Hey, we’re back with another Ryback story! Do you like Ryback stories? WE GOT A BUNCH OF THEM. Anyway, in today’s Ryback news, he’s telling yet more tales on his Conversation with the Big Guy podcast. Which is exactly what we asked for, so go ahead and blame us for the influx of Ryback stories on your news feed.
In the latest Conversation, Ryback is extremely candid about his past steroid use: he used them (about five years before he came to WWE), and they did a number on his body. Apparently, he’s one of the unfortunate souls whose body doesn’t respond well to steroids, which is pretty crazy if you’ve ever seen or heard of Ryback. As he explains:
“I had a very negative reaction to testosterone and different steroids where it shut me down tremendously. And when I say, ‘shut me down’, my natural testosterone did not come back or it was not back to what was perceived to be the normal limits, which is not uncommon, but everyone reacts differently.
…
“I never abused them as far as, when I say ‘abused’, compared to what other people were doing. It was always very mild, but everybody reacts differently to them. But for me, my body, it shut me down, so for the five years before WWE, and I was tired at times, but you just kind of get used to it, I guess.”
As for the company’s Wellness Policy, he has nothing but praise for the extensive drug testing that he experienced at WWE. Again, he’s only speaking from his own experience, but he says he was tested “all the time” and he appreciates it.
“That’s one thing with WWE, I will say, and from my experience, I was tested all the time and they did a great job. And I love that that was implemented because, and not to say that steroids were the only thing contributing to people dying early. It was a lot of things … I’ve always, from day one, that’s one thing I am proud of [WWE] for, that they did implement that because, for me, it, like, put restrictions on me, where, like, it challenged me. Like, and I feel like I’ve been able to look the way that I have by making those changes and adjusting. It makes me even more rare.”
Ryback believes that WWE is working hard to condition fans to get used to smaller, less muscle-bound wrestlers, and that it’s probably working. He admits his look is a lot more rare these days, and he understands it. You can head over to his podcast landing page to check out the conversation for yourself. As always, it’s illuminating.
(h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcript)
