Ryback on WWE’s Wellness Policy and Drug Testing Methods, Says Triple H Is Never Tested

– On the latest Conversations With the Big Guy episode, Ryback weighed in on WWE’s Wellness Policy and the company’s drug testing process. Ryback was talking about the recent Wellness suspensions for Robert Roode and Primo Colon and shared his memories of what the process was like, how it became more strict after attempts by some to cheat it and more.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full video clip, are below:

On how the WWE Wellness policy works: “As far as I know nothing has probably changed on that, because it was all through Aegis, the third party. They’re working with WWE and their Doctor Black, where it was always multiple times a year, they’d just show up. Every once in a blue moon on a live event, like on a Friday. Typically though, it’d be on a TV [day[, Monday or Tuesday. You get to the building and [Mark] Carrano has his little coral of referees. They’d always tell you, ‘Yeah, you’ve gotta go see Mark, you need — drug testers are here.’ And which, I would always say, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna go eat first,’ because you get to the building after working out, you go and get some food. They try to get you in there really quickly though. And they corral you into the Talent Relations, and you all sit down in a big group in there. And you’re just drinking waters to wait until you have to piss. And eventually after I was there I just would do my own thing. I would go eat and get unpacked, get situated. I’d drink some water so that when I went in there I already had to piss. They get it; you get your ID, they do the whole check deal, the paperwork. And then you go to the bathroom and you pull your pants down to your ankles and you lift your shirt up and show the guy your t*ts, show him your d**k, and then you piss right in front of him. It’s really a — it’s a really annoying process in the grand scheme of things, because the people that get into that are f**king weirdos to begin with. And I mean, in all seriousness, it’s an odd job to get into…

“And again, it’s all a cover by WWE to protect themselves. And there’s all this stuff — it’s not an enjoyable process, it is what it is. You know what you signed up for when you go there, you do it. But as far as I know, that’s what it is.”

On the process becoming more strict in WWE since it began: “And that happened, that got that strict because of those dip-s**ts in FCW before. The dumbasses that were f**king using the fake penises. They used to be able to go in stalls and just piss and you had privacy. But then those guys doing their pro-hormones and all that dumb s**t before they got signed and got down there, and then they got busted. And then so from here on out you have to show your t*ts and pull your pants to your ankles. It’s a stupid — I get it, I’m all for drug testing. I love it, so you don’t want anyone cheating, so that’s what you have to do to show you’re not cheating. I feel like there’s a cooler way to do it, but there’s not.”

On the randomness of the process: “It’s just a random list. And it’s — again, like guys too. And this is the other thing with WWE, and I wasn’t a marijuana guy. Never popped for it and not done it, it just never was my though. There’s a portion of the roster where that’s their thing that they use to go to bed at night after traveling. And they would fine fine these guys $2,500 a pop. There’s guys that said who cares, but guys that would pop for marijuana, the company would test them over and over again because they knew they were going to pop, and they would just be stealing their money. There were guys that paid some pretty hefty fines by the end of the year for marijuana. Which sucks because they’re not using it to be drug addicts; they’re using it to go to bed, because that was the thing that helped put them to bed to calm down. There would be no rhyme or reason to it. I would get tested, there were times where I would go, there were some long stretches in there where you don’t get tested. And then all of a sudden you get tested several times in a really short period. And again, just no rhyme or reason.”

On his claim that Triple H isn’t tested: “Hunter, there’s no way. And if he is, he’ll do one as a publicity stunt. Hunter’s whole career has been made on steroids. That’s f**king — I grew up watching the guy. Without them, he doesn’t exist in pro wrestling. And I grew up loving him as one of my favorites, and that’s what it is. It is very biased what they do there and all that. But the policy in and of itself, I love it. I wish they had strict drug-testing policies in all of wrestling.”

On how often talent is tested: “Four is typically that number. I think you’re tested a minimum of four times, if I’m not mistaken going back. You’re always tested at least four times a year … They can send someone to your house. I actually had someone back, when I was younger in developmental and I was back home at my dad’s house. They actually called me and said that they need a random drug test. And they sent the tester to my dad’s house in Vegas. And he came to my dad’s bathroom with me and they did the whole deal there. Which was, it’s weird. But that’s the angle. UFC will send USADA, if they need a test, you’ve got to be made available to them. Or wherever you are at, if they want to test you — the only way essentially is if your phone, you could say, you don’t answer, and they’re whatever. But typically you’ve got a period where you’ve got to get back to them, where are you at. And then they’ll send somebody at whatever local agencies is closest to you to there, or you’ve got to go there.”

On what Adderall being on the banned list: “Again, and I’m not a guy that I can’t speak on experience on that. But I do know where came a point where Adderall was not allowed. [Roman Reigns] and I think Adam Rose as well [got popped for it]. There was a situation, because there was something with Adderall and marijuana going, and we had meetings on it. I would always just kind of tune out, because it didn’t apply to me. So I would always just be doing my own thing, and wouldn’t be paying much attention. But I do know that there was a thing with that, and an issue of some of the guys that had actually had valid, legit prescriptions for Adderall. Which is odd on that one, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone dying from Adderall. I’m sure there are situations out there, but that was one of the weird ones. I know that there were some talent that were really unhappy with that, that that was becoming an issue because they had valid prescriptions for that.

“And again, when you have that job? Mentally, your mindset it can — creative-wise for guys, and some of the guys that were using it were guys that were under high-stress situations or they have been f**cked with so badly that mentally, they needed something. The job, it can torture your soul. So I just know that one was one of them. Outside of that, I don’t remember anything prescription-wise that being said was not allowed. I think if you had a valid prescription for the majority of things it fell within the rules.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Conversations With the Big Guy with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.