Joey Janela Gives Controversial Interview On Sabu Following His Retirement Match During WrestleMania Weekend

In a new interview with Uncrowned, Joey Janela has painted a shocking picture of hardcore wrestling icon Sabu's state of health ahead of his retirement match at the Joey Janela Spring Break in Las Vegas over WrestleMania weekend, revealing that the match almost didn't even take place.

Sabu passed away on Sunday at the age of 60.

“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," Janela said.

"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.'"

“We are an hour into the show and I said, ‘Just get Sabu here,’" Janela continued.

"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.”

Janela was interviewed by Uncrowned shortly after the match itself, and in a new report by Sean Ross Sapp, he indicated "GCW was frustrated, embarrassed, and humiliated by the interview". According to Janela, however, he embellished some elements to add to the lore of Sabu. The report also notes that Sabu has used Kratom in the past to help get off opiates.

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

At this time, there is no indication that the match Sabu had with Janela was in any way related to his death.

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