Zach Gowen, one of the most unique performers in WWE history, recently appeared on the “Limpin Ain’t Easy” podcast for a candid interview, detailing his incredible life journey from a young fan battling cancer to a WWE superstar, and his subsequent fall into addiction and eventual recovery.
Gowen’s story began at a young age, with a battle that would define the rest of his life. “I lost my entire left leg to the Battle of cancer when I was eight years old,” he stated. During that difficult period, he found an escape in the world of professional wrestling that helped him cope. “What really propelled and helped me hang on and get through that valley in my life was my love of professional wrestling,” he said. “When I tapped into the magic of professional wrestling, I didn’t really feel the pain of having cancer or losing my leg. It was like a lifesaver for me.”
While he remained a fan for years, the idea of becoming a wrestler himself didn’t seem possible until he saw Rey Mysterio, who broke the mold of what a top superstar looked like. Inspired, Gowen began training at 18 and was signed to a WWE contract at just 20 years old after a tryout match with TNA created a buzz throughout the industry.
However, after a memorable but short run, Gowen was released from the company in 2004. He recalled the moment he was fired, a meeting he had in person with Jim Ross in New York. “He was so gracious and kind,” Gowen said of Ross. “He was giving me advice, and he was generous with his time… I recall him being almost fatherly, in a time that I needed it.”
After the release, Gowen felt his life’s plan had been destroyed, which led to a difficult period where he struggled with his emotions. “I was angry. I was going through the gamut of emotions,” he said. “At the end of the day, I found the answer for what I was looking for in drugs and alcohol. That’s what provided the relief that I was looking for. That was the only thing that really worked to kind of ease that pain that I was in, and that started my incredible journey into drug addiction and alcoholism, which happened very, very, very fast.”
His addiction led him to self-sabotage his career on the independent circuit, and he admitted that he “burned every single professional bridge along the way” with promotions around the world. “I would just blow it up in their face. And at a certain point, the wrestling business just said, ‘Listen, we don’t want Zach.’ Nobody was willing to give me an opportunity,” he recalled.
This downward spiral led him to his lowest point. “I found myself at 26 years old… with no ability to make money, no ability to do what I love, strung out on everything, no hope, damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” he said. “It felt like the end, really, it really did.”
The turning point came during a conversation with his mother, where he finally asked for help. “I was just open and honest and vulnerable, and I said, ‘Mom, listen, I’m scared. I don’t know what to do, and I need help’,” he recounted. That conversation gave him the courage to reach out to the very company that had released him years earlier.
“From that conversation led to me reaching out to WWE, which immediately got me into a treatment facility, which saved my life, provided the foundation for the life that I get to live now,” Gowen stated.
He has maintained his sobriety ever since that intervention. “That was February, 2010 and I’ve been sober ever since, and my life has never been better,” he said. “How can you go from the highs of where I was at to the lows of where I was at to the level of contentment and gratitude for what I have now? I’ve been able to live all of these lives, and I’m just so grateful for it.”
When asked if he regrets having cancer, he offered a nuanced perspective. “Obviously, yes, like, I would choose not to have cancer,” he said. “But if I didn’t have cancer, I wouldn’t have lost my leg, and if I hadn’t lost my leg, I wouldn’t have been able to live out my dream as a WWE superstar… and now I get to use that tough time in my life as a tool to help people and to make a living and to love on my wife and my children. So there’s zero regrets.”
His recovery is something he works on every day. “My biggest handicap isn’t my leg or anything I’ve gone through physically. My biggest handicap is my attitude,” Gowen explained. “So I gotta overcome me every single day. And that’s why it’s a daily reprieve that I have from alcoholism and from drug addiction. It’s a spiritual path… which requires daily maintenance. And so that’s the thing I’m most proud of in my life.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Limpin’ Ain’t Easy with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
