Justin Credible Outlines the Process of Attending WWE’s Sponsored Rehab

Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Justin Credible was recently interviewed on The Steve Austin Show, where he spoke about his addictions and attending a WWE funded rehab.

Credible recently explained to Booker T on his Heated Conversations podcast how his opioid addiction may have ruined any chance he had at further success in his career.

He continued on this point with Austin, explaining that he kicked the addiction about five or six years ago, but took to alcohol soon after due to mental illness.

“I got clean off opioids about five, six years ago. Since then, I felt, I guess, I wasn’t really happy with who I was and trying to find a life outside the [pro wrestling] business because, quite frankly, it wasn’t paying the bills and it was really hard for me mentally. It became a mental health issue, so I started drinking. At first, not too much, just casual. A beer here, a beer there, and it just snowballed, man. It snowballed into, like, 750 liters of vodka a day. You mix that up with, like, Coca-Cola and sugar, because I actually hate the taste of booze, believe it or not.”

After reaching nearly 300 lbs, Credible finally reached out to WWE in the hopes that they could assist him.

“Over a period of five years, brother, it snowballed to where I was almost 300 lbs. of just pure bloat, fat, on the verge of death. My liver failing, my calves were… I thought I was going to lose my legs. It was ridiculous. So anyways, I went for help. I asked WWE’s Wellness Policy.”

As he explained to Booker, Credible told Austin that he took opioid in the first place in order to fit in.

“I wanted to fit in and I went above and beyond to fit in. I was a young guy, an impressionable kid, not really well-schooled in the real world at that age. I was 19 or 20 years old. I didn’t think anything of it.”

Credible claims he developed an oxycontin dependency in ECW, which continued into his WWE run alongside X-Pac as X-Factor. He switched to intravenous heroin when he stopped making WWE money.

“Man, it was really pain pills that started it all. It started 30-days straight on the road sometimes, doing those small shots. I was a young kid coming up, trying to make it in the business. And [Austin] know[s] how insecure things were back then. I wouldn’t complain. I was a young man in a big man’s game. A lot of my idols and heroes is was in the business with and you don’t want to seem like… It was a bunch of peer pressure, but it was also doing it just to do it. I needed to to get out there or someone else would take your spot real quick, so it started with the pain pills and when ECW came around, oxycontin started to come out and it became a real big thing. It was everywhere. Unfortunately, I rarely had a doctor and it carried over to when I was in WWE for my run with X-Pac in that tag team for a cup of coffee, a couple of years. And then, when I didn’t really have any employment, I hate to say it, it’s pretty embarrassing, but it is what it is. But when the money ran dry, I did IV heroin because it was cheaper.”

Credible believes it was WWE’s Wellness Program that saved his life and helped him beat his opioid addiction, though noted his alcohol addiction is more difficult to conquer in part due to the cultural acceptance it has.

“The Wellness Program, the first time around, saved my life, and that got me good. But booze is so hard, man. Not to give it whatever, but it’s so hard because it’s so culturally available. Like, I was at my daughter’s christening Thursday, man, and everyone’s kicking back at the afterparty having a cocktail, having a glass of wine, and I know that I can’t have that one. Do you know what I mean? For me, it’s a torturous thing. It’s like, ‘hell, why have one when I can have two or three and feel that feeling?’ And, unfortunately, I know I can’t. I can’t. I don’t have that control and it’s just one of those things and it kind of sucks. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful to just be here, dude.”

Finally, he outlined the process of the Wellness Program.

“You call the office, Talent Relations. There’s actually a network of people, men, and women that are a part of the WWE who are in that network, that’s your support team. But they’ll set you up in a facility. A lot of the time, depending on what you use, what your drug of choice is or if it’s alcohol, whatever it is, there is a medical protocol that you go through, detoxification program, whatever you need and they teach you. Man, it’s amazing the level of life skills or lack of because it’s a full-time job being an addict.”

With H/T to WrestlingInc for the transcription.

You can find a match between Credible and Vader, who recently had emergency surgery below, courtesy of the Title Match Wrestling Network.

(FULL MATCH) Vader vs Justin Credible w/ Insane Clown Posse as Commissioners

Were you aware he was suffering from addiction? Have you ever been familiar with WWE’s rehab process?

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