Harris County forensics investigator Dan Morgan reportedly confirmed to Wrestling Babylon’s Irv Muchnick that Eddie “Umaga” Fatu’s December death was officially caused by “acute toxicity due to combined effects of hydrocodone, carisoprodol, and diazepam.”
Hydrocodone, a narcotic pain reliever (commonly misspelled “hydrocone”), Carisoprodol, a muscle relaxer (commonly traded as Soma) and Diazepam, an anti-anxiety medication (commonly traded as Valium), all come from drug categories historically identified as warning areas for members of the professional wrestling industry.
The “acute toxicity” label does not rule out the possibility that Fatu was chronically using these drugs but simply means that the death was directly attributed to use within a relatively short period of time.
It should be noted that the Muchnick report, perhaps designed to generate additional headlines and buzz, incorrectly refers to the late Umaga as “WWE wrestler” and “World Wrestling Entertainment performer.” Umaga had actually been released in the summer of 2009 for a Wellness Policy violation–at the time of the release, WWE sources said he refused to go to rehab. At the time of his death, there were rumblings that he was due to return to WWE, but nothing was confirmed enough to call him a “WWE wrestler.”
