Teddy Long Reveals Reason He Stopped ‘Smizzing’ In WWE

WWE Hall Of Famer Teddy Long has revealed that he once stopped smoking marijuana out of the respect he had for the WWE Chairman.

Long recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman on "The Wrestling Inc. Daily" about his experiences "smizzing," which is carnie speak for smoking weed. During his career, WWE ushered in the Wellness Policy, which saw talent run the risk of suspension for being caught with marijuana in their system.

Because of that, Long ended up quitting when he was the "SmackDown" GM because he, "had a lot of respect for Vince," as he "did a lot," for him during his career. This was a big change for him, because Long used to spend his time smoking weed on the road with Mike Chioda in order to pass the time.

"I said, 'Hey man, my job is more important so I don't want to let Vince down,'" he revealed. "That man gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and the reason I am where I am today is because of Vince. So, I quit, maybe about a year. I quit for a real long time. What made me start back, man, I think I just got kind of burnt out. I had been on the road for over 25 years of my life ... I think I just kind of got stressed, then me and Chioda kind of started riding again."

Nowadays, WWE has relaxed its rules when it comes to marijuana which has been clear to see with Riddle and Randy Orton referencing it on television, and they were said to be key in changing the situation backstage. Previously, talent had been fined or even suspended, and Long admitted that he, "did fail a couple of tests" during his career.

Talent has reportedly not been punished for using it for years, which is a far cry from meetings the company used to have with talent where Long claims they, "tried to make it almost like it was heroin" during his time with WWE.

"It was going to kill our brain cells and it was gonna do this, and it was gonna do that," Long said they claimed in the meetings. "But you know I guess that's part of it, they got paid to do their job and that's what they did."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Wrestling Inc. Daily" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.