VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. And Carlos Ashenoff is a professional wrestler and a friend of Benoit`s. And he goes by the name Conan. Who could forget that, Conan? Carlos Ashenoff, thank you for joining us tonight. I know this is difficult for you because you are a friend and were a friend for a long time of Benoit`s. But something doesn`t add up here. The dates that they`re talking about, where Benoit allegedly received all of these steroids, is smack in the middle of the time where the WWE says that he passed a test this past April. So somebody is not getting the story right. Who do you think it is? What`s your analysis of it?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Well, first let me preface the conversation by stating that I hope that my appearance here raise awareness of what`s happening in our industry and brings about change. The wrestling industry is not regulated. There`s no pension plan, no retirement plan, no union. We work the whole year. And you know, in baseball, there was a congressional investigation to alleged steroid usage, and we`ve had actual deaths, and nothing`s happened.
Now, getting back to the question, you know, there`s basically -- WWE, it doesn`t behoove them to take their biggest revenue makers, you know, out of the ring. They`re going to lose money, you know? So obviously, they turned -- you know, they turned a blind eye.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you know, I got to say, thinking about all of this, there`s nobody better to comment than somebody who`s actually been in the ring, been in this world, and we have him tonight with us. His name is Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff. And I want to ask you a tough question, Carlos. You`ve expressed doubts about the WWE`s sincerity in this matter. Have you ever taken steroids? Tell us about it, if you have.
ASHENOFF: Yes, I have. But all you have to do is watch their program. They have a show on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Look at the condition the guys are in. There`s no way you can maintain that condition year-round if you`re not on them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying that -- and this was something I wondered, as just a person who`s seen these guys in action. They seem larger, physically larger than normal human beings. And you`re saying if somebody`s physically larger than a normal human being and their muscles are bulging to a point that they seem almost superhuman, they`re on steroids?
ASHENOFF: Well, do you see normal people walking around like that on the streets year-round? It`s impossible to achieve or attain that look without steroids. I mean, I`m pretty well versed on them because I used them for a long time because in this industry, there`s a premium on that look. You`re rewarded for looking that way. And you know, it`s just a shame because now we`re starting to find out that all these people, you know, all these wrestlers are dying due to enlarged hearts. It hardens arteries. You`re having all these people that are -- you know, all these wrestlers that are dying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did you feel when you were doing it? Happened to you physically?
ASHENOFF: Oh, I got bigger, stronger, you know, more aggressive. You know...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you get into fights?
ASHENOFF: No, not really. I mean, you know, I didn`t have that `roid rage that you hear about, but you know, I have seen people that have gone into `roid rages.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Carlos Ashenoff, also known as Conan, according to some claims and reports, it goes beyond steroids into other drugs. The "Daily News" is saying that some of the people who are engaged in the pro wrestling world have been known to use GHB, which is also known as the date rape drug. Have you ever heard anything about this?
CARLOS ASHENOFF, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: Yes, that`s like liquid ecstasy. That was very, very popular in the `90s, and it helps you get ripped. It gives you a buzz. I mean, it`s very hard because, like I said before, you`re on the road the whole year, so you`re hurt, you`re depressed, you need something to pick you up, something to bring you down, something to keep you strong, so it`s a lot of recreational drugs, steroids and pain killers.
What Vince McMahon needs to do is actually fine people, suspend people or fire people if he has to, if he finds them on steroids, like Alex Marvez says, or pain killer, because they`re just giving us a lot of lip service. After Eddie Guerrero died last year, who was like a brother to me, you know, they started implementing steroid testing again to make sure they could quash or quell any media uproar, but they picked a couple patsies, and that was it. I mean, he`s got to do something about this. He`s got to be responsible.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but when you say that they instituted this, are you saying that these tests are meaningless? Because Benoit passed the test in April, at the very time -- and I`m repeating myself, but this is a crucial fact -- at the very time that authorities are saying he was being given huge quantities of steroids.
ASHENOFF: Well, like I said earlier, you know, it doesn`t benefit them to take some of their biggest revenue makers out of the ring, so they just basically police themselves. If anybody`s showing up late or anybody showing any signs of drug abuse, they put them in rehab.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in here. What is the test? I mean, what exactly do they do to test that is so questionable at this point?
ASHENOFF: It`s a urine test, but, you know, they just pick a couple people, make an example out of them, and everybody else polices themselves.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you saying people use the whizzinator? I don`t want to tell anybody what that is, but they can use their imagination to figure it out. You can fake a urine test. It`s called a whizzinator.
ASHENOFF: Yes, right, I know exactly what it is. The bottom line is you don`t have to, because they never bust the top guys. That`s just it. You know, they make an example of a couple people so the media doesn`t say that they`re not doing anything, and that`s what`s happening. They give a lot of lip service.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Carlos Ashenoff, Conan, you said you`ve seen guys with `roid rage. What does it look like?
ASHENOFF: Well, you know, they get uncontrollable rage. They get very violent. They want to fight. They want to break stuff and, you know, just very aggressive.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but everybody said that Chris Benoit was soft- spoken. Everybody says this, that he was such a sweet guy who wouldn`t hurt a fly.
ASHENOFF: Well, he was. You know, I don`t think it was `roid rage, because, you know, what he did sounded a little bit more deliberate, and it was over a three-day span, and `roid rage is kind of just bouts and fits of rage for, you know, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. But he was very kind, you know, very uncharacteristic of him. I would have never thought that he would have done anything like this. He was a gentleman.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think? I mean, you`re saying that it`s a big problem, that things need to be cleaned up, but now you`re saying, well, you don`t think it`s `roid rage?
ASHENOFF: Well, I`m saying...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do you think he did it?
(CROSSTALK)
ASHENOFF: I have absolutely no idea. He obviously snapped, but the bottom line is, is that, you know, wrestlers are taking a lot of pain killers, steroids and recreational drugs, and it needs to be cleaned up and needs to be regulated.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell in tonight for Nancy Grace. And we`ve been talking about this crisis in the world of professional wrestling. We`re very happy to have with us tonight Conan, also known as Carlos Ashenoff.
You`ve admitted to us that you`ve taken steroids and now you have health problems. Tell us about it.
ASHENOFF: Yes, it wasn`t from the steroids. It was more from the pain killers, due to the fact that I had to use pain killers, because I needed a hip replacement operation, and the company that I was with, TNA, wouldn`t pay for it. I had to get on pain killers and, due to the continued use of that, it shut down my kidneys, and now I have to get a kidney transplant.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, I`m so sorry to hear that. When is that coming up?
ASHENOFF: Hopefully next week. But let me tell you something. You had asked me before what I thought the thing was with Chris Benoit. There seems to be a correlation between undiagnosed concussions and football players who, after they retire, they commit suicide. He might have had an undiagnosed concussion.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s as good a guess as any. And, again, when we get the toxicology results back, we will know for sure whether he was on steroids and whether it was `roid rage or whatever it was, but we do know one thing. It was a horrible tragedy, and we as a nation need to look at this issue of unnecessary drug use.
