Official Wrasslin' Thread (renamed to reflect the discussion)

cpg said
I've been around this plenty and deal with it regularly, even administering it legally. Yes, he's obviously dryer and leaner in the first photo; we've both acknowledged that. However, having less water retention or lower body fat is not a smoking gun for steroid use. What I'm saying is that his musculature is not dramatically larger in the picture you posted. He's dryer, which, as you know, makes striations more pronounced and makes the muscles seem larger.

Additionally, there is a six-year gap between the two pictures. That is more than ample time to add any muscle mass that would be apparent. One other thing of note in distinguishing between the two pictures is to note his posture in both. In the 2024 picture he is bent forward at the waist, whereas he almost leaned back in the 2018 picture. Curvature of the spine here is not insignificant if we are comparing the lats. But, we are getting in the weeds here for sure.

I can respect Stevie Richards' opinion, but let's not pretend that because he cycled 20 years ago, he's an expert on current medical interventions or what levels would be therapeutically necessary to achieve his current physique. And, I really wish that he were talking about this on any other platform. :hihi:

I definitely respect your history with this, and I admit it's definitely possible. I will concede there are some pictures of him around 2022 that would support the recomp suggestion. My only point this entire time is that it's definitely achievable with therapeutic levels of TRT/HRT and strict diet. We can agree to disagree, but I'm not entirely sure we do.

I didn't say that being drier is a sure smoking gun, but at the same time, there are steroids like Winstrol (which Stevie mentioned) that give that dry, hard look. Guys in the business like Stevie are going to tend to know what guys in the business are doing, though that's not to say they will have a 100% accuracy rate for the ones like Stevie who do talk so openly about it.

And again, for AJ to indulge in the questions about his "dramatic transformation" tells me that he knows he recomped and didn't just lean out.

I am fine with agreeing to disagree. At the end of the day, I surely don't need anyone to agree with my stance on any particular wrestler (or any other person) in terms of being natty (though we should be able to agree that he is on TRT at a minimum), on HRT, or on gear. You have an interest and knowledge on this, too, so that makes it kind of more interesting to talk about. It's all good.