Chris Masters Admits Addiction Cost WWE Title Push Opportunity

Chris Masters is taking a hard look back at one of the biggest missed opportunities of his WWE career, and he isn’t holding anything back about what went wrong.

During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, the former WWE Superstar opened up about a time when he was lined up for a major championship moment. According to Masters, plans were in place for him to capture the Intercontinental Championship, but everything changed once WWE discovered his struggles with prescription painkiller abuse. Masters explained that the situation escalated quickly, leading to an intervention and a trip to rehab that ultimately derailed his momentum at the worst possible time.

“Yeah. Yeah. It sucked. My priorities just weren’t in the right place because I remember being bitter about it and wanting to stay in that place of addiction and being unreasonable, you know?”

He didn’t shy away from describing how deeply addiction affected his mindset during that period. Masters made it clear that he wasn’t thinking rationally and that the situation had a grip on him that was difficult to break.

“But it’s tough like when you get there. You aren’t — you can be irrational, you can do irrational things. It starts to control you and stuff like that.”

Looking back now, Masters has a very different perspective on that chapter of his life. With distance from those struggles, he can see how much they cost him—not just in terms of missed opportunities, but also in how he handled the situation at the time.

“And, you know, it’s just nice to have so much separation from that.”

Masters’ comments paint a clear picture of how quickly things can change in WWE, especially when personal issues collide with career momentum. At a time when he was positioned for a major step forward, everything came to a halt—and he now fully understands why.

Even so, the fact that Masters can openly reflect on that period shows how far he’s come since then. His honesty about addiction and accountability adds another layer to his story, especially for fans who remember just how close he was to breaking through in a big way.

Do you think Chris Masters would have become a major champion in WWE if this moment never happened, or was his ceiling always going to be different? Drop your thoughts below and join the conversation.

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