WWE/TNA Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley has revealed he used performance enhancing drugs for three years during his TNA run, that he failed a TNA drug test with zero disciplinary consequences, and that his sons entering the wrestling business was what ultimately made him stop.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, D-Von said the decision to use PEDs came down to two reasons: his testosterone levels were low and a doctor prescribed them, and the demands of a grueling road schedule made the recovery benefits impossible to ignore.
“We’re on the road 300 days out of the year. There are certain steroids that would help you to recover quicker and faster,” he said. “When you’re putting your bodies and careers on the line four to five days a week, the hurt and pain that came through our body, and a lot of times the steroids pretty much subdued that pain. It stopped it. It made you heal quicker.”
D-Von said at his heaviest he got to nearly 300 pounds, up from his usual 242 to 250, and that the added weight took a significant toll. “I felt horrible, because I wasn’t used to carrying that much weight around,” he said. “When it got to the point where I couldn’t breathe anymore because I was carrying all that weight trying to move around, that was when I realized, maybe you shouldn’t do this anymore.”
He also revealed he failed a TNA drug test during this period and received no punishment beyond a brief phone call. “I got a phone call said, ‘Hey, you’ve been tested positive for such and such.’ I went, ‘So what are you telling me?’ He’s like, ‘Just don’t do it again. Goodbye.’ Click.” D-Von was clear that this occurred under TNA’s old regime and before the current ownership took over. “This was way before that,” he said.
The moment that changed everything was when his two oldest sons, Terrence and Terrell, known in the business as TNT, began training for a career in professional wrestling.
“My kids were the reason why I stopped,” he said. “I did not want them to have to hear the stories about their dad doing stuff that he shouldn’t have been doing. And if they ever got mixed up into it, how can I preach to them and tell them not to do it when their father was doing it? So I sat them down and had talks with them over and over again. Do not do it. Trust me. It’s not going to be good. Not to mention it’s gonna hurt you and it could possibly kill you.”
D-Von said he was careful throughout to work through a doctor rather than sourcing from outside a medical setting, and that the amount he used was not excessive. He credited stopping before more serious damage occurred. “There are a lot of things in life that we’re not proud of. That’s one of the things I wish I could go back and change. Thank God nothing happened, and thank God I escaped without any injuries to any parts of my body because of the use.”
His closing message was directed at younger athletes and wrestlers. “If you have the opportunity to get into this wrestling business or any other sports entertainment or just being an athlete, trust me, you could do without it. Just put in the hard work and determination and believe me, you can do it without that stuff.”
The full video is available on D-Von Dudley’s YouTube channel.
