9 Current WWE stars you didn't know battled mental health issues

There’s still a surprising amount of stigma surrounding mental health as a topic of discussion. But thankfully more and more people are grasping the opportunity to speak about their problems and actively seek help.

While they may be portrayed as ‘super-human’ on the screen, even professional wrestlers are not immune to the issues that ill mental health brings. Given the demanding nature of the profession, both in and out of the ring, it’s no surprise that pro wrestlers (and athletes in general) struggle sometimes. In fact, it’s totally understandable.

Many of us wrestling fans idolize our favorite wrestlers. So, if too you’re struggling with your mental health, hopefully, you can find comfort in the fact that someone you look up to might be going through a similar situation.

Here are nine current WWE stars you didn’t know battled mental health issues:

#9 Rhea Ripley

The current NXT women’s champion is one of the most popular and impressive stars working in WWE today. Her unmissable strength, style, and athleticism make her stand out from the rest of the pack and has helped propel her to the top of the NXT women’s roster.

But what you may not know is that Rhea Ripley has struggled with mental health issues throughout her adolescence and into adulthood.

During her appearance on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast, Ripley went into details while talking about her history of self-harm and how, during her darkest moments, this was the only way she knew she was “still alive.”

But in a testament to the warrior spirit that brought her to the WWE, Rhea went on to discuss how negativity fuelled her to turn her life in another direction:

“I had an awful lot of people who picked on me. The one thing that really helped me… was wanting to prove everyone wrong. It’s one thing that's, like, my favourite thing to do.”

Ripley’s story is one that any young woman, or man, can find inspiration from. If she’s able to take down Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania, it would be an incredible moment for her.

You can listen to the full episode of Chasing Glory here:

#8 Lio Rush

Lio Rush is aiming for the NXT Cruiserweight title

While he may appear to be all smiles and confidence on WWE TV, there was a time when things were very different for Lio Rush.

The former manager of Bobby Lashley admitted to being in a “bad place” during his disappearance from WWE programming in 2019 after it was reported that he’d ruffled a few feathers behind the scenes. But this wasn’t the only time in Lio’s life where he had struggled, as he explained to Sports Illustrated.

“Seven years ago, I was in a suicidal state. There was a point in time where I was hospitalized for a few days because I was in such a bad state."

“It was really hard to continue, but I made the decision that I wouldn’t give up. I decided to keep pushing forward. There was a point when I wanted to give up on my dreams, just give up on everything, I wanted to give up on life. Writing the lyrics to ‘Scenic Lullaby’ was therapeutic to me. I put my words to music so others could feel my struggle, understand why I am who I am, and feel what I feel on a daily basis. I wanted to give people something they could feel.”

Thankfully, Rush is getting himself back to winning ways and has his sights firmly set on the NXT Cruiserweight championship.

#7 Alexa Bliss

She might be one of the most successful female Superstars in recent memory, but Alexa Bliss has been to hell and back in her journey to the top of WWE.

In her younger years, Bliss struggled greatly with anorexia and body image issues; Issues that almost ended up taking her life. But she has never shied away from discussing her past and uses her current platform to help educate others and encourage people not to follow the same thought processes that led her down a dark path.

Alexa, real name Lexi Kaufman, explained how a visit from her friend helped her see things from a different perspective:

“She said Lex, if you think you’re fat, what do you think I look like?”

The words would prove to be instrumental in shaping Bliss’ future.

Bliss would go on to compete in major female bodybuilding tournaments before following her true passion for professional wrestling.

Today, and several world title wins later, Bliss is still riding high in her WWE career and her current partnership with Nikki Cross has made for some of the most entertaining WWE viewing over the past few months.

You can check out a clip from her interview with Lilian Garcia here:

#6 Lars Sullivan

He might be one of the bigger and tougher-looking members of the WWE roster, but mental health issues follow no script and do not discriminate when it comes to size, shape or any other attribute.

Lars Sullivan was considered to be NXT’s homegrown monster for many months and was set to burst onto the scene on the main roster in a massive way. He was due to begin a feud with WWE legend John Cena, which would have eventually led to a match with the sixteen-time world champion on the Grandest Stage of Them All, Wrestlemania.

But, before he made his scheduled appearance on the January 14th episode of Monday Night Raw in 2019, Lars Sullivan reportedly walked out of the arena due to a severe anxiety attack.

He would return several months later, attacking Kurt Angle (who had been unceremoniously retired in a match by Baron Corbin the previous night) but would soon incur a serious knee injury that would keep him out of action for months.

At the time of this writing, he is yet to make his WWE return.

