Adam Bueller On Being Diagnosed With HIV, Says He’s Never Had to Submit a Blood Test in the Indies

– Independent wrestler Adam Bueller spoke with Wiggy Wigowski about his being diagnosed with HIV in December and more. Bueller is known for his work in deathmatches for companies like IWA Mid-South and Resistance Pro Wrestling. You can listen to the full audio below and read highlights courtesy of Wrestling Inc:

On being initally diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: “I noticed a very large growth in my armpit that got to be probably about the size of a baseball. It wasn’t going away on it’s own. Went and got it checked out, they told me that I had Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is cancer essentially in the immune system. So, I had to pretty much immediately undergo treatment for that. That, for obvious reasons, kept me out of wrestling for a long time. Right as things were starting to look good, I got through chemo and now I was moving on to radiation, my white blood cell count wasn’t getting to where it was supposed to.”

On learning during the process that he is HIV-positive: “So, they couldn’t continue radiation because my body couldn’t handle it, and then I started getting short of breath almost to the point where I couldn’t breathe. I could barely move around and it just got worse, and worse, and worse…they tested me for a lung infection at first, and then they found out through the testing that, ‘Hey, you have pneumonia.’ I mean, that explains some of it, but then they said, ‘Just so you know, the type of pneumonia that you have is commonly associated with this other thing that we’re going to test you for now. The next day, they came up and they told me officially that I was – in addition to having pneumonia, in addition to having cancer – that I am also HIV-positive. So, that was in the mid-December…you would think I’d be bummed out about that but that’s my favorite thing about being HIV-positive, is getting to do that [South Park] joke. So, when I found out, my first thought was, ‘Thank God this isn’t the 90’s anymore,’ first of all. And second of all, ‘Oh my God, I can’t wrestle now. That’s it, I’m done now.'”

On not being required to submit a blood test in the indies: “I have never given anyone a record of a blood test. Ever, at all, ever – no promoter has ever gotten blood test results from me. And I know that there are places where it’s like, ‘Oh, we make sure that we blood test everyone. We make sure that they don’t wrestle in that type of environment if we can’t prove their blood is clean.’ I’ve never even so much have been asked to submit a blood test. Like, it wasn’t one of those, ‘Hey, we need a blood test from you. Oh, shoot, there’s not enough time? Oh, I’m sure you’re fine. Anyway, nevermind.’ No one ever even asked me for [my blood test]. But then again, people who may not know me personally, ironically enough, I’m just as at risk for having something in me as you would think that I would, which is very minimal. I’m about as nerdy as they get, I’m not social, I don’t do drugs, so really, what could I have? So maybe it wasn’t a concern.”

On Indiana not having proper rules or guidelines for pro wrestling: “I think, for a long time, Indiana didn’t have a State Athletic Commission. They have one now but I know Indiana, they don’t govern pro wrestling at all. So a lot of places, the State and Athletic Commission has no involvement in the pro wrestling side of things. That’s another thing, is not having any kind of guidelines on that short of either set by the company itself or people just kind of policing themselves. It’s very possible that things like that could exist in that world.”

On where he believes he contracted HIV: “I still don’t really know for sure where this really came from. It could have come from wrestling, it could have come from me being involved with someone that I shouldn’t have and I’m kind of leaning more towards that. From what the doctors said, there’s a possibility – now, this might be terrifying for a lot of people, which is something that I said in the video – that the doctor said that they found my blood counts, that I may have had this for years before they found it. It may have just been dormant. I didn’t get in to deathmatches until 2015, so, it was just the last three years of my career. So, I never really gave it much thought because of that…I don’t think I got it from someone in wrestling. But then again, I’ll also never know.”

On continuing his career with HIV: “I actually considered, when cancer was fully treated and everything, to continue to wrestle, at least non-deathmatches of course, but locally. And the reason I decided to stay local is entirely of the stigma, because doctors told me flat out, ‘There’s nothing your HIV would prevent you from being able to wrestle without the blood involved’…Of course, promoters would have to be comfortable with booking me. Wrestlers would have to be comfortable working with me. And part of the reason that I wanted to remain local and continue to do this is, for one, I have built up a rapport with people in this area. I am a trustworthy guy and they would know that I’m not doing anything for selfish reasons, like continuing to still wrestle, that will put them in jeopardy whatsoever. I wouldn’t even consider it if there was a possibility of something happening.”

On the stigma of wrestling with HIV: “If something happens where, ya know, busted nose, busted lip, or something? Well that’s an easy, okay, we just take it home immediately. Like, roll-up right then and there regardless of what’s going on. And then clean up the mat and business as usual, nobody’s at risk. Pretty much everybody that I’ve talked to, which isn’t many people, but everybody is, like, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t see anything wrong with that.’ A number of people I have asked said that they would still be comfortable with working with me. Even people after I did the video reached out to me and said, ‘Man, you just name the time and place, I’ll get in there with ya.’ Which I thought was very cool, and all of the local promoters that I’ve worked with out here, they were comfortable with working with me or continuing to book me. I wouldn’t necessarily do traveling shows because, again, the stigma. All it takes is for me to go out and work for VOW again or work for GCW, or something in a non-deathmatch. Somebody gets wind of, ‘Oh, hey, this place is booking guys that are HIV-positive.’ Next thing you know, their reputation is completely ruined because of what people misunderstand about HIV.”