This week marked the last episode in season three of Dark Side of the Ring, and it was a big one. The Steroid Trials, an episode all about the government's attempt to send Vince McMahon to jail for distributing steroids to WWE Superstars and insisting that they use them while under his employ. A topic all long-time WWE fans know about but not something that has really been covered in detail since it went down during the early '90s.
Jerry McDevitt And George Zahorian
The episode begins by introducing some of the journalists who covered the trials, but also Jerry McDevitt. McDevitt might not be a name many wrestling fans have ever heard, but he knows McMahon better than perhaps anyone outside of the chairman's own family. McDevitt is a lawyer and has been WWE's attorney for 30 years, defending the company during the steroid trials.
The build to the trials begins long before they are ever officially incoming. Anabolic steroids had to be prescribed by a doctor and would become a controlled substance in 1990. Prior to that Dr. George Zahorian would give wrestlers whatever they wanted. He would even be at WWE shows and has appeared on WWE TV. Once the government started coming after him, the company cut ties.
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A weightlifter turned Zahorian in, working a deal that meant he wouldn't be charged with anything. When raiding his office, the FBI finds a photo of Zahorian with McMahon and Hulk Hogan. That begins the road to McMahon and WWE's own trials. The FBI gets in touch with Brian Blair and tells him they intercepted his packages from Zahorian. Blair also agrees to testify against the doctor providing he is granted immunity.
Despite records showing Hogan received steroids from Zahorian, he was excused from being a part of the trial due to the possibility of it damaging his career. McMahon held a press conference at the time announcing WWE was introducing a strict drug testing policy. Hogan would later appear on Arsenio Hall, at which time he claimed he had only ever taken steroids to recover from an injury. Everyone knew he was lying, and that further convinced the FBI to go after WWE and McMahon.
WWE's Trials Begin
WWE was issued with a number of subpoenas in 1992, at which point McDevitt learned as much as he could about steroids. He says it felt like they were being stalked for 18 months and accuses the FBI of leaking information to the press in an attempt to demonize McMahon. A report claimed McMahon's old limo driver was prepared to state in court that the chairman had steroids delivered to Hogan. He was never called to the stand, probably because he had been caught lying in court during a previous case against WWE.
WW places an onus on smaller wrestlers during this time for obvious reasons. Hogan also leaves, eventually signing for WCW. Once McMahon was finally indicted, it was almost welcomed. McDevitt described it as a chance to end all this. The boss faced eight years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines if he were to be found guilty.
The images from that time show McMahon in a neck brace. Some people accuse him of wearing it in an attempt to get the jury to feel sorry for him. McDevitt claims it was a legitimate necessity since McMahon had recently undergone neck surgery. Apparently, he waited until then to have it as he was going to be off WWE TV for a while and didn't want to have to wear it on screen. There's a moment at the end of the episode where McMahon removes it after he (spoiler alert) wins the case to celebrate, but puts it right back on after.
Due to McDevitt representing Hogan during the Zahorian trial, he was not allowed to represent McMahon in his trial. He was allowed to represent WWE though, and he brought in Laura Brevetti to represent McMahon. That actually worked in their favor as it allowed both of them to issue closing statements.
The prosecutors proceed to bring in a number of wrestlers in the hope that they will reveal McMahon either supplied them with or forced them to use steroids. Only one of them does. Kevin Wacholz, better known to wrestling fans as Nailz. Wacholz claims McMahon told him his job depended on him using steroids. The defense argued that since Wacholz wore a jumpsuit while wrestling, why would WWE care how muscular he was underneath. Wacholz claims he doesn't hold animosity towards McMahon but reveals he hates him in the next breath.
Zahorian And Hogan Are Called To The Stand
The biggest threat to McMahon during the trial was when the prosecution called Zahorian to the stand from prison. The doctor was dragged from prison to prison for 44 days, not being told what was happening until he was on the stand. When asked about a supposed conversation he had about distributing steroids with McMahon, Zahorian says he has no idea what they're talking about. Zahorian is played a recording in which he can be heard saying he would be willing to give steroids to children, something he was never charged for. After hearing that, he claims he does remember having the aforementioned conversation with McMahon.
Brevetti, McMahon's lawyer, and her husband are accused of witness tampering after she has an answer for all of McMahon's secretary's questions. The lawyer and her husband are dragged through the press despite nothing ever being proved. McMahon records a statement in which he slams the press for trying to create something out of nothing.
By this time, the relationship between McMahon and Hogan was incredibly broken. That's why the prosecution believed they had what they needed to beat McMahon when they called the Hulkster to the stand. That was not the case. Hogan said he and McMahon were gym buddies, even admitting that they would give each other spare steroids if they had them. However, he categorically states McMahon never sold him steroids, nor did he ever force him to use them.
Not Guilty
The final blow to the case built against McMahon came when McDevitt brought up a steroid called Anavar. A drug the FDA had reported was damaging to its users, yet it wasn't removed from circulation. The jury passed a note to the judge asking if this was true. When the judge said yes, the case, which was already on life support, was effectively over.
The jury still deliberated over the decisions for hours, but would eventually find McMahon and WWE not guilty of all charges brought against them. The McMahons and McDevitt went out and celebrated that night, which is when McMahon jokingly removed the neck brace as discussed above.