Wrestlers Told To Lose Weight Or They Would Be Fired

Pro wrestling has always been filled with athletes who have larger-than-life personalities and statures. In the early days of the sport, wrestlers were notably burly, oftentimes hairy, and almost strictly wrestled a powerhouse style. This was still commonplace during WWE's Golden Age, but once the New Generation Era hit, wrestlers began to look more lean and athletic, most evidently in the likes of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

With this shift, the days of being physically larger-than-life were left behind, and the big guys were used as gimmicks instead. Of course, every so often, a colossal big man like Yokozuna, who also had quite the WWE Championship run, would still feature at the top of the card. However, stars who have been on the larger side since then — like Brodus Clay and Big Daddy V, to name a couple — never got past WWE's mid-card.

In the case of quite a number of stars, their weight didn't only put their lives at risk, but also became a determining factor in determining whether WWE would still be willing to work with them. Sadly, the following stars all had to get into shape ASAP, or face the reality of being released by the company.

During the Attitude Era, Rikishi was a major fan-favorite star who was involved in many memorable segments and storylines. While being an aggressive in-ring competitor, Rikishi was interestingly paired with Too Cool's Scotty 2 Hotty and Grand Master Sexay, undergoing a persona change that saw him join them in a dancing routine the moment either of them put a pair of sunglasses on his face.

Rikishi also had a memorable storyline with The Rock, wherein he turned heel and took responsibility for running "Stone Cold" Steve Austin over nearly a year after it happened. Rikishi then entered into a feud with Austin, and changed his theme song to reflect his newfound bad man status as well. The Rock was ultimately not too happy with Rikishi, and the two clashed a few times after then.

Unfortunately, after the Ruthless Aggression Era slowly began to change the layout of WWE, Rikishi faced pressure from the higher ups to lose weight. The veteran allegedly refused to do so, and on top of this, suffered an injury that ended his heel run in the process. In 2004, Rikishi was released from WWE due to his weight issues and for failing to get medically cleared.

Sheamus has always been in good physical shape for the most part, but there have been spells where he slipped and almost got into trouble. "The Celtic Warrior" was notably in incredible shape before suffering his most recent injury, and looked better than he had ever looked in his career. However, years ago, during his run alongside Claudio Castagnoli (formerly known as Cesaro) as The Bar, Sheamus realized that Vince McMahon wasn't happy with his physique.

Speaking on Celtic Warrior Workouts, Sheamus recalled planning to bulk up, and how he was one of the biggest guys on the roster at the time. "I put on a lot of weight, but I was carrying a lot of body fat and I just kind of lost control of where I was at." He then recalled coming back to WWE after a holiday, and Vince McMahon making a remark that forced him to change his diet.

"Me and Cesaro were walking by Vince and Vince goes, 'Hey Sheamus!' I said, 'Yeah?' He goes, 'Enjoyed the holidays, huh?' And he was looking at me in the gut and I was like, 'Okay, that's it. That's it. I need to do something about it.' But that was the change in gear and Cesaro will tell you as well, Cesaro knew right away when that comment was made. I just put too much weight on, man." 

While his job wasn't outright threatened like Rikishi's, by then, Sheamus knew what happened to guys when McMahon made similar remarks. As such, he quickly got back into shape, and the rest is history.

Amongst the many out-of-this-world personas of the Attitude Era, Gangrel stood out for portraying a vampire with fangs. The veteran's wrestler name comes from the popular White Wolf role-playing game "Vampire: The Masquerade," and like the undead creatures of the series, Gangrel incorporated his love for blood and dark gothic music into his entrance.

However, despite all of this, Gangrel — or rather, David William Heath — is still a human, and has to take care of his body. But, for whatever reason, while at the height of his career in WWE, Gangrel refused to put in any work to bulk up or drop some weight, which resulted in his release from the promotion. An urban legend claims that one night while competing, Gangrel's stomach was too obviously visible for Vince McMahon's tastes, which led to him firing the star instead of trying to push him to get into shape.

