#sabu ecw

[barbedwire-and-chokeslams]

Went to Legends Fanfest yesterday and met SO many of my favorite ECW Originals! (And my favorite to hate lmao)

[jasvvy]

[machobusta]

Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam | Ladder match for a shot at the ECW Championship ECW August 15, 2006

[joearlikelikeswrestling]

[blowflyfag]

Wrestling World presents Wrestling Maniacs: JUNE 1999

Sabu: THE SILENT KILLER! 

Alongside Terry Funk, Mick Foley, and maybe Sandman, Sabu is a hardcore wrestling legend. He has always been ECW’s most well-rounded performer, willing and able to make not only himself but any opponent look good.

By Chris Faust

[If you want to see hardcore wrestling, then Sabu is your man!]

EXTREME Championship Wrestling (ECW) has a variety of reputations. Some describe it as a slaughterhouse, a kind of Ultimate Fighting organization minus the sportsmanship.  Others are quick to note the technical, high-flying aspect to many ECW wrestlers’ styles. Unquestionably, ECW is violent, bloody, and bruising. But the acrobatic, high-impact, death-defying talents throughout the promotion are just as prevalent. One longtime ECW star has always performed with both of these objectives in mind. That man is Sabu, one of the most influential, mysterious, and entertaining wrestlers ever to compete in any federation.

Covered with scars from barbed wire death matches (his specialty during his early days), standing a modest 6-foot tall, and never weighing in over 225 pounds, Sabu looks like a man who has taken more punishment than he has handed out. He never speaks on camera, but communicates to the fans with his trademark index finger pointed into the air. He wrestles all the time and has a reputation for overbooking himself–some say for the money, but less cynical fans realize that very few men have surrendered themselves to the sport like Sabu.

Sabu’s wrestling style is better seen than described. He walks the line between fearlessness and complete psychosis. He is equally known for his vast arsenal of moonsaults, flips, and other top-rope maneuvers as he is for his various barbed wire, table, and chair stunts. He inflicts pain mercilessly, yet gracefully. At his ECW debut in 1993, he pinned Taz (then known as Tasmaniac) twice in one night, setting off a feud that still resurfaces periodically. His threshold for withstanding pain goes to an even greater extreme. Legend has it that once during a match against Chris Benoit, Sabu actually had his neck broken, yet still managed to finish the match.

[Sabu is one of the most downright brutal competitors ever to perform…and yes, those scars are real!]

The story behind Sabu’s rise in the American wrestling scene sounds like the stuff of legend as well. He was born in Bombay, India, the nephew of The Sheik. In 1984, after giving his nephew some training in mat technique, The Sheik announced that Sabu would compete against a mystery opponent in order to prove himself. The opponent was later revealed as The Sheik himself, but Sabu managed to pass his test one way or another. 

Sabu’s professional debut  came in 1985 when he defeated the Canadian Road Warrior. He then spent several years traveling the American independent circuit, making a name for himself as one of the most feared men in wrestling. He worked himself as much as possible, often wrestling six days a week, occasionally as much as three times in one day! In 1992 Uncle Sheik again helped further Sabu’s career, helping him make the jump to Japan’s FMW promotion. Sabu earned his first gold teamed with Horace Boulder (the same who now wrestles in WCW), when the two won the tag belts from Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto. At this point, Sabu’s growing reputation earned him a contract offer from the WWF, which he declined in favor of his interests in the Japanese scene, which included winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title.

Strangely enough, less than a year later, in October of 1993, Sabu made his ECW debut. Within less than a month, he had defeated Shane Douglas to become ECW World Champion. Weeks later, Sabu staked his belt against Terry Funk’s ECW Television title, defeating Funk and claiming both belts. Ironically, Sabu lost the World title to none other than Funk in December. Sabu held the TV title a bit longer, losing it to the Tasmaniac in March of 1994.

Taz and Sabu actually managed to reconcile their differences amiably, and formed a tag team. They won the belts in early 1995 from The Public Enemy, losing them a few weeks later to Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. THe feud between the two reignited, culminating in a much-anticipated match between the two reignited, culminating in a much-anticipated match between the two at the first-ever ECW pay-per-view, “Barely Legal,” in early 1997. Sabu’s nose was broken early in the match, but this didn’t prevent the two from putting on the most grueling, strenuous match of the card. Taz, at that time managed by Bill Alfonso, won the match by choking Sabu unconscious. After the match, Taz extended a hand to a revived Sabu, but Alfonso ruined the moment by selling Taz out and instead offering his services to Sabu.

