Roid Rage And Wrestling

Friday, June 29th 2007, 8:48 pm

By: News On 6

Anabolic steroids were found in the home of Chris Benoit, the pro-wrestler who authorities say strangled his wife and son and then hanged himself. There is no word on a motive for the killings, but a major question in the investigation is whether steroids played a part in their deaths. News On 6 anchor Jennifer Loren reports according to a former pro-wrestler who knew Benoit, and a local doctor who's studied steroids, we may never know.

By all accounts Chris Benoit was a calm and likable man who loved his family. Thatâ€™s why people who knew him are in disbelief that he could kill anyone, people like former pro-wrestling manager Cowboy Bill Watts who lives in Oklahoma.

"He was quiet, he was reliable, he had a really great work ethic and everybody liked him; whereas some of the guys weren't that way," former pro wrestler and manager Cowboy Bill Watts said.

Watts says he saw the effects steroids had on his wrestlers every day.

"One of the top stars that's now dead told me, â€˜Bill every morning when I wake up the first thing I want to do is kill somebody.â€™ I said what a wonderful way to wake up, what are you doing? He was shooting straight monkey hormone," said Watts.

But even before the juice era, when Watts was a pro-wrestler himself, he said athletes were always looking for an edge on the competition. And with today's easy access to steroids he looks at some of today's pro-wrestlers, and thinks itâ€™s a no brainer.

"When you see a guy thatâ€™s just bigger than human itâ€™s pretty simple,â€ Watts said. â€œItâ€™s pretty simple that you know he's taking some juice."

But still, he thinks Benoit's case is more complex than roid rage.

Dr. William Yates is a psychologist. He's studied the effects of high testosterone levels in humans; he says roid rage is real, although not all steroid users get it.

"We do know that that occurs. Itâ€™s probably not real common, it probably doesn't occur in all users, but there may be some individuals who have a response to steroids in this way," psychologist Dr. William Yates said.

Relatively few studies have been done on steroids in the U.S., but Yates says most studies show that the more aggressive the subject is on a daily basis, like as a professional wrestler, the more likely it is they'll have the effects of roid rage. But with Benoitâ€™s case he says there are too many other factors involved to blame just the steroids.

"Itâ€™s likely to be a pretty complicated scenario rather than just an effect of, or response to an anabolic steroid compound," said Yates.

Benoit's father also thinks there is more to this story. On Friday he said the family is awaiting results of toxicology tests in hopes of understanding why it happened.

Watch the video: Oklahoma Wrestler Weighs In On Benoit Case

WEB EXTRA: Extended Interview With Cowboy Bill Watts