Joey Janela's Spring Break 9 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). The show took place on April 18, 2025 at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada and was streamed live on Triller TV as part of the Collective during WrestleMania 41 weekend. The event also featured the final match for Sabu, a pioneer of hardcore wrestling dating back to the 1990s when he wrestled in Frontier Martial–Arts Wrestling (FMW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) while also holding championships in Border City Wrestling (BCW), Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW), the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and WWE. Production Background On January 19, 2025 during the The People vs. GCW pay-per-view in New York City, after Joey Janela defeated Masato Tanaka, Sabu made a surprise appearance to challenge Janela. However, the match would be Sabu's final match before retiring from professional wrestling after this match. In addition to the announcement of the match, GCW announced that Joey Janela's Spring Break 9 would take place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On February 25, 2025, Janela announced that a six-man tag team match would take place during the pay-per-view between The Wagner Family (Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., and Galeno del Mal) and Los Desperados (Arez, Gringo Loco and Jack Cartwheel). On March 18, 2025, Janela announced that a match between Zack Sabre Jr. and 1 Called Manders had been added to the card. On March 19, 2025, Janela announced that a re-match between Gabe Kidd and Mance Warner was set to take place during the pay-per-view. On March 24, 2025, Janela announced the Senior Scramble which was a six-way scramble match in which all of the participating wrestlers were over 55 years old.
Storylines Joey Janela's Spring Break 9 featured professional wrestling matches that involves different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were produced on Game Changer Wrestling's various pay-per-view events. Aftermath Three months after the event, Sabu had passed away at the age of 60 on May 11, 2025. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, his cause of death was not publicized due to he and his estranged wife never formally divorcing. However, GCW came under scrutiny after Janela had revealed in an interview that Sabu was given kratom despite his physical condition at the time. GCW has since denied any involvement in Sabu's death.
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