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RIP to the Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Iconic Sabu
Published:
We lost the human highlight reel this weekend:
Not gonna lie, this one hits pretty hard. If you’re a Gen X or Millennial kid who grew up in the Philly area and watched ECW in the 1990s, then you probably felt a little bit of your soul leave your body and dissipate into nothingness upon hearing the news.
Sabu, if you’re unfamiliar, was an icon of the wrestling game. A true pioneer who ripped off some of the craziest and intense stuff you’ll ever see. We’re talking barbed wire, tables, chairs, front flips, back flips, whatever. You name it, he tried it. The one sticks out the most is probably that time he jumped off the ropes and gave Rey Mysterio a flying DDT through a table. Over and over again, oftentimes with Rob Van Dam alongside him while Bill Alfonso kept blowing that damn whistle.
At the height of ECW in the mid-90s, nobody was bigger than Sabu. Not even a debate. The interesting thing, too, was that he didn’t speak at all, so he carried this mystique about him. Here comes the cool Middle Eastern-looking guy (who is actually from Detroit). He’s walking out with the keffiyeh and looking all badass and unique. He’s doing the “point to the sky” thing that we all emulated in our friends’ basements before suplexing each other through the couch cushions.
This all added to the whole character because you didn’t know anything about him. What kind of insane shit is he gonna do tonight? This was edge-of-your-seat stuff back in 90s and it made him a revolutionary of sorts in terms of elevating the hardcore table element in the wrestling game. You don’t often say that a certain wrestler amounts to “must watch” television, but Sabu in the 90s certainly was.
That being said, you’d probably be short selling Sabu by calling him an ECW legend, 1) because his ECW stints only comprised a small portion of his lengthy career, which took him to Japan, TNA, WWE, and several times through the independent circuit. And 2), “ECW legend” might not be good enough. He is quite easily top-2, top-3, top-5 all time in promotion history. He’s right up at the very top with guys like Taz, RVD, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer. I’ve got him #1 overall because there’s no one who personified 1990s Philadelphia ECW better than Sabu did. This guy gave everything to wrestling and had the scars to prove it.
And here’s the key thing –
With a guy like Sabu, words don’t come even close to doing him justice. You could put together three full pages of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism and it wouldn’t tell the story, because the story is a visual one. Do yourself a favor, dig in to some of his highlight reels, and let those explain why he was so popular and well regarded and pioneering.
RIP Sabu:
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com