During the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, former WWE and WCW star Marc Mero talks on life after wrestling, Sable and nobody wanting to work him.
*Please note, this episode discusses suicide*
On if he had a plan for life after wrestling and what that would like:
“Oh, man. First of all, life after wrestling was really dark. That’s when I really fell into drugs again, walked away from God, just lived a horrible life. Just didn’t care. I let myself go out of shape, out of money, out of time. It was just where I remember that it came to the point where I just didn’t want to be here anymore, losing so many people in my life, and then, of course, going through the divorce and going through all that again. It’s just the depression got so bad, and I had anger issues also on top of that, you know, because you blame other people, and you live with this bitterness and this resentment, and all these things that come together just weigh on you, and you just feel it. I know someone out there is listening to this right now that’s going, I went through that, or maybe I’m going through that right now, and it came to the point where I just remember that I just wanted to end it. It was Christmas Day, and I drove to Cocoa Beach, Florida on Christmas Day, and I sat under a pier, and I remember the waves just rolling in and out and just thinking, I don’t want to be here anymore. I had no place to go. I mean, Christmas was always so big in my life, many of our friends have passed on through the wrestling and, of course, going through the divorce and all the heartache I went through, I remember just wanting to end it all, and then, if it wasn’t for me getting on my knees and asking Christ back into my life. I remember just begging him for forgiveness and thinking to myself, What am I going to do? I’m basically starting over again. So I get a job. That’s where I got a job at Gold’s Gym as a trainer, and started, and then this thing started getting better and better and next thing you know, when the schools thing opened up. But let me get back to that little office building I’ve bought for 200 grand, because it’s part of the story. So fast forward. Now, all these years later, I have this little building that I recently sold four years ago, but I held the note. I was the bank, okay, and they gave me a huge down payment, and they have to pay X amount of money for 10 years. And there’s a balloon payment. And the way the Lord works this balloon payment is $214,000, exactly what I bought it for all those years ago. So it’s an incredible story, but it’s just how my life has turned out, that those things, you wonder how this happened. I don’t believe in coincidence. I really believe that things are meant to be. So anyone out there that’s maybe going through a hard time, man, hang in there. It’s gonna get better. You got to believe that.”
Christmas Day 2003 was his rock bottom moment:
“I believe that rock bottom had a basement, and I went right into that basement, and that was it, that was gonna be the end of Marc Mero. Yeah. It was going through so much pain that when you don’t have anybody to talk to, we don’t have someone in your life that you could just share with. Not saying that there weren’t people that would have listened to me or whatever, but sometimes you feel like you’re more of a pain to people you know, they don’t hear sob stories and I held so much inside, and I think that’s the worst things because when I deal with a lot of students day too, they hold in these suicidal thoughts or self harm, or whatever it is, this pain. And when you hold things inside, it’s like a volcano, and sooner or later, that volcano erupts, and it often erupts in negative behavior, whether it leads to you hurting other people, horrible relationships, anger issues, bitterness, resentments, self-harm and worst case, those suicidal thoughts.”
On getting the first guaranteed contract and nobody wanting to work with him
“That’s the thing, maybe it’s a great question for Vince. I don’t know, maybe my confidence wasn’t there. I thought it was very hard for me to work with guys. First of all, this is really kind of hard to talk about in the sense that I wasn’t well-liked. My whole life, I had a lot of friends. I was always popular in sports, Captain on my teams, and then you go into this new organization where you’re not very well liked, and you didn’t really understand why. Well, come to find out, later, I got this guaranteed contract. I have my wife flying everywhere I’m flying, so I’m not hanging out with the guys, not going to the bars. I’m not staying up and doing things with those guys, or hanging out with guys. I’m with my wife all the time. And then I start realizing that no one really wants to work with me, you’re kind of an outcast, and it’s the worst feeling in the world.”
On if other talent was jealous of him:
“You know, part of it is. I guess, when you think about Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mick Foley just came in months before me for an opportunity. Next thing you know, I’m the first guy that gets this, not only a guaranteed contract, a big signing bonus, on top of it.”
On how quickly Sable became more popular than him:
“Very quickly. But it was fun, because when I became Marvelous Marc Mero, became the heel, it was all perfect. But the Wild Man character, even though I’m going to the ring and they’re basically cheering for her, it’s like, wow, how am I going to get over with this? So we changed it up. It worked out perfectly. And then had to teach her how to wrestle, because now Vince wants to put her into wrestling and bring the women’s title on her.”
On if Sable should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?
“Oh, absolutely. The woman’s division, they didn’t really have a woman’s division so much back then at all. But she brought eyes to the channels. The ratings and everything were very high because of her.”
All quotes are courtesy of Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
Mero also discusses his upbringing, the Johnny B. Badd character, his life as a Christian and more!
You can watch the full interview below:
If you are thinking about suicide or know someone who is, please get help today.