WWE legend Kurt Angle opened up about his horrible battle with addiction which led to his life “spanning out of control”.
Angle, 56, is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time having won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling back in Atlanta 1996.
The Olympic Hero crossed over to professional wrestling in 1998 and quickly became one of WWE‘s greatest ever superstars by winning six world titles.
However, it all came at a cost as he decided to leave the wrestling giants in 2006 due to a painkiller addiction that he is sure to this day would have led to his death if he had stayed with the promotion.
That led the ex-WWE Champion to TNA where he turned to alcohol and found himself drinking an entire 12-pack of beer at a hotel room until passing out every night for an entire year.
Things got even worse as the former World Heavyweight Champion would then drink 12 beers while driving to the next town where he was scheduled to wrestle.
That led to four DUIs in five years and the WWE Hall of Famer didn’t change his ways until he was arrested and had a heartbreaking phone call with his wife from jail.
The Wrestling Machine’s spouse told him she would take the kids and leave him unless he went to rehab.
The ex-TNA star did just that and never looked back as he revealed he is now 14 years sober.
Angle told Six Feet Under With The Undertaker: “There was just no way I was going to survive in WWE.
“So when I left I went to TNA, I stopped the painkillers. My doctor was giving me two little pills a day, it’s a dose of morphine. That was keeping me from having any withdrawal.
“But then I started drinking alcohol, excessively. I started making horrible decisions.
“What I would do is I would go wrestle, afterward I would go to the store and grab a 12-pack of beer, drive to my hotel room, drink the 12-pack and pass out. That’s what I would do every night. Did it for a year.
“After that I started getting careless and reckless, out of control. What I would do is after the show I would get the 12-pack of beer and drink it while driving to the next town.
“That got me four DUIs in five years. My life span out of control, I lost my reputation, everything I worked for. I was at the lowest point of my life.
“I remember calling my wife from jail after my fourth DUI and she said, ‘I can’t do this anymore. You either go to rehab or I am taking the kids and leaving’.
“I didn’t want to lose my wife and kids so I went to rehab. Best decision I ever made. I have been clean and sober for 14 years now.”
