Perry Saturn Discusses Chris Benoit, Drug Issues, Being Homeless, Extreme Rising & More
John Pollock of The LAW recently spoke with Perry Saturn to promote this weekend's 'Extreme Rising' events in Colona, New York on Friday and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday. Here are some highlights:
On his drug issues: "I was such a bad drug addict, I don't remember decades. I was recently at the WWE training center, I was watching some matches with Shaul Guerrero, Eddie Guerrero's daughter. There was a match with me and Eddie, and I won the European title from Eddie. I can't ever remember being European Champion. I have no idea who I lost the belt to or anything. Decades where I was screwed up on drugs, and all that time I don't have a memory, or a very clouded memory that I can't piece together."
The lifestyle had in WCW: "I dabbled with them a little bit in WCW. I got out of control with them. We were making a lot of money and they were very accessible. I'm the type of person who does everything to the extreme, everything in excess. I never have enough, you know? So, if you have finances to keep feeding that habit, sooner or later it's going to get out of control.
"We had a lot of money and too much free time on our hands probably, and were just left to our own devices. In WCW's time, wrestling was so popular that we were treated like rock stars; we could never do anything wrong. We were on the road all the time and we'd get stuck with days off, it was just a big party. In WCW, wrestling was more of a necessary evil so we could get to the party.
Going to the WWF in January of 2000: "That's when I really started to get out of control, because everything there was done so professionally, and if you just kinda follow along you can blend in. I was making a lot of money, and we were only working four days a week, so when I was home I was doing drugs all the time at home. It just got out of control at the end of WCW, and halfway through my WWE time I was completely lost. I have no idea how I was able to keep it hidden. I was very standoffish, I didn't talk to very many people, so in that way I was probably able to keep it hidden. Other than that, I have no idea how. It's a miracle, or not really; it'd have been better if I would have gotten caught. It's just amazing that I was able to keep it hidden as well as I did."
Deaths that occurred during his disappearance: "I didn't have any knowledge of John (Kronus) or Walt (Kowalski). Chris I found out right around like a day or two later, and Eddie I found out like a day or two later. I was in such a bad place, they were just another reason for me to get high. I was so messed up on drugs, I didn't want anybody to see me at that time. I don't know why I was able to straighten out when a lot of people can't, I have no idea.
"I was homeless two and a half years, high on drugs. I'm very lucky that I was able to get out of it. I just one day thought that I needed to try to make a change, and I gradually did. I stumbled a couple of times, relapsed twice, but I was able to eventually get out of it. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life the way that I was."
The Chris Benoit murders: "I spent so much time with Chris, so many days, months, all that time, and I've never even seen Chris mad. It just blows my mind. I've seen Chris and his boy praying before matches, I have no idea what happened. On the road, we'd go out, and Chris would go out partying with me, and Chris would always tell me that he'll party and this and that, but he doesn't cheat on Nancy. Chris was a faithful husband and everything. I have no idea. If somebody told me that and they didn't have proof, I wouldn't believe it. And it's hard to believe with the proof. "
The full interview with Saturn is available for download at this link.
Source: The LAW