AEW's Jake Roberts Recalls Feeling Like An 'Animal' On Steroids

WWE's stance on steroids and other drugs has been strict over the past couple of years, and their Wellness Program has seemingly changed the culture around these compounds, as wrestlers today hardly ever have public drug problems anymore. 

However, back in Jake "The Snake" Roberts' day, steroid usage was rampant, and according to the veteran in an episode of his "The Snake Pit" podcast, it had a profound effect on him.

"It [steroids] turns you into an animal, it really does. You hunger for lifting. That's all you want to do is lift," Roberts said. 

He put his own experience with steroids into perspective and further admitted that steroids got him to the point in his career where his shoulders and chest were large and muscular. This is notably not the only time that Roberts has been honest about his former usage of steroids, as back in a 2023 episode of his podcast, he admitted that he used it to not only heal quicker from his neck surgery but also to keep up with the '80s wrestling physique. 

Roberts claimed that steroids became a necessity when wrestlers were working seven days a week, twice on Saturdays and Sundays, as they couldn't naturally heal in time. However, he admitted that several wrestlers went completely off the charts with their usage, and unfortunately, many of them have passed over the years, suggesting that the deaths of Randy Savage, The Road Warriors, and Mr. Perfect were all due to their steroid usage.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Snake Pit" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.