The Undertaker retired in November of last year as a true legend of WWE.

He was Vince McMahon's top star for three decades and hit his peak during the time that sports entertainment saw its biggest boom.

Things have certainly changed a lot since The Phenom was wrestling night in, night out in WWE. 

Many things have indeed changed for the better - especially expectations around talent's use of dangerous substances and their general health. 

The now-famous 'Wellness Program' prohibits wrestlers from abusing prescription and performance-enhancing drugs - but it didn't exist until 2006. 

Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Undertaker - whose real name is Mark Calaway - admitted to using steroids in the past amid pressure to 'look jacked' every night. 

"There was a time where everyone had to be big, jacked, right. Especially the 6ft 8in guys, the big guys - there was a stigma, you’ve got to be 300 pounds. 

The Undertaker was under pressure to look jacked in WWE

"It’s in our head – nobody gives a s***. They’re interested in the characters and what you do on TV. But in our heads, 'f***, I’ve gotta be 330 pounds.'"

The Deadman went on to explain that these days, wrestlers are tested for 'everything', but claimed he couldn't get as big as some of the guys are now - even when he was using steroids. 

Now, we’re tested for everything. They test for steroids - they have for a while. 

"Which I don’t understand because there’s some big motherf****** out there and cut. I don’t know how they did it - I couldn’t get that big when I was on steroids."

WWE take a hardline stance on substance abuse these days


It's certainly worrying to hear that the pressure of needing to look jacked in WWE led to even their biggest star using steroids in the past. 

Thankfully, a lot has changed since The Undertaker's heyday and the company now have a no-tolerance policy to substance abuse.