“Under new management, as the saying goes, Sabu once again claimed the ECW World title, again defeating Terry Funk. This time, in August of 1997, it was in a barbed wire match in Philadelphia, one of the most legendary matches in ECW history, so bloody and gruesome (even by ECW standards) that it has never aired on TV.The match ended with Sabu wrapping himself in barbed wire and using himself as a lethal weapon. He and Funk were so entangled in barbed wire that after the match they had to literally be pulled apart. Less than a week later, Sabu defended the belt in a three-way dance (against Shane Douglas and Terry Funk) at the second-ever ECW pay-per-view, “Hardcore Heaven.” The Sandman interfered, and Sabu was the first to be eliminated, with Douglas going on to pin Funk and win the title.

[Sabu is known for his vast arsenal of moonsaults, flips and other top-rope maneuvers!

Manager Bill Alfonso helped Sabu capture the ECW World title!]

More recently, Sabu has paired with Rob Van Dam to form one of the greatest tag teams ECW’s ranks have known. They defeated Chris Candido and Lance Storm for the tag team titles during the timer of 1998, before the ever-present tag threat of Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley won them in November at a Cleveland event. Since the loss, the two have regained the tag titles, and Sabu has set his sights on a third reign as ECW World Champion. His title shot was scheduled for January at ECW’s “Guilty as Charged” pay-per-view, a shot he earned by pinning current champion Shane Douglas in a non-title-six-man tag match at “November to Remember.” The two faced each other in Pittsburgh recently, where a bloodied Douglas retained his title when the match was declared a draw.

Some love him, some hate him, but no fan will deny Sabu’s influence on wrestling today. When he first hit the U.S. scene in the mid-’80s, promoters were more interested in cartoonish, buffoonish wrestlers like Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. A wrestler like Sabu was too real, too violent, and too dangerous for mainstream audiences. So he remained in the ugly underground scene before breaking into ECW.

[Sabu walks the line between fearlessness and psychosis…and proves it with every brutal ring outing!]

Unlike many wrestlers who simply imitate their own heroes’ maneuvers, Sabu originated many of the complex moonsaults and flips in his repertoire. He brought chairs, tables, and barbed wire into ECW, and he was the first to use the chair as a springboard (like Al Snow) instead of a weapon (which is not to say he doesn’t use it as a weapon too–I saw him give One Man Gang a top rope legdrop on the face while holding a chair under the leg in question!)

Many of ECW’s top stars have recently left the promotion in favor of the big two (Bigelow, Candido, Whipwreck, Sandman), with more rumored to be on their way out (Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer). Nevertheless, some tough competition remains for Sabu in ECW, in the form of Douglas and Masato Tanaka. Tanaka’s pain threshold approaches (if not equals) Sabu’s, as evidenced by the battle on the chairs with Balls Mahoney. Come to think of it, a tag team of Sabu and Tanaka could be unstoppable (in ECW or the WWF), should Van Dam decide to leave ECW.

[Unlike many wrestlers who simply imitate their hero’s maneuvers, Sabu originated many of the moonsaults and flips in his repertoire!]

Much like Kanyon, Jericho, and even Austin, Sabu is among the performers who always put on a good match, regardless of the occasion or opponent. By the time you read this, Sabu could very well have given Douglas a lesson in violence at “Guilty as Charged,” and won the ECW Championship for a third time. He deserves it, and if he doesn't win it, he should consider going after the WWF’s Intercontinental title. Alongside Funk, Mick Foley, and mauve Sandman, Sabu is a hardcore wrestling legend. He has always been ECW’s most well-rounded performer, willing and able to make not only himself but any opponent look good. All fans should point to the sky when they hear “Huka Blues” and Alfonso’s whistle going off, out of respect. Who knows which of the Sabu legends are true, whether Benoit really broke his neck, whether Alfonso really superglued him back together after the barbed wire match with Funk, but one thing is for sure, the fact that these legends even exist makes Sabu one of the most intriguing, mesmerizing, and downright brutal competitors ever to perform. And yes, those scars are real.

[livfastdieyoung69]

ECW Superstars in the style of graphic novel characters

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[jax2k]

[arcadebroke]

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Sabu x Mysterio

[barbedwire-and-chokeslams]

>:3c

Angle ~ Your favorite storyline(s)? Why?

Card ~ If you could pick the matches for a wrestling event who would be in it and for what event?

*Catchphrase ~ List your favorite catchphrases? -OR- Post a gif of your favorite catchphrases?

