He couldn't have been taking that much gas during his WWF days. He was never a big guy and he had skinny legs. Great athlete and quick as a cat in his prime.
He roided out BIGTIME during his last WCW run when he had Georgeous George in his corner. He was already in his late 40's by then so I'm sure that couldn't have helped his long term health. Guess he felt the need to do that to justify fucking a 23 year old hottie. Man, was she hot!
When I read that story that he taught himself to throw with his left hand after injuring his right arm during his baseball days....I thought that was amazing.
What is it about wrestlers getting knee injuries and returning to the ring super SWOLE? Savage blew his knee in '97 or '98. He returned looking like a BEAST. Same with Triple H. After tearing his quad in 2001, he looked gigantic in 2002, especially at "Backlash", when he lost the WWF title to Hogan.
I remember, when I lived in the Tampa Bay area, seeing Savage at Gold's Gym in Pinellas Park, with his leg in a cast and his girlfriend and another girl helping him to his car. He often showed up at Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg. He was a LOT bigger than he looked on TV. I guess he was only "small" when compared to Hogan.