Sabu’s career has been a highlight of violent collisions and brutality most only dream of, and he’s carved out a niche with a small group of wrestlers that’s hard to match.
His fans are loyal and he’s returned that loyalty with some of the most memorable ECW matches and moments in history, but going mainstream was never his thing.
Now that he’s retired, he’s speaking out a little more and sharing his stories like others are doing, and he’s got some good one.
One that caught our eyes was when he signed with the WWE in 2006 when the company was bringing back ECW.
It had every excited that we’d get to see some of the old ECW action with some new talent, but like with anything WWE, it was under Vince McMahon’s control and he had a different idea.
More promos
One of those plans, for better or worse, was to turn Sabu babyface and have him do promos.
Throughout his career, Sabu didn’t do many promos where he talked. He was always the crazy, maniacal madman others talked for or about.
Sabu did his talking in the ring and to greater effect.
In a recent interview with Wrestling Shoot, he talked about how Vince wanted him to do more talking and how he purposely messed up the promos hoping Vince would change his mind.
“He starts off nicely and then gets vicious. He politely said, ‘I want you to be a likeable babyface.’ I go, ‘Yeah, right.’ ‘No, I want you to talk. I want you to talk now. We’re gonna go in the dressing room and talk.’ I’d hide for a while, thinking he’d forget about it, but he wouldn’t forget about it.
“I had two sessions with just Vince and a cameraman trying to cut this promo. I was cutting it badly on purpose, thinking he would say, ‘Okay, no promo,’ but he didn’t. He kept making me do it.”
Whether this was a forewarning of what was to come or not is an interesting line of thought as the WWE released Sabu in May 2007.
Sabu continued wrestling in the Indies and went back to TNA/Impact Wrestling here and there much to the fans’ delight.
He continued wrestling until calling it quits in November 2021.
It’s been an amazing ride and I enjoyed watching his career, and am grateful I got to see him live at an ECW event at the Hamburg Field House in Hamburg, Pennsylvania with some friends.
Quick claim to fame, one of my friends (against the rest of us telling him not tot) insulted him constantly during the match and got flipped off for his efforts.
We’re looking forward to hearing and reading more of his stories as we’re sure he’s got some wild ones he hasn’t shared yet.
When was your favorite Sabu Era? Was it with ECW, WWE, or TNA? Let us know in the comments below.
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