News

WWE News: WWE IC Champ Roman Reigns Implicated In Steroid Scandal

Published

7 years ago

January 16, 2018

A year ago, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency raided a Miami gym. This gym was run by a man by the name of Richard Rodriguez, who sold several drugs out of his gym. Including, of course, steroids. Now these steroids were clearly a big deal, as he attained them illegally and of course distributing to people was also highly illegal. Obviously, anyone who he sold to could be named. This, affects Roman Reigns.

According to reports, Rodriguez was able to get the steroids from China. All in all, he had around $10 million in product. This is just what the DEA was able to track down. Obviously, this meant he would be someone quite interesting to talk with. This led to filmmaker Jon Bravo(seriously, we cannot make that up) talking with him in a documentary.

During this documentary, he named Hollywood actors Josh Duhamel and Mark Wahlberg as basically clients who were “in on the whole thing.” If that was not a big enough bombshell from the man, he also named current WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns as a client for his steroids. While this may seem a bit odd, it is not the first time WWE Superstars have been linked to places like this.

WWE Superstars Linked To Steroid Scandals

[Image by WWE]

Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida had been selling some steroids online, which led to many wrestlers tracking them down. This was a big deal as they could get stuff sent to them or at least from an easy site to get away with the situation. The names involved in this were pretty big, which is why the case was so memorable from that time. In 2007, the news dropped on the pharmacy being busted and the names included in the client list from WWE were vast.

WWE Superstars Randy Orton, Charlie Haas, Edge, Booker T, Shane Helms, Simon Dean, Santino Marella, John Morrison, William Regal, Ken Anderson, Umaga, Funaki, and Chavo Guerrero were all linked to the place. What stands out as well was that Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, dead by the time this explosive report came out, were also linked to Signature Pharmacy. Having proven buys for things like steroids.

Edge had claimed later on that his experience with steroids was not something he cared for and had stopped the use of them. Meanwhile, Randy Orton would noticeably have a change in body look after this and become quite skinny and lanky before putting on muscle the right way toward 2010. None of these people saw jail time, but they were proven to be linked. WWE did not really even suspend them either. However, WWE did cooperate with the United States Congress on anything they wanted to know after this.

Roman Reigns And The Odd Steroid Link

What people forget about Roman Reigns is that despite the hatred he may have from fans, his body has not changed much at all over the years. However, he has failed a drug test in the WWE. Back in 2016, he was popped for testing positive for Adderal, a medication normally used for people with ADHD. The medication is also classically abused, and an amphetamine. WWE bans all use of these drugs without prescription. Of which, Roman Reigns did not have on him.

It is clear that we cannot ever look past allegations like these because there is a clear need to believe them up to a point. A lot of the time, it is hard to believe the issue because someone does not seem like the type to do something. However, not all innocent types actually are. Yet WWE has never found steroids in the drug tests for Roman Reigns. Without a body change, and without a failed test, it seems odd that he would be linked to steroids.

Rodriguez was in business with none other people. They imported the drugs from China the manufactured them in a lab in Arizona. To sort of throw off the cops, they distributed the steroids worldwide through a Miami Post Office Box. It was a good plan, until he got caught. That is always the case though, right? Miami is of course the hometown of The Rock, and being in Florida, access for wrestlers was there.

Roman Reigns Has Not Been Linked To Much Though

[Image by WWE]

What should be noted is that Rodriguez very well could have sold drugs to big names. Steroids being bought from an illegal seller would have to occur for people who needed to get them. Most of the time, steroids are hard to get from a doctor’s prescription that isn’t crooked. Due to the various medication laws now in place, something like long-term steroid use has to be observed by certain doctors. You could not just see a primary doctor for this stuff these days.

That means a number of things. It seems odd that he would drop the names of these people for sure, but it is not crazy to assume they used steroids whatsoever. As they do work, and can even work in a shorter term. Duhamel and Wahlberg have both gotten big for various movies out of nowhere and it has hardly been explained how. Since both work out regularly, it does not make sense that they would get bigger easily.

Rodriguez alleges he met Roman Reigns through an informant, and that he seemed like a “down to Earth person.” Yet without a failed drug test or body change, it is tough to believe. This is also odd timing considering we’re headed into WrestleMania season. So believing this report is tough to ask. Reigns has not been linked to anything yet, other than the allegation he got the drugs. However, the DEA is actually still investigating and could find far more.

[Featured image by WWE]

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

#BrokenNews: Could The Third Ethan Of Carter Be Part Of The Rumble Of Royalty?

Don't Miss

Bobby Lashley Is Now Done With Impact Wrestling, Headed To WWE?

News

Chairshot News Report: TNA Impact Results, AEW Speculation For Ricochet & Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon, More!

Your Wrestling News for July 5, 2024, including TNA Impact, Ricochet, Shane McMahon, his daddy Vince, and more!

Published

3 weeks ago

July 5, 2024

Chairshot

Your Wrestling News for July 5, 2024, including TNA Impact, Ricochet, Shane McMahon, his daddy Vince, and more!

Welcome to your daily dose of pro wrestling news–and analysis you can trust! We take all wrestling news with a grain of salt here at The Chairshot, and we hope to steer you in the right direction.

Results: TNA Impact (July 4, 2024)

Here are your results from Thursday night’s edition of TNA Impact (originally taped on June 28 at the 2300 Arena in Philly):

Trey Miguel vs. Leon Slater ends in a no-contest after WWE NXT star Charlie Dempsey attacks everyone.
Dani Luna battled Jody Threat to a time limit draw in the 10-Minute Challenge. They were granted the customary “5 more minutes” but were attacked by Alisha Edwards & Masha Slamovich. During the match it was revealed that Nic Nemeth had been attacked backstage.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Mike Santana by countout to advance to the TNA World Championship Match at Slammiversary.
Matt Hardy & Reby Hardy beat Eddie Edwards & Alisha Edwards.
Joe Hendry pinned Jake Something to advance to the TNA World Championship Match at Slammiversary.