*Gear ~ Your favorite and/or least favorite wrestling attires?

*Generation ~ The best time period/era of wrestling? Why?

Luchador ~ Your favorite Luchador -OR- Favorite masked wrestler?

Run-In ~ Your favorite match interference(s)?

Save ~ Your favorite occasion(s) in which one wrestler saved another wrestler? Why?

*Shows ~ Have you ever attended any wrestling event(s)? If yes, share your experience(s). If not, what event(s) would you like to attend?

Thank you so much for asking! I'm sorry this took so long, I wanted to be able to add as many visuals as I could ^^;

Angle: Sandman's entire development, especially the plot of winning Tyler back from Raven. It went on exactly as long as I wanted it to, and it really pushed me over the edge from liking him a lot to unabashedly loving him. Seeing him come out with Tyler on his shoulders is easily in the top three most gratifying moments in the entirety of ECW for me thus far. Sandman in general added something to the whole Raven-Dreamer feud that kept it fresh as I was just starting to get sick of seeing those two. I've been going back and rewatching early '94 to get clips and whatnot and man, he's come such a long way from yelling at Tommy Cairo to PAY HIS BILLS! And I haven't even seen his surfer gimmick yet (I'll be watching the years I inadvertently skipped once I get to the end).

Card: This was definitely the hardest one to answer. I have no clue how many matches are "supposed" to be at an event/on a card, so bear with me lol.

Al Snow v. Rob van Dam. I also want Jerry Lynn in the mix somehow but idk who I'd replace.

Giant v. Tiny - Mr. Hughes or Bam Bam Bigelow for the giant and Mikey Whipwreck or Spike Dudley for the tiny

Rey Mysterio Jr. v. Psicosis or Juventud Guerrera, I'd be happy with either

Cactus Jack v. Sabu

Finale: Three-Way Dance between the Gangstas, the Eliminators, and the Chair-Swinging Freaks

Maybe not the most creative matchups, but I consistently love these guys. For the structure, I like majority bloody/destructive matches with one or two skill matches to satisfy both parts of my brain.

Catchphrase: BANG BANG!

Also, not technically catch"phrases" in the literal sense, but Kronus's laugh, Sabu's point, and Cactus's/Mankind's pigsqueals delight me to no end.

L̷͉̲͌͛E̵͙̎T̴̤̰̈́͗ ̷̖̿M̴̘͎̈Ẽ̸͚̺ ̶͔͂́Ǐ̸̯̈́N̵̮̂

Wait, what was that?

L̴̛̼͈̗̮̹̺͔̈́́͐̃̒̕͜͠Ȩ̸̲̹͉͉̲͈̼̥̠̪̖̐̈́͆͒̾͌̉͜ͅͅṪ̸̥̜̰͕̈̆̀̌̇̽͛̂̊̉́̇͘͠ ̴̬̪̥͔̣̳̲̞̯̯̟̮̠͚͕̟͖͙̻͕̇̒̈͌̃̍Ṃ̵̊͆̀͂̎̀̀̋̒́̀͆͘͝Ė̴̢̧̼̮͉̩̠̭̝̻͔̯͓͍̟̪̿̓̀̏̀̍̌̌͆̽̀͘͠͝ ̸̨̣̟͍͇̤̼͚̩̜̤́́̀̐̔̈́͝͝I̶̫̺̲͚͉͑̈̅͒͐̒̏͒̍͌̆͑͑̔̾̌̒͊̑̕̕͘Ṅ̷̯̤̩͎̭̞͕͈̘̓͆́̑̈̋̓͝

