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Sabu was said to have been given a substance called kratom prior to his retirement match over WrestleMania 41 weekend

Aaron Rift

Over the weekend, it was announced that former ECW world champion Sabu passed away at the age of 60. Three weeks before Sabu’s death, he had his retirement match (no-ropes barbed wire) against Joey Janela at the Spring Break 9 event on April 18th.

In an article from Phil Schneider of Yahoo’s The Uncrowned, there was concern about Sabu no-showing the event. Janela discussed the situation to Schneider prior to Sabu’s death…

“I was fairly confident that he was fine. I was kept in contact with him and he has a team of people around him, guys this time. They were all saying he was ready to go, that he was going to the gym, that he was on a training program. I believed them until the day of the show. Then two hours before, I get a call: ‘Sabu can’t walk.’ What do you mean Sabu can’t walk? They said, ‘Yeah, Sabu, something with his knee — they’re locked up. He can’t walk. And his feet are bleeding. He’s not coming. Sabu’s not coming.’ I said, ‘Sabu’s f***ed.’ So we talked to [indie wrestler] Matt Tremont, and Tremont is about to be the replacement for the match. And I feel like this is going to be the most embarrassing moment of my wrestling career. There’s 2,000 people here. This is one of the biggest Spring Breaks ever. The biggest crowd ‘Mania weekend, indie-wise. And I’m going to have to go out there and announce that Sabu, once again, no-showed. And no-showed his own retirement match.”

“We are an hour into the show and I said, ‘Just get Sabu here.’ So they gave him something called kratom. You can buy it at a smoke shop or something; it’s like a legal opiate or something. They said, ‘He’s hopping on the bed, he’s hopping off the bed, and we’re going to get him to the show.’ So he shows up two hours into the show. Sabu was on a different f***ing planet. Everyone in the backstage was like, ‘What the f***? Is this match going to happen?’ And my God, did it happen.”

After the interview was published, Janela responded to criticism of Sabu being allowed to perform via Twitter/X…

“We didn’t give him kratom his team did, it’s also not illegal and 85% of professional wrestlers do it especially the ones on tv. So fuck you.”

“Sabu was a grown man, he did what he had to do to get out there. I took care of him to the best of my ability, I didn’t think what happened half way through would happen, it was all to get him one great payday and one last shine in the spotlight. That night wasn’t about me, it was about sabu and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s official website noted the following about kratom…

Kratom is a tropical tree (Mitragyna speciosa) that is native to Southeast Asia. Products prepared from kratom leaves are available in the U.S. through sales on the Internet and at brick-and-mortar stores. Kratom is often used to self-treat conditions such as pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder, and opioid withdrawal. An estimated 1.7 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in 2021, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

The FDA’s site also stated the following about what can happen if a person uses kratom…

FDA has warned consumers not to use kratom because of the risk of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder (SUD). In rare cases, deaths have been associated with kratom use, as confirmed by a medical examiner or toxicology reports. However, in these cases, kratom was usually used in combination with other drugs, and the contribution of kratom in the deaths is unclear.

Click here for more details regarding kratom.

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