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Sabu (wrestler)

American professional wrestler (1963/1964–2025) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sabu (wrestler)
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For the wrestler known as Sabu the Wildman, see Cocoa Samoa.

Terrance Michael Brunk (1963 or 1964 – May 11, 2025) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He was known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).[5] He was a three-time world champion, having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.

Quick facts Birth name, Born ...

Under the tutelage of his uncle Ed "The Sheik" Farhat, Brunk began his career wrestling in the North American independent scene in 1985 under the name of Sabu, before traveling to Japan, competing in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), winning several championships, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He returned to the United States in 1995, briefly working for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), before beginning his most well-known stint in ECW, where he quickly became a fixture of the promotion. During his time in ECW, he became a two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time ECW World Television Champion. He would have both a feud and an alliance with The Tazmaniac, defeating him for the ECW FTW Championship and winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship with him. In 1997, Sabu began a tag team with Rob Van Dam, winning the ECW Tag Team Championship twice.

After leaving ECW, Sabu wrestled in several national promotions, winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the National Wrestling Alliance in 2000. He also had multiple stints in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, debuting shortly after its creation in 2002 and making his final appearance in 2020. From 2006–2007, he was signed to World Wrestling Entertainment as part of their rebooted version of ECW. He remained a mainstay on the independent circuit for decades, and wrestled his retirement match for Game Changer Wrestling three weeks before his death.

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Professional wrestling career

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Early career (1985–1991)

Brunk began his wrestling career in 1985, working for his uncle Ed "The Sheik" Farhat's promotion, Big Time Wrestling. Over the next few years, Brunk wrestled for various independent promotions and made a few appearances for United States Wrestling Association in 1991 as Samu, feuding with Jeff Jarrett and Robert Fuller.[6]

World Wrestling Federation (1993)

Sabu made three appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1993. He defeated Scott Taylor in a dark match before Monday Night Raw on October 18, lost to Owen Hart the next night for a dark match at a Wrestling Challenge taping, and defeated Taylor again in a dark match at a WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping on October 20.[7]

Frontier Martial–Arts Wrestling (1991–1994)

In 1991, Sabu made his first tour of Japan with Frontier Martial–Arts Wrestling (FMW). While wrestling for FMW, Sabu received many of the scars on his arms and torso for which he became famous.[8] On May 6, 1992, Sabu teamed with his uncle, the Sheik, in a Fire Death Match against Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto, where the ring ropes were replaced with flaming barbed wire and covered in towels soaked in kerosene. They were in the ring for about a minute before evacuating due to the intense heat.[9][10] His final match in FMW was a loss to the debuting Hayabusa at Summer Spectacular on August 28, 1994.[11]

Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1995)

On October 1, 1993, Sabu debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) as a villain at NWA Bloodfest, defeating The Tazmaniac.[12] In his second match with the promotion, he rose to main event status and defeated Shane Douglas to win the ECW Heavyweight Championship.[13] Sabu headlined the inaugural November to Remember event on November 13, teaming with Road Warrior Hawk in a title versus title dream partner tag team match against Terry Funk and King Kong Bundy with Sabu's ECW Heavyweight Championship and Funk's ECW Television Championship on the line, which he won after Bundy turned on Funk, becoming a double champion. Sabu lost the Heavyweight Championship to Funk at Holiday Hell on December 26.[13] He received a rematch for the title in a Three Way Dance at The Night the Line Was Crossed on February 5, 1994, also involving Douglas, which ended in a sixty-minute time limit draw, thus Funk retained the title.[14] Sabu lost the Television Championship to The Tazmaniac, which aired on the March 15 episode of Hardcore TV.[14] At When Worlds Collide on May 14, Sabu and Bobby Eaton defeated Funk and Arn Anderson, ending their feud.[15]

At Heat Wave on July 16, Sabu turned into a fan favorite by forming a tag team with Tazmaniac to defeat The Pitbulls. Later that night, Sabu faced Douglas for the Heavyweight Championship, but lost via count-out.[14] Sabu and Tazmaniac would begin feuding with The Triple Threat (Douglas, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko), which led to Sabu facing Benoit in the main event of November to Remember on November 5, headlining ECW's premier event for the second consecutive year. The match prematurely ended when Benoit gave Sabu a back body drop and, expecting his opponent to land face-first, Sabu rotated himself in mid-air to attempt to land on his back. This injured Sabu's spinal cord, resulting in nerve damage.[14][16]

On February 4, 1995, Sabu and Tazmaniac defeated The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship in a double tables match at Double Tables.[17] They lost the titles to Benoit and Malenko three weeks later at Return of the Funker.[18] Sabu wrestled his last match of his first tenure in ECW on the March 28 episode of Hardcore TV by defeating Mikey Whipwreck.[19] In April, after being scheduled to compete in the main event of Three Way Dance for the World Tag Team Championship, Sabu no–showed the event to accept a booking in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which led Paul Heyman to publicly and legitimately fire Sabu at the event.[20][21]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1995)