Ľ̴̡̰̈̿̓͊̀ ̸̨̡̛̻̤̠͈̪̝̜͎͓̹̝̠̥̤̜͚̠͖̬̤̬̱͖͉̫̗̦͊̐́̿͐̅̃̀̀͒̏̒̒̓̔̊̈́͘̕͜Ȩ̴̡̛̫̳̰̺̳̙̞̬̭̗̫̹̫͙͔͉̳͇̣̦͓͙́̓̄̓̏͜͜ ̵̡̛̛̞͎̮̪̙̃͋̓̿̈̅̈́͗͐̐̔̃̔̒͗̈́͊̾̐̔͆͊̓͗́̽̆̏̂́̚͠͝T̶̪͇̭̬̼͉̺̞̱͈̗̥̟͊́ͅͅ ̴̯̜̜̱͚͖̜̤̳̪̘̳̣̉̏͌͋̑͊̐̈́̇͊̋̇͐̈́͋̍̊͌̄̌̓̌̑̀́̾̐̿̊̆͛͑͂͒͋̽̓͛̚͘̚͜͜͜͜͠ͅM̶̢̧̛͙̱̹̠͉̬̟̃̊͌͛̍̔̈́̈́̑̈͆̑̎͒̿͐̚͘̕͜͠͠͝ ̶̡̡̧̧̛̛̺̝̖͚̻̖̫͓͕̦̝͕̙̼̲͙̺̠̱̝̭̭̰͚̗̪̫̺̤̭̹̬̣̩͕̩̆̔̑̋̈͋̒̈́̑̂̑̓͑̈́̏́̅̐̂̒͐̉̓̐̆̚Ę̷̨̨̢̡̧̥͈̮̥͔͇̝̩̜̠̯̻̩̝̦͍̪͙̬̹͍̩̣̦͇̦̻̰͍̳͒͆̎͌̐̇͆̈́̾͠ ̸̡̛̖̝̠͎̘͆̈́̓́̂͆̒͌̒͐̑́͂̉̀͆̇͐͐̉͒̑̍̈́̓̂̋̽̒̐̓́̌̚̚̚̕͝͝Ì̴̢̧̛̗̥͙̤͈͕̜͖͓͕̱̰̲̝̫̳̫͕͈͎̦̘̪̳̮̗̀̾̀̀͂͒͋̃̽̉̍̈́̄̌͑͋̎̈́̆̽̎̋̑͋̏̓̍̀͌́̚͘͘͘͜͝ ̸̛͔̀͋͐̇͗̌̉̿̑̂́́̂̌̓́̀̓̄́̊̅̈́̐̋͊̆̒̒̕̕̕̚̚͠͠͠N̸̡̢̨̧̛̛̠̰̹̥̹̣̙͙̥̙̪͉̯̘̰̜̜̦̯̜̣̦͉̝͖͙̰̗͔̼͛̿̏͂̀̌̏̏̾͗̿̃̄̔̀̓̌̍̎͛̅̄̽̀̚̚̕͜͜͜͝͝͠

