AEW’s Big Bill has opened up about his battle with alcoholism and was in the depths of his problems at the time of his release from WWE in 2018.
Bill, who competed as Big Cass, was released by WWE after going off-script during a segment with a little person amid a feud with Bryan Danielson.
On a recent edition of the “Talk is Jericho” podcast, Bill spoke about his release and his struggles with drinking at the time. He said,
“So I got fired, had money in the bank, and a roof over my head. Nothing fiscally to really worry about, and nothing but free time. I was a full-blown alcoholic at that time…I was drinking sun up to sun down every day.”
Bill also recalled the infamous House of Hardcore incident where he collapsed at the show, worrying fans and wrestlers about his health. He said,
“I went to that show in Philadelphia, House of Hardcore and I cut off my drinking earlier in the day, because I don’t want to wrestle while having a ton of alcohol in my system and that was a huge mistake, because within a few hours, I had a seizure from alcohol withdrawal… I had that seizure and then I was like, I need to get myself together.”
Bill also shared that he had a delivery driver bring liquor daily to his house and told the driver each time that he was entertaining guests.
Bill was able to overcome addiction with the help of personal trainer Doug Lawson who helped him regain his fitness and achieve sobriety. He today wrestles for AEW.