Bruce Prichard On How Vince McMahon Handled The Steroid Controversy In 1993

In 1993 Vince McMahon was indicted in federal court after being accused of distributing steroids to WWE superstars. Former WWE producer Bruce Prichard briefly discussed the controversy on a recent episode of his Something To Wrestle podcast. 

One of the big moments was when then WWE superstar Hulk Hogan denied using steroids when he appeared on a late night talk show. WWE wished to get their side out to the public, and their plan was to use Macho Man Randy Savage to openly speak about the subject of steroids on WWF Radio.

"The subject was out there. Everybody else was talking about it. It was Vince McMahon's strategy. Rather than everyone else talking about it, we will talk about it and will get our story out and be honest about it. One of the biggest thing that hit the company was the Arsenio Hall Show and everybody goes back to that when Hulk Hogan said that he didn't use steroids on the Arsenio Hall Show. That backlash stung and hurt for a while.

There were a lot of people that were upset about that, particularly Randy Savage. I wasn't in the company at the time so I don't know first-hand what that general feeling was at the time, however, I remember the after-effects where Vince McMahon said that we were still reeling from those comments. He wanted to get his story out there that we were going to do it with WWF Radio."

Hogan's comments were very damning for WWE, because Hogan at the time was a big star in WWF/WWE. He was always seen as a locker room leader back in those days. McMahon would have preferred if Hogan admitted that the steroids were legally prescribed by a doctor.

"Hulk Hogan was a leader and it absolutely did reflect on us. I had been told that Vince, everyone encouraged him to tell the truth because when Hogan did take them they were legal. They were prescribed by a doctor. All of those different things that people forget about, it just wasn't a good choice in my opinion. It hurt the company, it hurt Vince McMahon for a while and Vince just wanted to get his side of it out there to have a true voice rather than going through a third party like on a talk show."