Former WCW star Buff Bagwell has opened up about his severe Soma addiction, revealing on the Kings of the Ring podcast that he consumed up to 40 pills daily at his lowest point. The muscle relaxant became his primary crutch following a serious 1998 neck injury. Bagwell later connected his escalating dependency on pills and alcohol to untreated sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation, conditions that worsened after he lost the structure of full-time wrestling. Thankfully, after multiple rehab attempts, he finally received proper medical intervention, including essential heart treatment.
“Of all things, my favorite pill, my favorite drug of choice was Somas. A Soma is a muscle relaxer, and your heart is a muscle. So when I would take the Soma, it would make my heart feel better. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know any of this was going on. Finally, I get diagnosed with sleep apnea and AFib, and they shock my heart back into rhythm, but now I’m swallowing 40 Somas a day.” – Buff Bagwell
In wrestling circles, “Soma Coma” is grim insider slang for the heavy sedation or blackout state caused by abusing carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant. Wrestlers often misused it for pain relief and its euphoric effects, frequently mixing it with alcohol, which led to dangerous drowsiness and impaired coordination. The term gained notoriety during the 1990s and 2000s amid the industry’s pervasive painkiller culture and is linked to tragedies like Louie Spicolli’s 1998 death. WWE eventually banned the drug under its Wellness Policy, which has almost certainly saved many lives from addiction.
