Our beloved National Football League isn’t the sports league with the most issues. That would definitely be the sports-entertainment superpower known as the World Wrestling Federation.

Monday, Brian Adams AKA Crash — a former WWE wrestler best known as the third member of the tag team Demolition, died. What led to his death has yet to be determined. “In the last ten years, 60 wrestlers under age 45 have died (America the Brave),” and this makes one more.

In my opinion, pro wrestling has a much bigger steroid problem (along with a drug problem) than either pro baseball or football. Many pro wrestlers have or used to have dangerously excessive steroid habits. The combination of those habits and constant traveling, rock star partying and taxing physical demands has proven to be a very hazardous, if not lethal, lifestyle for many wrestlers. Really, wrestlers are kind of a fusion of pro athletes and rock stars, which becomes real fucking scary when ridiculous quantities of steroids and drugs become involved.

There are other problems, too.

Pro wrestlers typically overtrain and wrestle injured. Overtraining isn’t uncommon in other sports, but it is much more prevalent in the world of pro wrestling. The average wrestler is on the road around 250 days a year, wrestling more often than not. Add in the fact that these guys are working out at least four-five days a week, not to mention wrestling hurt, and you can see what the sport does to them physically. That being said, it’s easy to see why some of them rely on prescription drugs and other substance so heavily — to cope.

Pro wrestlers also aren’t always compensated well enough, or tend to blow their money due to getting caught up in the lifestyle. Sure, there are some who do extremely well, but that’s not the case most of the time. More typically, if they are lucky wrestlers spend a few good years wrestling for the WWE or a comparable major wrestling organization, and then go back to wrestling in smalltime wrestling federations, which is where they probably started. Most of the time these wrestlers struggle to make end’s meet, so they end up wrestling forever just to survive.

Also, wrestlers get caught up in their love for their alter egos, fame and love for the game. Like many famous pro athletes — Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and Willie Mays come to mind — pro wrestlers simply can’t let go. The problem is that since wrestling is fake, not to mention based more on popularity than physical skills, wrestlers can keep on wrestling forever. The wrestling organizations don’t care about their health either, as they continue to exploit many wrestlers into their late 50s and early-to-mid 60s — i.e. Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Snuka, Ric Flair and Sgt. Slaughter.

Pro baseball, basketball and especially pro football players often play longer than they should health wise, but wrestlers are much worse. They just can’t quit.

It’s simple — pro wrestling is a mess. Despite having both way fewer alumni current participants, the sport has way more casualties and issues than any other major brand of sports or sports entertainment. Other than the few success stories like Hulk Hogan and The Rock, pro wrestlers often either end up dead or extremely messed up. If you think that NFL retirees end up fucked up, then you haven’t seen anything yet. Remember the fallen and then check out what’s going on with some of the WWE’s biggest ex-stars who are still living. At first you might laugh your ass off, but when everything sinks in you’ll realize just how sad and messed up the pro wrestling world has become. Vince McMahon should be ashamed of himself. Really, how is Vinnie Mac any better than Don King? He isn’t any better. In fact, he might be worse.

• Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Roberts’ troubles are well chronicled, yet not everyone realizes what’s going on with him. A full-blown alcoholic and drug addict crackhead, he’s struggled mightily with substance abuse for decades now. The troubling thing is that wrestling organizations continue to make money off him. Recently, the WWE dropped a Jake “The Snake” Roberts Greatest Hits DVD. Less than a year ago, Total Nonstop Wrestling — yes, the same league Pacman Jones is involved with — let him cut an in-ring interview piss drunk. He was so wasted he even fell down in the middle of the ring and had trouble getting back up. I think it’s terrible that these companies continue to make money off of him by enabling his ways and humiliating him. Maybe they have tried to get Roberts help, but regardless of those efforts know wrestling organization should touch him as long as he’s using like this. Just check out this ‘99 interview of his to see what kind of shape he’s usually in…

It gets even worse after that after the jump…

Seriously, get this man some help and stop letting him make money off of wrestling until he cleans up. I have nothing against partying, but there is a difference between partying and killing yourself. I just don’t want to hear that they found one of my all-time favorite wrestlers rotting in some motel room three days later.

• The Iron Sheik

OK, this video is downright hilarious. What’s not so funny is how the Sheik, once the WWE World Champion, lives today. Admittedly he is flat broke, and it’s easy to see that the guy isn’t healthy or sane — he can barely talk or walk. This guy has been forced to whore himself out and humiliate himself in the process just to survive. At 64 he can no longer wrestle, so he has few choices left. During his promotional appearances and interviews, he has been degraded, hospitalized twice and robbed. Another time he tried to get in a fistfight with Jim Hellwig, AKA the Ultimate Warrior. His daughter was also murdered, which I’m sure affected him adversely. Anyway, he has become a sad, sad mess of a man. Can’t we get this guy some help?

• Lex Lugar

Lugar used to be severely into both drugs and ‘roids. His ex-live-in girlfriend Elizabeth Hulette died in 2003 after mixing pills of hydrocodone and xanax, steroids and vodka. As a result, police conducted a search and Luger was arrested and charged with 14 counts of drug possession. He didn’t do any time then, but eventually did nine weeks prison time in late 2005 and early 2006. Following his release he suddenly became a born-again Christian, and is now living in the spare bedroom of his pastor’s apartment, trying to figure out what to do with his life. He was recently even on CNN talking about Chris Benoit, so maybe he’s doing better.

Still, given his history, I’ll have to see Lugar fly straight for a while before I believe that he’s doing well. It seems like these guys always relapse, possibly due to a lack of support from the wrestling world they helped make. It’s real hard for me to believe that Lugar’s religion isn’t just his latest addiction. I’m all for religion, but it can be addictive just like almost anything else.

Here’s a clip of Lugar that proudly displays his madness…