Ę̷̟̳̣̞͖̠̘͎̘̝̜̦̞̦̣̗͕͔̅̋͑͜Ŗ̸̨̨̨͙̜̲͓̦̫͈̯̦͓͙̬̲̣̬͚̟̰̘̻̠̹͉̖̮͚̥̣͓̳̝̥̯̤̫̫̻̹͗̅̆́͛̍͛̔̿̃̽͒͂͊͗̂̄́̐͆̒̋̄̚̚͝͝Ạ̴̛̛̛̛̛͓͚͈͓̹͙̻̇̎͆̓̎̄͑̓̿̒̓̎̈̆̿͐̈́̑̃̃̂̊̊̎̽̎̎̓͋̃̓͑̍͂͌̇͂̚͘͘͠͠͝͝S̴̛̤̻̠̩̟͔̘̘̪̮̠͖͚̬̻̮̺̥͔̙̱̯̹͕̞̣̀̑̌͌̄̾͆̈́̈́͛̀̌̄͗̀́̂̀̄̔̀͋͛̏̾̆̐̑͛̌̈́́̀̓͂̅͑́͛̾͆̽͜͠͝͝͠Ę̴̨̧̢̧̧̛̗͔̻̜͖͈̯̩̭̣̞̬͓̻͇̖͕̠̥͖̦͈̘͈̩͉̤̩̀̏̾̔̋̑̓̌̽̈́̈́͂͆͒͒̾̏̆̿́̊̈́̔̾̌̅́̒̔̕͜͜͠͠ ̸̧̛͇̗͓̟͖̪̭̫̫̩̳̜̠̻͈̳̖̤̞̙̘̳̩̮̲̦͐̈̓̀̆͗̍͑́͆̋̒̌̔̿̈̉̇͊̿͋̈́͑̌͗̎͂̿̕̕͘̚͘͘̕͝͠͝͝͝Y̴̨̨͓͔̥̠̘̞̲̗̗̱̝͉̯̯̗̟͇͓͈͚̪̩̦̖̩͔̬̻͚̪̪͍̦̰̻̘͛̈́̐̈́̄̾̏̀̑̽̊̇̒̔̌͘͜͜͝͠͠͝Ǫ̶̡̧̡̢̗͈̻͇̭̠̥̺͖̰̠͚̗̦̣̘̝͇̟͖͈͖͕͚̞̖̖̲͇͚̗͔̩̯͉̞̜͍͈̹̠̙̦͕̌̀͘͜͜͠ͅŲ̵̧̧̛̛̦̤͔̗̰̺̦̥̬̮͉̜̳̖̰̪̰̤̫̘̯̞̯̞̬͙͕̩̭̯̣̺̅͋̔̎͑͋́̈́͐̊͊̀̓̑̽̈́̊̈́͌̋̾̃͛̎͑̿̿̇̈́̉͑̈́̉̍͐̂͒̏̃̈́̎̂͑̕̕̚͝͝͠͝ͅR̷̨̧̨̡̡̛̛͖̬̟̺̯̖̘̥̹͎̮̤̝̳̝̰̭̼͕͔̯̤̹͓̲̰̭̪̦̥̞̹̻̖̪̼̽͊͋̈́̈̑̌̃̍̾̓̈́̌̀̿͛͋̇̊̄̒̈́̈̈́͆̈́̉͑͛̏̄̒͗͂̀͛͂̇̆̾̂̂̀͑͌̚̕̚͜͝ ̸̢̢̧̨̧̛͈͈̼̞̝̺̲̪̲̫̲̙̩̩͕̲̦̙̹͚̘̺̱̫̣̰̬̘̮̬̱͙̭͎̼̤͎̱̤͈̮̩͆̈́̅̅̅͋̀̉́͛̀͐̃̾̿̃̀͗̃̄̈̏͌̏̊͛̾͗̀̈́͛̀͂͐͘͝͠͠ͅͅM̸̡̨̘͇̖̼̤̯̝͎̫͕̙̰̜̩̦̻̈́̆̂̐̿̾̆̐̐́̚͜I̵̪͕̝̽̎̈́͂̔̏̊̒̿̀̑̍̔͊̊̓͌̑́̓̉͊̚͠͠N̶̨̡̛̠̝̮͚̗̼̲̳̼̲̼̜̏̈́͑̆͗̓͂̈́͋́̿̑̈̓̏͗̾̌̃̈͗̄̓͆̌͊̓͒̎́̅̂͛͆̔̽̋͌̓̀̿̚͘̚̕͠͝͝Ḑ̵̧͈͎̤̯̱͙̪̳̮̤̟̫͙͉̮̝̺̼̤̘̫̩̘̮͓̹̟̙͚͎̯̣̭̜̹̌̏̉̈̄͌̃̆̅̅͐̀͐̔̏̈́͒̍̅̃̌̈̌͒͛̃͗́͛͐́̀̌̏̽̋́͘̚̚͘͘͜͝͝͠͝ͅͅ

Must be nothing.

Gear: The Pitbulls are my favorite, hands down

Also Rhea Ripley. This outfit especially is honestly just something I'd wear.

Least favorite would have to be the Dudleys. It works very well for their characters, I just can't stand tie dye for unknown reasons.

Generation: Well, aside from one-off things from current WWE/AEW, I've only seen 94-97 ECW thus far (and segments from 96-97 WWF), so that's the only answer I can really give ^^;

Luchador: Rey Mysterio Jr.! I don't really have a solid explanation as to why, or at least no explanation that couldn't apply to other luchadors. I love his speed and agility, and his matches with Psicosis were some of the ones that would make me go silent because I was so enraptured by the skills on display. I also just love the attitude he gives off, both when he is and isn't speaking.

Run-In: Does the Gangstas debut count?

If not, 911's entire existence. Especially him chokeslamming Bill Alfonso!

Save: Rey Mysterio saving 911 from the Eliminators. Despite how much I love Kronus, watching 911 get his ass kicked really fucked me up, so this gave me relief like no other save did. Plus, the four of them setting up for Chicken just for Rey to jump off 911 and take Saturn down off of Kronus's shoulders was nuts!

Shows: I've been to one! There was an indy wrestling event (AXW) at the Legends Fanfest I went to on September 16th this year. I genuinely loved it! I was worried that I'm too used to ECW and I'd be lowkey bored, but they put on an excellent show! I consistently picked the loser lol, but so be it. The show culminated in a Royal Rumble that was a total blast!

Someone I met there said he's taking me to Wrestlemania next year, so I'm obviously looking forward to that. I also really want to start looking into local indies, especially since I live less than an hour from the ECW Arena, which seems to have semi-regular wrestling events (one of which is actually coming up next weekend, so I might be going to that 👀)

[jasvvy]

[machobusta]

Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu | Ladder match for a shot at the ECW Championship ECW August 15, 2006

[joearlikelikeswrestling]

[blowflyfag]

ECW Magazine: February 2000

[yayathegremlin]