Teddy Long has revealed that he stopped smoking weed as a sign of respect for Vince McMahon.
Professional wrestling and marijuana have been bed fellows for decades, from Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan sharing their “chocolate cake” to The Godfather smoking in one of The Undertaker’s coffins.
However, the drug was listed as a banned substance as part of WWE’s internal wellness policy, and the company were known to issue fines to those using it.
During an appearance on the Wrestling Inc Daily, WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long, a long-time marijuana user, revealed that he once gave up smoking weed out of respect for Vince McMahon.
“I said, ‘Hey man, my job is more important so I don’t want to let Vince [McMahon] down’,” he revealed. “That man gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and the reason I am where I am today is because of Vince. So, I quit, maybe about a year. I quit for a real long time. What made me start back, man, I think I just got kind of burnt out. I had been on the road for over 25 years of my life… I think I just kind of got stressed, then me and Chioda kind of started riding again.”
It was reported that back in April, WWE have quietly changed their wellness policy and no longer test for marijuana.
Many WWE stars both past and present had previously pushed back over WWE’s stance on marijuana. This included criticism from Bret Hart as far back as the 1990’s. Hart surmised that the drug was a better alternative to coping with life on the road than many of the substances that wrestlers were using instead.
In modern WWE, Randy Orton and Riddle picked up that baton, while Kona Reeves also pushed for change while with the company.
H/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.
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