10 Worst Things Wrestlers Went Through After Becoming Famous

Whether superstars grew up dreaming of life in the ring, or they fell into the business, the greatest superstars all achieve a level of fame that they never dreamed of. Whether they wanted it or not. But just because fame and fortune arrived at these stars' doorsteps doesn’t change the fact that they go through their own issues - just like us.

Unlike us fans though, wrestlers of WWE and AEW fame, today live under a microscope and their troubles sometimes seem far more grandiose than anything fans have ever experienced. It is hard to understand sometimes how it happens, but some of these superstars had wild falls from grace while others just had events happen that were out of their control.

10 Ric Flair Nearly Died

While there is a documentary chronicling David Arquette’s return to the wrestling business called You Cannot Kill David Arquette, perhaps that should be the name of the next big Ric Flair documentary.

Because The Nature Boy seems to be immortal. Not only did survive two plane crashes before he became a folk hero. Long after that, several years ago Naitch was put into a coma to treat kidney failure and other complications from surgery. Friends, family, and wrestling journalists all began composing their obituaries.

9 Jeff Hardy’s Demons

According to the rulers of House Hardy, before they became famous both Matt and Jeff Hardy were fairly straight-laced guys when it came to recreational drugs and alcohol. But then those demons found them both over the years.

Seemingly, Jeff far more than Matt. Jeff just finished another stint and rehab and just like every other time before, the fans are pulling for him to make a real kickout and not become another wrestling tragedy.

8 Chyna’s Heartache

Every account of Joanie Laurer’s entire life was that she wanted to be loved. It was through bodybuilding and wrestling that she found that love. The love, respect, and admiration of her peers who became her family. She also fell in love with Triple H. But all of that went away once it was revealed that The Game was dating Stephanie McMahon.

After she didn’t re-sign with the company, her heartache seemingly led to her downward spiral into drugs and depression, both of which eventually claimed her soul and ultimately her life.

7 Bret Hart’s Stroke

Bret Hart - Sharpshooter Funding Cropped

Having your head used as a football by Goldberg is one thing. It did ultimately lead to the end of Bret Hart’s career. That along with several other mitigating factors led to Bret’s stroke in the summer of 2002.

Bret was riding his motorcycle when it happened. As anyone who knows someone who has ever suffered a stroke, then you know full well just how lucky The Hitman is to have recovered completely. But there are still some moments in interviews that you can tell it still does affect him slightly.

6 Saraya’s Life Hacked

While plenty of actors and musicians enjoy a modicum of superstardom before they turn twenty-five, that is a little more unique in the wrestling business. But Saraya is one of the few wrestlers who changed the game and achieve superstardom all before she was 25.

But sadly with that fame came the defiance of youth. Paige did plenty of things that a lot of probably did or knew someone who did some of these things. Saraya, unfortunately, had to go through these moments of scrutiny under the microscope.

5 Daniel Bryan Forced To Retire

While it’s not one of the more salacious or gratuitous things on this list, imagine this scenario. All you want to do is be a professional wrestler. The day you graduate high school, you drive halfway across the country to train with Shawn Michaels. You are considered among your peers and Indy fans as one of the best if not the best in the world. You finally sign with WWE, only to be fired on a technicality.

Daniel Bryan got rehired and didn’t just rise to be a top guy - the fans willed him into being THE Guy! But injuries and non-disclosures of injuries had led to WWE forcing the Leader of the Yes Movement to retire. Admittedly over the years, he has said, it devastated him.

4 Sunny

The original Diva, Sunny is a clear-cut case of too much, too soon and frankly not knowing how to handle her life. The Jersey Girl next door came into the business with her high school sweetheart Chris Candido. As they both rose through the ranks, Sunny was transformed into a vixen for WWE. The backstage antics and drug use certainly didn’t help.

In more recent years instead of getting her act together, she has descended into being quite the terrible and remorseless person. She has been in and out of jail for repeated DUI offenses - the latest tragically had manslaughter charges on top of the DUI.

3 Jake Roberts

Wrestling fans and the family of Jake Roberts should thank their lucky stars that not only is Jake still with us, but that he’s ever been with us at all. He, unfortunately, suffered a lot of familial trauma before he ever stepped foot in the ring.

Those hardships and pain from injuries led The Snake down an even darker path. But luckily, we fans got to witness him crawl out of his darkness in real time and get to claim his spot as one of the greatest minds in the business ever.

2 Kevin Nash

Everyone has heard the saying that no parent should ever have to outlive their children. It’s true, parents do all they can to raise and protect their children so that they can outlive them. Kevin Nash is one of the many parents who had to suffer and continue to endure this level of gut-wrenching pain.

His son Tristan passed away on October 20, 2022, from a seizure-induced heart attack. If that wasn’t horrific enough, October 20th was going to be hard enough for the big man - that was also Scott Hall’s birthday.

1 Hulk Hogan

There aren’t more wild falls from grace than that of The Immortal Hulk Hogan. Through a bad friendship he once had, he was videotaped (supposedly) without his consent in a compromising position to say the least.

During these proceedings, The Hulkster said some fairly terrible things. It led to his brief exclusion from the very industry he helped to form in the eighties and to this day still haunts him.