Wardlow Opens Up About Past Substance Abuse Issues
AEW TNT Champion Wardlow has emotionally opened up on his past dealings with substance abuse and the toll this took on his mental health.
Wardlow, the former bodyguard of MJF, has been a real breakthrough performer in AEW this year, having deserted ‘The Salt of the Earth’ at Revolution and subsequently demolishing him at Double or Nothing. Now reigning as the TNT Champion in his first reign, ‘Mr Mayhem’ is doing tremendously well for himself.
He’s now lifted the lid on how, exactly, he reached this point in life. As he passionately detailed on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Wardlow previously had issues with alcohol and drugs, past dealings which make his current life situation “overwhelming”:
“I mean, how much wrestling I watched growing up and how much I obsessed [I was] with it, and how far off-track I got after high school from a while seemingly ruining my life and my dreams. I mean, I went down a real bad path for a while with drugs and alcohol and depression, and so to finally make it and be in this company, not [as in] AEW [the] company, but the company of the likes of Matt [Hardy], Jeff [Hardy], and so forth, it is a beautiful thing, it is overwhelming.
It’s overwhelming on a daily basis, how much damage I did to my life and to be able to get it all back and fight for it back and be here and be sitting next to this man. It’s like, no matter how much wrong I did in life, it’s moments like these that make me realise everything was done right. Everything happened for a reason, and this is absolutely the path that I’m supposed to be on. And I’m absolutely exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Wardlow came into All Elite Wrestling in November 2019, joining forces with MJF following his split from Cody Rhodes. Now known for his Powerbomb Symphony, the TNT Champion has held the championship since dethroning Scorpio Sky in July, marking his first title victory in the promotion.