ECW icon Sabu passed away in May 2025 at the age of 61, prompting an outpouring of tributes from across the wrestling world.
On a recent episode of his “1 Of A Kind” podcast, Rob Van Dam opened up about why the official cause of Sabu’s death might never be made public. He said,
“His divorce from his ex-wife, Hitomi, was never finalized, and they need her signature to proceed with investigating the cause of death. But she wants nothing to do with any of this.”
Sabu’s final match took place against Joey Janela during WrestleMania week in Las Vegas, NV. The bout had been billed as his retirement match.
Following his death, reports emerged alleging that Sabu may have used drugs prior to that final appearance, sparking public commentary from Janela, GCW, Brett Lauderdale, and others involved in the event.
Rob Van Dam, a longtime friend and tag team partner of Sabu, has continued to share memories and thoughts about the late wrestler.
On this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, Jeff Cobb was reintroduced under a new name — JC Mateo — as the latest ally of Solo Sikoa. This marked his first appearance on weekly WWE television following his debut at Backlash: St. Louis.
However, not everyone was impressed with Mateo’s presentation. On a recent episode of his “BroDown” podcast, wrestling personality Vince Russo criticized WWE’s handling of Mateo’s first major TV appearance. He said,
“Here’s the thing, bro — they’re supposed to be stars. They’re on television, they’re supposed to look like stars. If you didn’t watch Backlash, this is your first time seeing JC Mateo. And he’s got a regular guy’s name, dressed in all black. That’s the star presentation? That’s the first impression WWE is going for?”
Before signing with WWE, Jeff Cobb built an impressive resume in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he held titles such as the IWGP Tag Team Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship. After parting ways with NJPW, Cobb briefly teased retirement on social media — only to later resurface in dramatic fashion, helping Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu in his surprise WWE debut.
During a recent edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T shared his fond memories of ECW legend Sabu, who recently passed away at the age of 61.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Sabu’s passing: “Sabu passed away at 60 years old. I had a bad day, I had a rough day yesterday. I’m serious. I didn’t realize I was going to take it that hard but I swear, I could not motivate yesterday at all. I couldn’t get out of bed, I really couldn’t get going, thinking about the passing of Sabu.”
On his first encounter with Sabu in Japan in 1992: “I remember the first time I met Sabu, back in 1992. I was in Japan, standing at a little spot called the Tokyo Inn. And walked outside and my brother was getting ready to go to the gym, and a dude walks up and says, ‘Hey, I’m Sabu.’ He asked, ‘What are you guys up to?’ [My brother said] he was getting ready to go to the gym. Sabu asked, ‘Is it cool if I go with you?’ We said, ‘Yeah, it’s cool if you want to go.’ And I looked at Sabu. He had scars all over his body: on his arms, on his head, on his face, his chest, everywhere. And I was thinking at that moment, I was like, ‘Man, do I have to do that to get in the business?’ I was so freaking scared.”
On Sabu’s contributions to wrestling: “I always had nothing but good times around Sabu. He was always quiet, he was always in his own zone. He always went out there and performed at his highest level and did what he did best. He was an innovator; he really was an innovator. People right now, still to this day, copy Sabu’s style and his in-ring performances.
“So I just want to say rest in peace to Sabu and condolences to his family. He had a hell of a career man, and he will definitely be missed.“
