How God Saved This Pro Wrestler from Suicide: ‘He Rescued Me’
By Movieguide® Contributor
From a life of fame as a professional wrestler to drugs, depression and suicide, Marc Mero believes God rescued him from those things to restore him to a life of purpose.
Known by his professional wrestling persona “Johnny B. Badd,” Mero shared how his success in the ring eventually almost cost him his life.
“I was Rookie of the Year my first year, and I was eventually won Most Improved Wrestler and wrestled some of the greatest wrestlers that ever lived,” Mero said.
He added, “I became a multi-millionaire—get that big black Cadillac, buy my mom a house—all the things I dreamed about that I thought were going to make me happy.”
But success cost more than Mero expected.
“I started hanging out with people involved in drugs and alcohol and pills and crazy lifestyle,” he shared. “Next thing you know, I’m living that lifestyle.”
“You work your whole life to climb that ladder of success, and I realized it was leaning against the wrong wall,” he reflected.
Mero eventually reached the peak of his career, wrestling at WrestleMania.
However, in 2004, his marriage ended, and his story “spiral[ed] out of control.”
“Johnny B. Badd was a character that I played,” Mero shared. “The costumes and the makeup and all that—there was a man underneath that was broken, lost and alone.”
He began asking, “Who am I? What is my purpose?”
Mero decided he didn’t “want to be here anymore” and thought suicide was his only option.
“I retrieved my handgun. I walked into the shower. I put my back against the wall, and I put the gun up to my temple,” he shared. “Hell came into my mind, and it was so vivid it was like ‘This is not where I want to go.’”
“I remember just falling to my knees and pointing the gun away, and the first thing I did was just start begging God for forgiveness, and I just started weeping.”
“The tallest I ever stood was that day I got down on my knees,” he expressed. “I needed a friend. There’s no better friend than Jesus.”
Since coming to Christ, Mero became a motivational school speaker, speaking at over 230 events each year. While he can’t use the name of Jesus or God in those speeches, “I pray his love and light shine through me on every moment.”
“I realized God had a purpose for my life,” he shared.
For Mero, God “is [his] Rescuer. He rescued me. He showed me that there is a much better life. Just accept his Son…my whole life changed.”
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