8 WWE pill addicts who have lived to tell the tale

Brock LesnarAddictions are not unnatural when it comes to human beings. We might get addicted to a person, a hobby or we might even get addicted to stuff that will degrade our life on the longer run.Addiction of pills and painkillers fall into the category which was mentioned last. It is one of the most common addictions in the wrestling business and a lot of careers have been ruined due to the same.Taking painkillers is some sort of a necessity for wrestlers due to the tight schedule and bumps, but getting addicted to them is an entirely different story. Here is a look at those superstars, who failed to control the urge to take the pills.

#8 Carlito

Apples and Pills

There was a lot of controversy surrounding Carlito’s release from WWE. A lot of people came up with the conclusion that he was fired due to his painkiller addiction while there were some other opinions as well.

Although the exact reason is not clear, Carlito did have an addiction towards pain killers. The Wrestler has admitted it. Carlito’s father and current WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colon said the same in public and this apparently created some friction in the family.

Carlito is still not in good terms with WWE and is currently working in the independent scene. He might or might not return to Vince McMahon’s promotion and if he does, he should ensure that he is clean.

#7 Brock Lesnar

The Beast Incarnate

Brock Lesnar’s name in this list would be a big surprise. But if we take a look at the career graph of Lesnar, his addiction to painkillers is quite natural.

After being the hottest youngster in WWE, Lesnar went on to have a successful MMA career where he had to be in some gruesome matches. All these resulted in some immense pain and he started using painkillers.

“You say a lot of wrestlers abuse painkillers. Well yeah I was one of them. I acquired a number of different injuries, broken ribs and torn out knees and elbows, and uffered a lot of damage, so I was one of them. I was on the pain train just so I could tolerate the pain and go out and perform. I used vicodin and vodka. That was where I saw my life going, you look around the locker room and you see all these other performers that have been doing it for twenty years and I didn't want to be one of those guys,” Lesnar said in an interview.

#6 Rey Mysterio

High fliers need piils to deal with the bumps

Rey Mysterio will always have a place in the history books as one of the most decorated high fliers in the wrestling business.

However, all these high flying moves throughout the career took a big toll on his knees and Mysterio had to take up painkiller to fend off the pain. Rey soon developed an addiction towards the pain killers and was forced to enter rehab to get rid of it.

Eddie Guerrero’s death was one of the main reasons why Mysterio entered rehab but at the same time, his knee was in pretty bad condition. According to the latest reports, Rey has successfully overcome the addiction and hopefully we would see him inside a WWE squared circle soon.

#5 Vader

Vader – A rollercoster of a carear

Vader had a roller coaster career in the wrestling business.

At times, he was on top of the match cards and were performing with the best talents and on other times, he was somewhere in the middle being irrelevant. Vader is remembered for a lot of things that he did throughout his career and his pill addiction is one among them.

Vader himself admitted that he suffered from painkiller addiction to deal with the injuries that he suffered during his wrestling career. The painkiller addiction was coupled with the alcohol addiction that he had and it resulted in some pretty bad results.

#4 Joey Mercury

The Authority’s pill popper

Before he became one-half of the J & J Security, Joey Mercury was part of MNM.

The tag team which consisted of Mercury, John Morrison and Melina were making headlines with their performance, but all of that went crashing down due to an accident that happened at the Armageddon pay-per-view of 2006. Mercury was involved in a four way tag team ladder match and he suffered a serious injury in the match.

Mercury’s face was disfigured, and to cope with the pain, he started taking painkillers. Mercury soon developed an addiction towards them and he was eventually released due to the same. Mercury came clean afterwards and joined WWE as an agent.

#3 Patriot

The patriot who went nuts on pills

Most of the current WWE fans might not know the Patriot. He was someone who got a major win over Bret Hart on Monday Night Raw, but his heavy dependence on the painkillers derailed his momentum.

Patriot had a history of taking around 150 pills per day to deal with his injuries. He himself admitted that he was out of control at that time and poured his heart out in an interview.

He even ended up in prison due to his addiction and his wrestling career was completely dead afterwards. If it wasn’t for his addiction to painkillers and other pills, Patriot would have been a big name in the business now.

#2 Kurt Angle

A reason for his WWE ouster?

Kurt Angle is a legendary name in the business. He is known for his hard work inside the ring but along with the hard work, comes the pain.

And since Angle did not have the habit of giving up, he took painkillers to work through some immense pain. Angle soon started developing an addiction for these and WWE was forced to fire him.

His addiction to painkiller dates back to his Olympic days when he took them to overcome the neck injury he had. He didn’t go into rehab for the next 17 years and that is a long time indeed. Angle is reportedly clean right now, but he is struggling with a lot of injuries and health problems.

#1 Shawn Michaels

Thank god it didnt destry‘HBK’ Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels is someone who had a lot of attitude problems back in the 90s.

He was tagged as one of the most problematic wrestlers in the WWE roster but since he was a great wrestler at the same time, his life outside the ring was often overshadowed. Michaels had a lot of problem with pill addiction throughout the time but thanks to his wife, Michaels managed to turn around his life.

Michaels’ wife Rebecca paved the way for a spiritual awakening and the WWE superstar ended up being a born-again Christian. He stayed away from all the pit holes in the wrestling business afterwards and now, Michaels is one of the most respected names in the business.