Bret Hart: Steroids Saved my Career

[paragon]

megamark said:

"i'm sure i wouldn't be here if i hadn't taken those shots"

and chances are, because you took those shots, you WON'T be here in a few decades.

Way to go out on a limb with that prediction. A 50-year-old man has a chance of being dead within 30 years? No!!!

Check that. A 50-year-old man who's suffered a number of concussions and a stroke that caused partial paralysis has a chance of being dead within 30 years? No!!!

Honestly, I don't think taking steroids 15+ years ago is much of a worry to him at this point.

[Daemon]

joeman said:

I really want to here people defend Bret Hart smoking pot part of his story. If Batista or Ultimate Warrior were to said steroids helped their careers, then people will not question them and they would be all condemning.

Because it's Bret Hart.

[TheMediocreWarrior]

megamark said:

"i'm sure i wouldn't be here if i hadn't taken those shots"

and chances are, because you took those shots, you WON'T be here in a few decades. but hey, if he feels it's okay to take years off his life just for his little wrestling career (and bear in mind that guys like piper never took steroids, but still made it to the top, so roids are hardly a necccesity), then that's fine by me, but i've got a feeling his children won't accept that as a reason for growing up without a dad.

but can we get some context on what he said there? he might have been personally justified, but at the moment he seems selfish and just generally stupid.

Hasn't Piper admitted to taking steroids? It would help explain why he's got an artificial hip.

[T.J. "the Crippler" Stevens]

I have a feeling that alot more guys then Bret Hart are thinking the same thing today. If this sours your opinion of Bret, there may not be anyone for you to like from the old days. Knowing what we all know now, I'm sure the wrestling landscape would've been vastly different had everyone stayed away from steroids. Having said that, things are different now. I certainly hope that Bret, and some of his other compatriots are not encouraging any young wrestlers to take that stuff now. It's a different time, and the stuff is not going to do anyone any good any more.

[Welfare Willis]

eldandy said:

My friend who had a spinal cord injury from work had steroids injections in his lower back which helped strengthen his back. I think in total, there were six injections he received, all done by a doctor. He is now back to playing active physical sports after months of therapy and I think the steroids did have a hand in helping his rehabilitation.

That may be the one true benefit that Bret may be referring to. It helps athletes recover from injuries. I don't believe Bret was advocating recreational use for steroids.

Yeah I was thinking along those lines as well. Working the schedule the WWE had back then can you really blame him?

Kudos to Bret for his candor. While not the most lively conversation I've heard his interview on wrestling observer live was excellent just to hear his take on shawn michaels.

[Red 'n' Black Reggie]

wait... piper took steroids, and bret is 50? well that pretty much ruins my argument.

[TheMediocreWarrior]

megamark said:

wait... piper took steroids, and bret is 50? well that pretty much ruins my argument.

Who the heck hasn't used them?

[Big Daddy]

talonx said:

Haha what the smurf? Do you even know that steroids have a legitimate use for things other than bulking up? That they're not poison? That your liver doesn't just TURN TO STONE OMG when you do a few cycles? That even though Nancy Grace says that 1500 wrestlers die a year from injecting the Devil Juice into their ass it's not true? I guess you'll probably flame me for pointing out that you know nothing but do whatever makes you feel better, sweetie. I know I can't force you to look up any actual studies beyond what cnn.com provides in their completely unbiased noneditorial stories.

Thank you.

megamark said:

"i'm sure i wouldn't be here if i hadn't taken those shots"

and chances are, because you took those shots, you WON'T be here in a few decades. but hey, if he feels it's okay to take years off his life just for his little wrestling career (and bear in mind that guys like piper never took steroids, but still made it to the top, so roids are hardly a necccesity), then that's fine by me, but i've got a feeling his children won't accept that as a reason for growing up without a dad.

but can we get some context on what he said there? he might have been personally justified, but at the moment he seems selfish and just generally stupid.

[Lance Uppercut]

korngold said:

eldandy said:

Kudos to Bret for his candor. While not the most lively conversation I've heard his interview on wrestling observer live was excellent just to hear his take on shawn michaels.

