An independent pro wrestling promotion and one of its biggest stars are denying responsibility for a legend’s death after alarming details were published in a feature focused on his final match. The entire saga stems from the tragic passing of of Sabu (real name: Terrance Brun), who developed a cult following via his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 1990s.
WWE — where Sabu briefly worked during the mid-2000s — confirmed his death at the age of 61 on Sunday, just three weeks after he wrestled his retirement match for the independent promotion Game Changer Wrestling over WrestleMania weekend.
One day after Sabu’s death, Phil Schneider published a lengthy feature regarding his final match for Uncrowned, the MMA vertical created via the partnership between Ariel Helwani and Yahoo Sports. And while the article was seemingly intended to pay tribute to the hardcore icon, many readers were quick to point out some curious details, including the measures that GCW took to make the match happen.
In one particular passage, Sabu’s opponent, Joey Janela, recalled the legend being supplied with kratom, which he referred to as “a legal opiate or something,” before the match (it’s unclear who provided Sabu with the drug). In another, Janela stated that Sabu was “definitely out cold” following a spot in the match, which continued nonetheless.
Joey Janela gave an addict an opiate??? Because he didn’t want to “be embarrassed”??? Be so fr bro 😭 this is actually really disgusting and if anyone at GCW actually cared about Sabu’s health and wellbeing they would have shut that shit down immediately pic.twitter.com/BQuA3pABWx
— ☆ Scythe ☆ (@Scy0098) May 12, 2025
As excerpts from the story made the rounds on social media, many were quick to criticize Janela and GCW owner/promoter Brett Lauderdale for the circumstances surrounding Sabu’s last match, with some even going as far as to connect it to his death. Taking to X, Janela and Lauderdale each expressed their sympathies for Sabu’s passing while denying any wrongdoing in the situation.
Janela also walked back his claim that the 61-year-old was temporarily knocked unconscious during their match.
“I did an interview for that article 2 days after the match not knowing what would transpire weeks later & I said he was ‘knocked out’ after that spot when despite being a rough deal, he was not that. I was just trying to add to the lore and unpredictably of sabu,” Janela wrote. “I loved sabu he was legitimately my idol growing up, & my friend I just wanted to give him & the fans one last great sabu spectacle.
“…. Sabu was fine after, the day after signed at wrestlecon and has been doing many appearances since, I don’t know what the cause of death all I can say is I wouldn’t change a thing & happy he went out on top.”
I’m truly devastated over this and this whole deal has really affected me. Kratom is something Sabu took daily for years it helped him get off other substances, Sabu loved his weed & Kratom his body was wrecked doing what he loved for 40 years.
I did an interview for that… https://t.co/jtLM8S5M6g
— “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) May 12, 2025
“Any suggestion that I or ‘GCW’ or Joey Janela ‘forced’ him to do this match, supplied him with substances or somehow caused his death is irresponsible, disingenuous, hurtful, and false,” Lauderdale wrote. “It’s upsetting and discouraging to see people so eager to cast judgment without knowledge of the facts.
“I would never knowingly put someone who I believed was a danger to themselves or others in the ring and my track record shows this to be true.”
Sabu was my friend, and I was devastated to learn of his passing…
Please read: pic.twitter.com/yNJUxJJJgu
— brett lauderdale (@Lauderdale11) May 13, 2025
While Sabu’s cause of death as yet to be revealed, there isn’t currently any reason to believe that it’s connected to his final match. Still, the details from Schneider’s article didn’t provide the best optics for GCW and Janela and it will certainly be worth monitoring any further developments this story may bring.