberts
Jake Roberts was an icon in WWE throughout the 1980s and early '90s. He was one of a handful of men who undoubtedly deserved a run with the WWE Championship, but simply put, his character was so intriguing that he didn't need the added element of a title.
His entry in this list bears a lot of similarities to Scott Hall's. A time in his life before pro wrestling likely contributed to his addictions later in life, that being the alleged abuse from his father. Also like Hall, he was on the brink of perhaps not being with us any longer when DDP stepped in and helped him get his life on track. In fact, Jake has said that without Page he would be dead by now.
Roberts would take independent bookings when his career started to wind down and show up drunk, or worse. It was not a good look, and the stellar reputation he had built for himself was unravelling. Now though, he has been inducted into the Hall of Fame and has even rebuilt relationships with some of his children.
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