What did he say this time?

I like the two, and I hope after al this time, one being all religious, and the other seemingly mellowed out, that they could at least say something decent about each other.

[The Thread Barbi]

dh03grad said:

I think Bret meant that he needed steroids to get big enough to make it in the 80s WWF. He could have easily been forgotten like 6 of his 7 brothers that didnt make it.

That's precisely it. A buddy who's read the book said that when Bret worked for his father, he didn't do steroids. But in McMahon's outfit, he did some early on, just to keep his head above water in the work environment.

But as he said on Nancy Grace, during the peak of his career, he was steroid free.

[sexualvanilla]

johnforth said:

The HGHitman?

The Hard Gay Hitman?



*Cue Ricky Martin theme*

[thesunbeast]

molson5 said:

I'm still not convinced steroids are necessarily a bad thing in the wrestling industry, if used responsively. They really are a miracle drug.

Sure, it's not a healthy thing to do, but neither is fattening up for sumo wrestling.

I'm no doctor. But my impression is that most wrestling deaths have been the result of overall unhealthiness, of which steroids is small part, but also includes other drugs, poor diet, alcohol, etc.

Believe it or not, but there really is no such thing as a miracle drug. Miracles, yes, but there is always alot of hard work involved, including athletes that use steroids.

[The Thread Barbi]

thesunbeast said:

molson5 said:

I'm still not convinced steroids are necessarily a bad thing in the wrestling industry, if used responsively. They really are a miracle drug.

Sure, it's not a healthy thing to do, but neither is fattening up for sumo wrestling.

I'm no doctor. But my impression is that most wrestling deaths have been the result of overall unhealthiness, of which steroids is small part, but also includes other drugs, poor diet, alcohol, etc.

Believe it or not, but there really is no such thing as a miracle drug. Miracles, yes, but there is always alot of hard work involved, including athletes that use steroids.

Well, you're both right. If steroids alone cause early death, then Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn't be 60 this year, and Franco Colombu would be a cult-icon, beecause he died at 30.

[thesunbeast]

The thing is, is that Bret Hart is actually pretty healthy nowadays. He's 50 years old, he recovered from a stroke that left him partially paralyzed, and just recently, he bench pressed 295 lbs. That's pretty impressive.

By the way, if someone took injections of steroids, it dosen't automatically mean that they're going to die early.

[The Thread Barbi]

thesunbeast said:

By the way, if someone took injections of steroids, it dosen't automatically mean that they're going to die early.

Them over at Fox News and darling old Nancy Grace would say otherwise.

[plushtar]

I recall him saying something about steriods regarding the early Hart Foundation years. The peak of his career would be 1992-1997, in which he was clean. But then again, he never says anything about WCW, so he could have started again briefly. Also, Bret never stood out as one who abuses steroids and blows up to mammoth proportions.

Hasn't Piper admitted to taking steroids? It would help explain why he's got an artificial hip.

That was Superstar Billy Graham, who admits his previous abuse and did blow up to mammoth proportions and had serious health problems. He now lectures on the dangers of abusing drugs to young athletes.

[darthpipes]

jmoney said:

Not sure where to put this but since Last time we saw bret was with WWe not too long ago, and he'll never work with TnA or Indies anytime soon, and all the hart talk with DH and Teddy, I thought this might be okay here.
-----------------------------

-- During an interview with Vancouver 24 this weekend, former WWE champion Bret Hart discussed how steroids helped save his career. Hart was quoted as saying "I credit steroids for saving my career back then. Having taken them, I don't have any regrets and I'm sure I wouldn't be here if I hadn't taken those shots." The interview was putting over Hart’s new autobiography, "Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling."

I wonder if Bret told Harry Smith this after Davey Boy dropped dead.

[newbombturk]

The artificial hip may not be linked to steroid use but Piper definitely has admitted to have taken them. He said that his bench press went up by a hundred pounds or so by taking roids in an on line interview several years ago.