#5 Toni Storm

Although she is only 24 years old, Toni Storm has been in the wrestling business for almost half of her life! She made her wrestling debut at the age of thirteen, which is why it comes as no surprise why she wrestles at the impressive level she’s at now.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the Australian-born star; The second-ever NXT UK Women’s champion was hit hard after nude photos of her were leaked onto the internet - a serious crime which is becoming an increasing problem in recent times.

This sent Storm into a spiral of depression and anxiety, symptoms she had experienced before in her life, but not with this intensity.

She explained:

“I just shut down because I knew stuff had leaked. I was already in kind of a bad place mentally. I’ve always really struggled with depression, anxiety big time. I never really spoken out about it.”

Thankfully, Storm had a support network of good friends around her who helped her navigate through the darkness:

“Now I’m in a place where I can laugh about it with friends, but it was awful at the time.”

She’s one of WWE’s best talents and unquestionably has a bright future ahead of her.

#4 Aleister Black

His disturbing aura and skin-crawling entrance might be used to plant nightmares into the minds of his enemies, but Aleister Black is very familiar with a few nightmarish moments of his own.

Shortly after NXT Takeover: New Orleans in 2018, Black took to Instagram to share his own mental health journey to inspire and enlighten his followers:

“I have no idea where I will go with this, but I felt the need to do so… I am someone who suffers from anxiety and depression. You know when you wake up and you can feel inside yourself that you are not having a good day already? Well I wake up too sometimes like that, only I wake up wondering why I even still wake up… Despite the long road, despite the anxiety, which can be crippling at times, despite the not always fun states of minds that I have, I am here. And the good thing is.... I feel I am far from done.”

Black, who legitimately knocked out Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble in an impressive move, has more than proven himself since his move to the main roster. Given his battles with anxiety, his career has been a hugely admirable accomplishment.

#3 Sasha Banks

She’s a Boss in the ring and a Boss in life. But things haven’t always been so ‘Boss’ for Sasha Banks.

In an episode of WWE Chronicle, WWE’s excellent behind-the-scenes series, Banks referred to tough times both in her career and at home growing up. Specifically, the online razzing she received over her in-ring ability leading up to and after the infamous kick she delivered to Paige which re-injured her already fragile neck and effectively forced her to retire from the competition:

Banks, who grew up idolizing WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero, made reference to the fact that she had undergone therapy to help her find a happier place in her life - a common and recommended method of treating many mental health issues including depression.

But now the former Women’s champion seems to be on the rise once again - her and Becky Lynch tore the house down in an amazing Hell in a Cell match towards the end of last year and now news has broke that Banks has been cast in the next installment of Disney’s Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

There’s simply no stopping her. She is, indeed, The Boss.

#2 Mauro Ranallo

He may not be an in-ring performer, but there’s no way I couldn’t include such an inspirational figure on this list.

Mauro Ranallo, whom you will all know as the instantly-recognizable voice of NXT (as well as Bellator MMA amongst others) has been living with bipolar disorder for decades. His mental health totally collapsed when he lost his best friend Michael Janzen at the age of just 19 and he's been fighting the good fight ever since, being hospitalized and coming back from the brink numerous times.

Interestingly, Ranallo uses music as a form of therapy to treat his bipolar disorder and is a keen keyboard player.

Today, as well as being a sports commentator, Ranallo acts as an outspoken advocate to “end the stigma around mental health.” His efforts have been so wide-spread and well-respected that Ranallo became the subject of his own Showtime documentary ‘Bi-Polar Rock-N-Roller’ which gave viewers an inside look at Ranallo’s day to day life, his condition and how he balances his career and his mental health.

You can watch the excellent documentary in its entirety here:

#1 Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt might just be the hottest entity in WWE right now. His Fiend character - the ghoulish, gothic alter-ego of his version of ‘Mr. Rogers’ - is one of the most talked-about things in pro-wrestling right now and has even picked up considerable press attention outside of wrestling circles as well.

Details about Bray Wyatt’s specific battles with mental health aren’t widely reported but, given the mysterious nature of his in-ring personas, this isn’t totally surprising.

What is surprising is that Wyatt chose his current run as The Fiend to talk about such issues.

Wyatt posted this image and caption on his Instagram account, highlighting the effect negative and hurtful comments online can have on someone’s mental state:

There’s not a whole lot given away here, but it certainly sounds like Wyatt has been the subject of considerable online abuse that he’s had to recover from. Here’s hoping Wyatt’s new explosion of success and support helps him overcome any mental anguish he might have experienced in his life and career.

I’ll happily let him in.

Let the names mentioned on this list serve as inspiration for anyone going through their own struggles. If you or someone you know is in need of mental health assistance, here is a link to international crisis hotlines that may be of help.

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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav