5 WWE Superstars who smoke
The life of a professional wrestler is different than that of most athletes. Despite being in an industry which is hugely taxing on the body, wrestlers don't adhere to the same disciplined lifestyle that other athletes do.
From partying to alcohol, drugs, and much more, performers from around the world, including the WWE have a reputation for living life on the extreme. In addition to all this is the one vice which is heavily frowned upon in every other athletic competition: smoking.
A number of WWE Superstars have been regular smokers over the years. This was, of course, most apparent during the Attitude Era and despite the company's strict PG stance on things now, there is a different scene behind the curtain.
With the lifestyle that wrestlers lead, it's hardly surprising that they smoke so without any further ado, here are 5 WWE Superstars who smoke:
Honourable mention: Randy Orton
It’s not just the cigsm but The Viper even likes to smoke marijuana once in a while. While he may have cut down presently, there was a time when he was nototrious for his smoking habits.
#5 The Big Show
Everyone's favourite wrestling giant, The Big Show has been a known smoker since his earliest days in the business as The Giant in WCW. In fact, during his run as The Giant, he used to walk down the ring with a cigarette in his mouth.
Even after making the jump to WWE, Show did not relent with his passion for cigarettes as he recalls an incident that nearly landed him in a world of trouble with Vince McMahon himself.
Here's what Show had to say about the incident:
“[St.] Valentine’s Day Massacre, right? We’re in Memphis [Tennessee]. So I’m sitting there with Jack Lanza and Pat, first day. I had a t-shirt with a pocket and my Marlboro Lights were in it. Jack goes, ‘oh, you smoke?’ Pat goes, ‘oh, you smoke!’ I’m like, ‘yeah, oh yeah.’ I said, ‘have a cigarette.’ Yeah, so they light up and I’m just sitting there, puffing away, thinking, and we’re talking. And Lanza’s talking to me and Pat takes a couple of puffs, goes over to the toilet and flushes it, sits down. Pat starts talking to me. Jack takes a couple of puffs, goes over to the toilet, throws it in the water, and flushes it. I’m puffing away and Vince walks in a whole room full of smoke [and] I’m the only one smoking. I didn’t want to be a stooge and tell on them because I’m not a stooge. I went, ‘I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t know.’ At the time, I’m like, ‘I’m not going to rat my buddies out.’ And then, later, I was like, ‘them sons of b—–s set me up!'”
Although there haven't been any major incidents since then, a number of people have reportedly seen The Big Show light up outside the ring and it doesn't look like the big guy will be stopping anytime soon.