Former WWE wrestler Matt Wiese, 36, better known as Luther Reigns, suffered a stroke last year, reports the Arizona Republic. Wiese has been pretty much retired from pro wrestling since 2006. He currently attends an outpatient clinic three times per week and is taking sessions with a speech therapist. He says he hopes to recover enough to eventually relocate to Los Angeles and become an actor. He cites steroid abuse and pain pill addiction as a contributing cause to his stroke
saying that when he worked for WWE he abused pain meds to get through the travel schedule. “We wrestled every night, damn near every night,” he said. “We were beat to hell. So we needed pain pills to do our job.” The story notes that WWE now operates a Talent Wellness Program. Dr. Joseph Maroon is quoted saying that since the introduction of the
program he has seen a 90 percent drop in detection of banned substances in WWE talent. Former WWE wrestler Armando Estrada is also quoted defending the company saying that it’s personal choice whether guys choose to take drugs and abuse their bodies.
(credit: The Wrestling Globe Newsletter)