No surprise that Joe Hendry advanced to the world title match, but Santana-Kazarian could have gone either way. A promo video to end the show implied that Kazarian was the one who took out Nic Nemeth backstage, seemingly creating a story for them within the Slammiversary title match. No shocker that The Hardys won the tag team match, but a great surprise with Charlie Dempsey getting involved in the opener. That TNA/NXT collaboration continues to be a lot of fun.

You can catch Andrew’s Review of the event here.

Ricochet Expected To Sign With AEW

Many outlets are reporting that Ricochet’s expected landing spot remains AEW, with additional reports surfacing that his agent has been working out the details on his behalf.

Personally, I’d rather see him back in WWE. Even after an initial push in AEW, he will be a novelty act much like PAC, so I don’t see the difference. But if he’s going to AEW, here’s hoping that agent does a great job and secures quite the bag for ol’ Ric.

Vince Russo Suggests Shane McMahon As A Front Man For Vince McMahon to Purchase AEW

”We saw this with WCW, it happened before. It (purchasing AEW) could be under the guise of Shane, that’s what I’m saying. Shane is as clean as whistle. Vince could be behind it without anybody knowing it, bro.”

Those are the words of Vince Russo, who on the surface seems to be spouting nonsense. Time will tell if there is something to it all, but I wouldn’t place any wagers on this one. Shane McMahon to AEW would be an entertaining shocker, but that–like many things in AEW–would quickly wear off.

Shawn Michaels Discusses NXT Releases, Referencing Drew Gulak

During the NXT Heatwave media call, Shawn Michaels was asked about the release of Gable Steveson, but also lumped Drew Gulak in his response about main roster viability:

“From my understanding, nothing on anyone’s part other than contracts being up. Certainly, in the place of Drew Gulak. From a company standpoint, there not being anything from a main roster standpoint that they were going to be using him in. In NXT, over the last year and a half to two years, we’ve been trying to get into the process of keeping it fluid. It’s all about getting to the main roster when everything is said and done. In two or three years, if that doesn’t happen, we bring other people in or see if we’re ready to move on.”

If anything, it’s a stark reminder that NXT still exists to, above all else, populate the main roster. It’s quite the delicate balance between booking your own television show and preparing for the future, one that HBK has arguably done better than Triple H himself.

Other Odds & Ends:

According to reports, the mini-stroke referenced by Britt Baker (DMD) on AEW Dynamite is legitimate. If so, both she and Adam Cole have been through a ton over the past 24 months.
Mason Madden (Mace) and Mansoor, now known as the MxM Collection, showed up in ROH when featured in a vignette on this week’s broadcast. They might not have made it in WWE, but it’s good to see them getting work, and a second chance to make this gimmick their own. YEAH!
Cody Rhodes continues to be the ultimate good dude, this time helping a fan who won tickets to Money In The Bank actually attend the event. The fan who won the tickets is in a wheelchair, and there were no more accessible seats left. That was, of course, until Cody got involved. Now the fan can be there and enjoy the show as intended when he won the contest. Cody wins again!

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

AEW Coverage

Mitchell’s AEW Continental Classic Update! (11/27/23)

What a start to the tournament!

Published

8 months ago

November 27, 2023

Steven Mitchell

Did your picks win points?

The AEW Continental Classic is underway, with almost everyone competing. Check in here if you haven’t seen the winners and losers of week 1!

Here are your Gold League standings!

Jon Moxley: 1-0, 3 points
Swerve Strickland: 1-0, 3 points
Jay White: 1-0, 3 points
Rush: 0-1, 0 points
Mark Briscoe: 0-1, 0 points.
Jay Lethal: 0-1, 0 points

Here are your Blue League standings!

Brody King: 1-0, 3 points
Claudio Castagnoli: 1-0, 3 points
Daniel Garcia: 0-1, 0 points
Eddie Kingston: 0-1, 0 points
Bryan Danielson: Yet to Compete
Andrade El Idolo: Yet to Compete

My Thoughts:

Nothing too crazy, nothing too wild, this tournament only just got started. The only disappointing point is that they could not get Bryan “cleared to compete” Saturday night. Not sure how much of that is shoot given the bad eye, but this was kinda the problem of wanting him in the tournament over tons of other choices. Bryan wants to face Okada for WrestleKingdom 18, how is Bryan supposed to do that at his best if he’s also gonna be in a round robin, doing five top level matches in about as many weeks? And it takes away from Andrade being able to do something. Also a little surprised we didn’t even hear from Andrade on Saturday.

Now as we heard on Saturday, round two’s matches are set. Gold League will see Mark Briscoe VS Rush, White VS Swerve, and of course, Moxley VS Lethal. Nice variety there, a couple 0-1 guys facing off, as well as two 1-0 guys, and then 1-0 VS 0-1. No offense to Lethal, but he feels like an 0-2 going up against Moxley. Hard to call the other ones but that’s the fun of it. Meanwhile, Blue League sees Brody VS Claudio in a showdown to be 2-0, then Bryan and Andrade finally jump in, Bryan against Eddie and Andrade against Garcia. Sadly, feels like Eddie and Garcia are going 0-2, no way Tony Khan is booking Bryan and Andrade to lose their first shots.

In fact, that could be half the reason they did wait on those two, that’s almost too good for just a first round opener. But I still would’ve done it, same as NJPW does stuff like that for round robins, which this is all modeled after anyway.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!