By Michael Lewis
 But wrestlers propped themselves up with far more than just painkillers. Steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) were commonplace, as was cocaine, which wrestlers used to amp themselves before matches or to party afterward. Steroids and HGH were almost a requirement for stardom. They helped muscles recover more quickly between workouts and made a big difference in physique; back then, former wrestlers say, you could always tell who was on “the juice.” Wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior had bulging biceps, ripped stomachs, and huge chests (both have since admitted using steroids). Knowing that WWF boss Vince McMahon loved muscular, cartoonish physiques made the pressure to conform immense.
“Louie Spicolli never wanted to take steroids…but he figured if he looked better than the next guy, he’d get a job,” says Dave Meltzer, a longtime wrestling journalist. “All of a sudden, he got up to 270 pounds, and the WWF offered him a job. Brian Pillman hated steroids. But he took them because he wanted to survive in this business. It’s not personal choice.”
Louie Spicolli died in 1998 by overdosing on Soma and wine—which was exacerbated by a steroid-linked heart condition. For Brian Pillman it was arteriosclerotic heart disease, again linked to steroid use.
Chris Benoit made the devil’s bargain with steroids as well. Over the years his arms thickened by inches, and by the late 1990s he resembled a refrigerator across the chest. He was also one of WCW’s top draws and constantly touring. In one of the earliest signs of the toll the life was taking on him, in 1997 he and his first wife, Martina, divorced. While she retained custody of their two children, he stayed on the road. That same year he entered into a relationship that would end far more tragically.
64 wrestlers under the age of 50 have died since 1987, including eight that made the world take notice.
Nancy Sullivan was a striking brunette who, like Benoit, came to the sport at an early age. Raised in DeLand, Florida, she was a 20-year-old aspiring model when a photographer chose her to be on the cover of Wrestling All Stars magazine. Soon Nancy began traveling with the Florida Championship Wrestling organization as part of the promotion. She divorced her teenage sweetheart, Jim Daus, to marry pro wrestler and promoter Kevin Sullivan. She met Chris Benoit when Sullivan placed her in a story line to be an on-air item with Benoit. Fiction soon blurred into reality, as Nancy left Sullivan to marry Benoit.
Their son, Daniel, was born in February 2000. Benoit quickly became known as a family man who often brought his wife and son to events.
A month before Daniel’s birth, Benoit joined what would become the biggest—and most controversial—wrestling organization on Earth, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Then known as the WWF (it changed its name in 2002 after the World Wildlife Fund sued over trademark rights), the group was dominating attendance and TV ratings after adopting more violent, adult-themed story lines.
Benoit’s new boss was McMahon, who had been charged in the early ’90s with distributing illegal steroids, along with a doctor named George Zahorian. McMahon was acquitted in 1994, but his penchant for promoting stars who looked like they were on steroids continued unabated.
“When things go bad, Vince always pushes the big guys,” says Meltzer. “He thinks that’s what people want, the giant freaks.”
From his office in Stamford, Connecticut, McMahon lords over a $400 million-a-year empire with 15 million weekly viewers. He rewrites story lines, signs new talent, and insists that office employees never wear jeans (suits or “business casual” only)—all part of the WWE’s “clean” image. “If you complained, he’d fire you, so you’d better keep your mouth shut,” says former WWE wrestler Rick Steiner. “If he wants you to be the biggest star, he’ll make you the biggest star. He has total control.”
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