Brian Cage’s physique helps him stand out among his AEW peers, which is a big part of his presentation as “The Machine.” However, fans have often speculated about his possible steroid use, which Cage admitted during an interview on “The Smoothvega Podcast.”
“I don’t care, I want to be more and more open about it,” Cage said of performance-enhancing drugs. However, he clarified that steroids are not a magic solution to building muscle and it still requires a lot of hard work. “Do steroids work? Absolutely. Did I take PEDs? Absolutely! I never said I didn’t!”
Cage has stated that his success is not due to PEDs, although he has acknowledged that he used testosterone replacement therapy to help him maintain his physique at age 42. According to Cage, he is far from alone in this regard, and he pointed out that the federal government has changed the classification of many PEDs in recent years and that more recent research has denied any link between steroids and cardiac arrest.
Despite this, Cage has one important caveat regarding steroid use. “There’s obviously a difference between use and abuse in everything, right?” he pointed out, citing how someone can consume alcohol responsibly or start abusing it regularly. “Everyone takes peptides, and they’re awesome, they’re really phenomenal! Again, are they magic? No. Do they work overnight? No.”
Brian Cage comments on Chris Benoit and “roid rage”
Steroid use is controversial in the professional wrestling world for several reasons, but most notably in regards to the double murder-suicide of Chris Benoit in 2007. Benoit’s actions have often been publicly linked to steroid use as well as extreme levels of CTE, but Cage does not believe steroids were the cause of Benoit’s actions this weekend.
“Even when this happened, I’m like – I wasn’t on steroids at the time – but right away I’m like, ‘This isn’t a ‘roid rage’ thing.’ First of all, as I said, I don’t entirely believe it, but also an “eroid rage would not be a three-day premeditated setup,” he argued, sharing his belief that there were other factors involved in Benoit’s crimes.
Cage also recalled his early history of steroid use, saying he never touched them until his very first bodybuilding competition, denying taking anything during his independent run. “I had a really bad temper in high school and stuff when I was younger, and that was also one of the reasons why I never wanted to do it. I thought because of the rage of the roids I was going to lose it – which is also, I’m afraid to tell you, a bit of bullshit,” he said. Cage then added that people who suffer from “roid rage” are likely using steroids simply to justify the anger issues they already have, while admitting that some people will react differently to the chemicals they put into their bodies.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit “The Smoothvega Podcast” and provide ah/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.
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