Is AEW Testing For Steroids? New Report Raises Questions

A major conversation regarding All Elite Wrestling’s drug-testing policies has erupted following transparent comments from Brian Cage, unsubstantiated accusations from former WWE star Lars Sullivan, and new reports from industry insiders.

The discussion gained momentum during a Fightful Select Q&A, where Sean Ross Sapp addressed questions about AEW’s current wellness protocols.

Brian Cage Addresses PED History & TRT

Speaking on The Smoothvega Podcast, Cage openly admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in the past while asserting that PEDs are not responsible for his career success:

“Do steroids work? Absolutely. Have I taken PEDs? Absolutely. I’ve never said I haven’t. People try to, like, judge me, and I feel like, too, that’s a thing. People try to, like, call you out as if you’re keeping a secret. Are PEDs what got me to where I am? Absolutely not.”

The 42-year-old veteran also clarified his current routine, noting that he only utilizes doctor-prescribed treatment:

“When people say like, ‘Oh, I’m so gassed up at my return,’ I’ve only been on TRT forever now. I’m 42 years old.”

Following Cage’s comments, Lars Sullivan posted on social media accusing AEW of enabling steroid use:

“AEW allows their wrestlers to abuse steroids lol”

Sullivan provided zero evidence to support his claim, and Cage never indicated that AEW encouraged or sanctioned his previous usage.

Fightful Report Highlights Testing Uncertainty

During the Q&A, Sean Ross Sapp revealed that in all his conversations with talent, no one inside AEW or TNA has confirmed undergoing steroid testing in recent memory:

“I mean, there are. I’m going to give you guys the lowdown on what I had always heard. I have never been told by anyone in AEW that they got drug tested.”

“I know people that used to be on the staff and have since got fired that were using steroids and other drugs and stuff like that. And literally their significant others would later tell me, ‘Yeah, they were on this shit and here’s who got it for them.’ And obviously when pursuing that for a story, nobody’s gonna back that up. That’s the reality we’re in. Nobody’s gonna back that up.”

“But I’ve not heard of drug testing for steroids in AEW or TNA anytime recently.”

Sapp noted that PED usage remains widespread across professional wrestling as a whole, pointing out that many performers utilize various substances and peptides:

“However, look at these people very clearly. It’s rampant PED use. Now, whether you wanna give a shit about it or not, is up to you. But it is not feasible to look like Brian Cage or Brock Lesnar on a day-to-day basis without the use of PEDs.”

“Half the wrestlers on TV are still on, like, peptides, which have a lot of gray area and, you know, are very helpful for people. But I’ve not heard of drug testing for steroids in AEW or TNA anytime recently. And if you fail in WWE, you got to be a fucking moron. The thresholds are so high in WWE that you got to be really, really stupid. They’re all on it. I don’t say they’re all. A lot of people are on it.”

While these reports do not conclusively prove the absence of a testing framework, the lack of clarity has put AEW’s backstage wellness protocols under intense scrutiny.

For more backstage news, contract updates, and breaking stories across WWE and AEW, visit WrestlingAttitude.com.