Abdullah the Butcher (Larry Shreve) is in hospital as a result of “serious health issues”.
Booking agent Steve Stasiak posted on the Book Pro Wrestlers account about Abdullah’s status:
Wrestling legend Abdullah The Butcher has been hospitalized at 84. The Wild Man from the Sudan is battling serious health issues. One of wrestling’s most feared figures, Abdullah helped shape the sport from Japan to Puerto Rico to Georgia and beyond. Send your prayers, love, and strength his way tonight.
Shreve was born in Windsor, Ontario, and began wrestling in the late ‘50s as a teenager, and became a fixture in Western Canada, working in Vancouver and for Stampede Wrestling.
He gained major celebrity status in Japan, first working for the JWA and becoming a huge star when Shohei “Giant” Baba launched All Japan Pro Wrestling.
In December 1977, Abdullah teamed with The Sheik (Ed Farhat) in the Real World Tag League tournament and went to the finals against Dory Jr. & Terry Funk in a legendary match. It featured Terry being bloodied and removed from the match, only to make a dramatic comeback and create a legacy from the tournament. The two teams met again in the finals two years later, with The Funks winning both years.
In 1981, he would create a major shift when he jumped to New Japan Pro Wrestling and would wrestle Antonio Inoki in short order.
Six years later, he returned to All Japan for the Real-World Tag League and teamed with TNT (Savio Vega), and would remain affiliated with the company for the next twenty years, last working for the company in 2008.
A controversial match with Devon Nicholson in 2007 led to a lawsuit filed against Shreve after cutting Nicholson during the match. Shreve was accused of not disclosing to Nicholson that he had Hepatitis C, and Nicholson would contract the disease and was awarded a $2.3 million judgment, but Nicholson said he’s never received anything.
In 2011, he was inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in Atlanta and was the focus of an episode of Dark Side of the Ring in July 2023.
