WWE News: Possible Drug Use In WWE, Wrestlers Could Be Cheating The Wellness Policy

In a very surprising report, it seems that some WWE performers are possibly cheating the WWE Wellness Policy. The story is that there has not been a Wellness Policy violation since Randy Orton’s violation back in 2012 and Ricardo Rodriquez’s violation in 2013. This seemed fishy to many, as at least one person has seemingly been caught violating every year. Thought to be a bit skeptical, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer decided to look into it.

This really got going when UFC suspended Fighter Cung Le. He tested positive for an excessive level of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) after his fight in Macao, China, on August 23 of this year. He was originally suspended by the UFC for 9 months, but then it was changed to a full year. This suspension made people wonder, “Could WWE performers be on HGH as well?”

The idea has merit. WWE’s Wellness Policy prohibits wrestlers from using HGH, but they cannot easily test for it. Since the human body will secrete growth hormone due to several factors, a test might show that you are on HGH. In fact, if you work out in the gym or have an injury in which your body is recovering, you will test positive for growth hormone because your body is changing itself. Those who work out a lot and are breaking down muscle in the gym also have a chance to secrete this hormone.

For example, have you ever gone to the gym and your entire body is hurting the next day? Your body is now at a point where it must recover. While you are barely moving, your body is secretly growing somewhat because of the exercise you put it through. So if you are in a sport or a place where you must work out a lot — that is, killing your body in the gym — you will probably have a positive HGH test. WWE talent is known for working out a ton, and many talk working out for three to four hours at a time. Obviously, your body will show some growth with that much work put on it.

The issue with drug testing is that most only check blood and urine; there are usually never anymore tests past this. Everyone does a preliminary test, but those who test positive must go on to more selective testing to see if they are, in fact, using. So usually more specific tests are ordered for these people. If you test positive for marijuana during the first round of tests, they will test your blood again for THC with a more specific test. If you test positive on subsequent tests, then you definitely did use marijuana. It is a banned substance on WWE’s Wellness Policy list.

Due to the fact that HGH is something the body can naturally give off for those who work out a lot, it is really hard for WWE to test for it with a normal blood test. There is a possible but more complicated way, which involes testing the thyroid hormones. T3 is normally higher, but if T4 is higher, you could have a high human growth hormone. Even then, you are not able to totally prove there is an issue, and the cost can be high if numerous people test positive. If a person is not injured and they work out normally, this means they could be using if both T3 and T4 are higher than they should be. Then it comes down to the problem of a person being naturally higher, which is less common but still possible.

It is easy to test for steroids as you simply test cortisol levels. HGH is far more difficult to prove, as there is no legit test WWE would want to order that can totally prove something. It comes down to specifics, and some tests could be hundreds of dollars, and even then may not prove something. Basically, the only way to get in trouble in WWE for using is if someone caught you injecting it.

So it comes down to them not wanting to spend the money for the higher end tests past normal urine and blood. Specifically testing the blood or other areas of the body can mean more time and more effort. So there could be a human growth hormone issue in WWE, but it cannot be proven. It cannot be disproven either.

It is said that WWE does not test for HGH due to all the issues that comes with it. Yet the growth hormone is on the banned substance list. It is understandable if you see the specifics to it broken down like we did above.

The Wrestling Observer reports that you can get away with using in WWE.

“For those who are using [performance-enhancing drugs] to beat WWE testing, the standard stack is to use low doses of testosterone and higher dosages of HGH, because HGH, as far as enhancing a physique and gaining strength, works far better in synergy with a steroid to enhance its effects, and low doses of testosterone can keep one below the 6:1 T:E ratio.”

The newsletter asked around, and was told exactly how some beat the testing.

“Asking around, I was told exactly how they beat the system (GH with low dosages of test, usually taken on Wednesday, that’s out of the system within a few days to beat the tests).”

What is even more revealing is that WWE changed it’s policy to help those with two strikes on the WWE Wellness Policy. They can get their two strikes REMOVED if they enroll in a redemption program. So someone like Randy Orton could very well violate the Wellness Policy again and WWE would be able to protect themselves against releasing him for a year on his third strike because they have this small clause which allows Orton to redeem himself.

They also instituted a program allowing therapeutic usage of banned substances in WWE. Now this could mean several different things. It could mean that they are allowed to use Sudafed (over-the-counter decongestant on the banned substance list), or it could mean the usage of banned drugs with doctor permission such as HGH, testosterone, or steroids.

So is there still a drug problem in WWE? Potentially. The issue is that WWE has a Wellness Policy they tout as one of the best in the business. Yet they still do have several guys who are big. They very well could have gotten bigger on hard work like John Cena, who has not changed much body wise in his 12 years with the company. If he used in that time, we would have noticed a change. However, you have some like a Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero who we know used because they started out small and just got bigger and bigger. It comes down to WWE still having a potential drug problem even in 2014, and it is obviously something they need to take care of.

[IMG Credits: webwwe.blog.bg, www.wealthdaily.com, muscleandfitness.com, mirror.co.uk]