While his career with WWE never led to any main event stints or championships or accolades, Gangrel has made sporadic appearances over the years, proving that he's at least got a working relationship with them. Gangrel also reunited with Adam "Edge" Copeland at AEW Double or Nothing 2024, proving that his career is still going strong after all these years.

Yokozuna was one of the biggest athletes in his generation, and while he always struggled with his weight throughout his life, he managed to turn it into a legitimate gimmick, portraying a Japanese-represented Sumo wrestler dominating the world of professional wrestling. Unfortunately for Yokozuna, he couldn't control his weight gain, and it began to affect his cardio. During an episode of his "Grilling JR" podcast, Jim Ross looked back at the unfortunate circumstances and WWE's efforts to help the late Hall of Famer.

"He gained 100 pounds; he got huge. When you get out of breath or fatigued and you're starting to lose strength in the ring, sometimes you just can't execute. Somebody as large as Yokozuna, a minor miscue could be very devastating."

WWE decided to send both Yokozuna and fellow veteran Vader to the Duke University Medical Center in Durham to help both men lose weight and learn healthier eating habits since they were both obese. "It was a matter of time where one athletic commission is not going to let him work. We wanted to get ahead of the curve, so we sent him and Vader both."

Unfortunately, both men ended up gaining weight instead of losing it, which led to Vince McMahon making the call to release Yokozuna. According to Ross, Yokozuna was actually not surprised by the news. "He had been told the same stories, the same things. We tried and tried to make this thing work. He knew the issues. The weight was one thing, but man, having heart issues? You don't touch that. If nothing else, you protect the talent because you love them."

Keith Lee's "WWE NXT" success story seemed to position the star for a major main roster run, and many fans were filled with excitement for what he could accomplish on "Raw" or "SmackDown." Unfortunately, Lee's main roster run remains one of the worst call-ups in recent history, and it was largely due to his physique. 

Speaking on "Talk is Jericho," Lee looked back at his run with WWE, and noted how the promotion forced him to undergo many changes, such as not performing many of the athletic moves he's known for.  "I am 100% certain it was some sort of an attempt at a test or such," he said.

Additionally, even when he rebranded himself as "Bearcat" Keith Lee, the company continued to strip away his move set. "Where the double chop I've been known for, they snatched that. They didn't want me looking at the crowd at all."

However, things didn't end there for the former WWE Superstar. According to a report from "Wrestling Observer Newsletter," after Lee contracted COVID-19, his physical ability worsened and he looked visibly bigger compared to when he first got sick. Sadly, this ended up being one of the believed reasons for Lee's WWE release. Furthermore, Lee's health issues are still a cause for concern today, and he's currently not been featured for months on AEW programming due to his continued struggles.

The late Bray Wyatt is considered by many to be one of the most unique stars of his generation. Across his career, he had several gimmicks, most recognizably as the cult leader of the Wyatt Family. However, in 2019, Wyatt got into better shape and reinvented himself as The Fiend. Shockingly, Wyatt was released in 2021, in a move that still confuses many.

The reason behind Wyatt's release was due to the age-old budget cuts. However, fans have not bought into this reason, especially considering that The Fiend was one of the most over characters at the time, and that Wyatt's merch sales were some of the highest. Many believe that the star had heat with Vince McMahon, and could have become increasingly difficult to work with. On top of this, there have been rumors that Wyatt didn't want to take his health seriously, and had issues with how WWE management went about addressing this with him.

Either way, Wyatt would make a triumphant return to WWE in 2022, repackaging himself and slowly building to what could have been compelling storylines. Tragically, Wyatt passed away at the age of 36 in August 2023, ending what could have been an iconic run.

GUNTHER brought a lot of prestige back to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and he looks set to be a major part of the company's future plans. While he quickly found success on the main roster, Dave Meltzer of "Wrestling Observer Radio" claimed GUNTHER faced some issues because of his weight early on. 

Meltzer noted that he found GUNTHER's initial tag team run interesting, and that it was likely due to the star's size and that the WWE higher ups didn't have faith in his potential as a singles star yet. Meltzer also claimed that his sources told him that GUNTHER was far more open to criticism than Keith Lee, and that Vince McMahon wanted slimmer stars on the main roster.

