Sabu's death sparks outrage; WWE veteran calls out promoters for inaction: "If this is real world, you're calling 911" (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently spoke about Sabu's health concerns before his unfortunate passing. The hardcore legend passed away on May 11, 2025, just weeks after his last match.

Joey Janela, who was Sabu's last opponent, recently spoke about how the legend was in bad shape before the bout. He recalled the legend taking some kratom to make it through the match. This led to fans raising questions over GCW allowing the star to wrestle while he was in such bad shape.

On a recent episode of The Wrestling Outlaws, Russo suggested that the organizers knew Sabu was in bad shape and still got him into the ring. The veteran writer was outraged, claiming they should have rushed the legend to the hospital instead of working out ways to get him into the ring. Jake 'the Snake' Roberts and Scott Hall were also in similar situations, Russo recalled.

"It was crystal clear he was in bad, bad shape. And that's when they were get him his kratom and get him to the building. We always talk about the wrestling bubble. If this is real world, you're calling 911. Somebody's feet are bleeding, bro." He added, "That's exactly what we're talking about. In the normal world, you're rushing this guy to the hospital. In the wrestling world, you're getting this guy to the ring. Who did we see that with? Numerous, Jake, we saw that with Scott Hall." [From 5:07 onwards]

The ECW original's sudden passing has left the wrestling world in shock and sorrow.

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About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Prityush Haldar