On a recent episode of the Shut Up and Wrestle podcast, author James Dixon discussed his book, Titan Shrinking, and shared the detailed story behind Sid Justice’s tumultuous final months with the WWF in 1992. The period was marked by backstage politics involving Hulk Hogan, a failed drug test, and frustrations with The Ultimate Warrior, all of which culminated in Sid’s abrupt departure from the company.
The issues began at the 1992 Royal Rumble. The finish of the match saw Hogan, who had already been eliminated, pull Sid out of the ring, which led to the crowd booing the company’s top babyface. According to Dixon, Hogan was furious backstage, believing Vince McMahon had booked the finish to intentionally make him look bad during a time when their relationship was already strained.
Sid witnessed Hogan’s reaction and decided he wanted no part of the political situation. “Sid, who knows that he’s going to be working with Hogan at this point, sort of takes a look at the situation and takes stock of it, and he’s just like, ‘I don’t want any part of this game,'” Dixon said. “So he walked into Vince’s office at the Rumble and said, ‘Vince, thanks, but I’m out of here.'” McMahon convinced Sid to stay through WrestleMania 8 with the promise of a large payday.
However, another issue arose just one week before the pay-per-view. “Sid failed a drug test,” Dixon stated, clarifying a point of confusion in Sid’s own accounts of the events. “It was the Harvey Wippleman, you know, urinating in the fake cup thing and all that stuff… Sid just happened to be done and got caught”. McMahon then used the failed test as leverage, telling Sid he would be suspended and miss his WrestleMania payday unless he agreed to stay on for the European tour after the event.
The final straw came during the post-WrestleMania house show tour, where Sid was booked against The Ultimate Warrior. Sid became frustrated with Warrior’s unprofessionalism and bizarre behavior. “Warrior would, just like in his promos, he would act backstage, like he did in his promos, like he wasn’t from this planet,” Dixon explained. After Warrior refused to cooperate on planning their match, Sid went to the agents and delivered an ultimatum. “[He said] ‘if he does it tonight, you can tell Vince, I’m out of here. I’m going, I’m not doing it,'” Dixon recounted. When McMahon sided with Warrior on the match finish, Sid “walked right out the building, and that was it,” at which point McMahon officially suspended him for the prior drug test failure.
These stories and more are detailed in Dixon’s book, Titan Shrinking: How Wrestling’s Muscle Lost Its Power, which focuses on the tumultuous year of 1992 in the WWF. The full interview can be heard on the Shut Up and Wrestle podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Shut up and Wrestle with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