Despite these claims, GUNTHER has explained that his weight loss was his own initiative, as he told Sport1. "I have to present more for the general public. In the WWE main roster, however, the conditions are different. You are on a global stage, in the mainstream. From my point of view, you have to present yourself differently." 

He then recalled preparing himself for months, and questioned anyone who believes he looked better than he does now. Either way, his physical change paid off, and made him into a major star.

Former WWE star Ryback was one of the more imposing stars on the roster during his run. Based on his physique, many were of the opinion that he'd become a main event star sooner rather than later. However, since departing from the promotion, he's since gained a bad reputation for being unsafe to work with and been criticized for some of the comments he's made. Furthermore, he claims to have had backstage heat due to his weight, resulting in one of his most memorable attires.

While Ryback's colorful singlet was mostly praised by fans, he was actually forced to wear it because Vince McMahon believed he was out of shape. "I have never been fat at any point in my career, but this was a real thing. Word had gotten back to me that I needed to lose 30 lbs., and this was right before I debuted as Ryback," he said on "The Art of Wrestling" podcast.

Once Ryback got into even better shape, WWE wanted him back in trunks, but the star claims he refused to at first. "I responded back that it wasn't happening, and that he can talk to me if he wants to, but I'm wearing my singlet." Ryback then claimed that he had a discussion with Vince McMahon after this and won the argument, but eventually went back to the trunks to stick it to WWE. That said, he admitted that wining the argument simply led to being buried on TV.

Back at WWE WrestleMania 33, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho went head-to-head for the WWE United States Championship, after their on-screen pairing came to an end during the "Festival of Friendship." While the angle is still fondly remembered today, Vince McMahon wasn't too happy with Owens, according to Chris Jericho. During an interview with Talksport, Jericho recalled how McMahon even told Owens it was the worst match in WrestleMania history, presumably due to issues he had with "The Prize Fighter's" physique. 

"When I came through, Vince [gave me a thumbs up], so I think he was on Kevin's case at the time," Jericho recalled. "I think he was going through a phase where he thought maybe Kevin had some extra weight that he wanted him to lose or wasn't happy with his work as a heel."

Jericho then argued how other stars like Mick Foley, Vader, and Bam Bam Bigelow were large wrestlers who still performed in the ring, and how he believes that Owens should be marked alongside them. He then recalled how McMahon would often go through phases with wrestlers and just get annoyed at anything they did. "The worst match in WrestleMania history?! I was like, 'Have you not seen Giant Gonzalez vs The Undertaker?"

Whatever issues McMahon might have had with Owens likely cleared up over the years. Owens said he re-signed with WWE after being asked to by McMahon, suggesting that the former boss was satisfied with his performances and physique following WrestleMania 33.

Despite being considered a legend of the industry, Paul Wight's WWE run left a lot to be desired. Early in his tenure with the promotion, Wight was even demoted to Ohio Valley Wrestling after he had a terrible match with The Undertaker that resulted in him being chewed out by "The Deadman." During his appearance on Steve Austin's "Broken Skull Sessions," Wight even admitted that prior surgery at the time resulted in him becoming out of shape, and that he needed the time in OVW.

Wight would eventually get back into shape, and mostly enjoy his WWE run through the early 2000s. Unfortunately, by 2013, he fell out of shape yet again, and Vince McMahon went to great lengths to make him lose weight. Wight recalled the experience on "Talk is Jericho," noting that it led to an embarrassing on-screen moment.

"The worst thing I've done was when Vince [McMahon] made me do the 'Baby New Year' thing because it was so freakin' awkward," he said. "I got fat, so he goes, 'So you're a fat New Year Baby. Maybe you should lose some weight.' But that's the kind of relationship I've had with him, 'He's getting fat — I need to motivate him. Let me embarrass him.' Do you know what I mean? The diaper worked."

Following the experience, Wight got into incredible shape, and was able to perform in ways he hadn't been able to since his days as "The Giant" in WCW. But, knowing McMahon, the legend was likely very close to being released.