Sabu wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) throughout 1995, making his debut on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, teaming with Masahiro Chono to defeat Junji Hirata and Tatsumi Fujinami.[22] On May 3, Sabu defeated Koji Kanemoto at Wrestling Dontaku in the Fukuoka Dome to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[23] He lost the title to Kanemoto on June 14 in Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in a bout where Kanemoto's UWA World Welterweight Championship was also on the line.[24] He also defeated Gran Hamada to win the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship on November 23 in the Todoroki Arena in Kawasaki, which he lost to El Samurai on December 1 in Niigata City.[25] Sabu made his final appearance with NJPW in Osaka on December 11, teaming with Hiro Saito to defeat Dean Malenko and Wild Pegasus.[22]

World Championship Wrestling (1995)

Sabu made his WCW debut on the September 11, 1995 episode of WCW Monday Nitro against Alex Wright. Sabu won the match, but the decision was reversed when, after the match, he put Wright through a table.[26] Sabu defeated Mr. J.L. on the October 9 episode of Nitro and at Halloween Havoc on October 29; following the latter match, Sabu's uncle Sheik shot J.L. in the face with his trademark fireball.[26][27] His last match in WCW was a victory against Disco Inferno on the October 30 episode of Nitro.[26]

Big Japan and All Japan Pro Wrestling (1996–1997)

Sabu returned to Japan to work for Big Japan Pro Wrestling in March 1996, where he embarked on an 18-match winning streak, first defeating Jason Knight on March 13 until June 4, when he lost to Kazuo Sakurada's Kendo Nagasaki.[28] He made his debut for All Japan Pro Wrestling in November 1996, initially teaming with Gary Albright before teaming with Rob Van Dam the following year.[29]

Return to ECW (1995–2000)

Various feuds (1995–1997)

On November 18, 1995, Sabu returned to ECW at November to Remember, defeating Hack Meyers in his first match in the promotion in eight months.[30] He would embark on a winning streak against the likes of Cactus Jack at Holiday Hell on December 29,[31] Stevie Richards at House Party on January 5,[32] and Mr. Hughes at Big Apple Blizzard Blast on February 3.[33] He faced 2 Cold Scorpio for the World Television Championship at CyberSlam on February 17, Just Another Night on February 23, and Big Ass Extreme Bash on March 8, but the matches ended in twenty-minute time limit draws.[34][35]

Sabu defeated Rob Van Dam on April 20 at Hostile City Showdown.[36] Van Dam refused to shake hands with him after the match, leading to a respect match at A Matter of Respect on May 11, which Sabu lost. He was forced to shake hands with Van Dam, who refused by saying "not only do I not respect you, you're a piece of shit".[37] Sabu defeated Van Dam at Hardcore Heaven on June 22, in a stretcher match at The Doctor Is In on August 3,[38] and at Unlucky Lottery on September 13, after which Sabu finally earned Van Dam's respect. Van Dam was about to shake Sabu's hand until they were both attacked by The Can-Am Express.[39] Their match against the Can-Am Express on September 14 at When Worlds Collide ended in a thirty-minute time limit draw,[40] but they defeated them in a rematch at High Incident on October 26.[39] Sabu and Van Dam failed to win the ECW Tag Team Championship from The Eliminators in a Tables and Ladders match on February 21, 1997 at CyberSlam.[41] At this time, Sabu's former tag team partner Tazmaniac (who had shortened his name to "Taz") began to publicly challenge Sabu at every given opportunity, but got no response. After a year of call-outs and insults from Taz, Paul Heyman revealed that he had asked Sabu, as a friend, to ignore Taz's challenge. This culminated in a match on April 13 at ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, which Taz won.[4] Following the match, Taz's manager Bill Alfonso turned on him and sided with Sabu and Van Dam. This resulted in a double turn as Taz became a fan favorite while Sabu turned heel; he defeated Taz in a rematch on June 6 at Wrestlepalooza.[42]

At Born to be Wired on August 9, Sabu competed in a no-rope barbed wire match against Terry Funk for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, which was promoted as being "too extreme even for ECW". In one of the most memorable moments in ECW history, Sabu attempted the "Air Sabu" corner splash on Funk, but he moved and Sabu collided violently into the wire, which tore open his biceps.[5][4] He then asked his manager Bill Alfonso for some tape, which he used to tape up the approximately 10-inch gash.[4] Sabu ultimately defeated Funk to win the title for a second time; the match ended with both men so badly tangled up together in the barbed wire that it took several ring technicians armed with wire cutters to free them from the predicament.[13][42] On the DVD Bloodsport – ECW's Most Violent Matches released by World Wrestling Entertainment, Paul Heyman said that the match was so gruesome that he never booked another barbed-wire match.[43] At Hardcore Heaven on August 17, Sabu lost the title to Shane Douglas in a three-way elimination match also involving Funk.[44]

Teaming with Rob Van Dam (1997–2000)

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Sabu at an ECW event in 1998

In mid-1997, Sabu was included in the WWF invasion angle, in which ECW wrestlers invaded WWF's Monday Night Raw program and held ECW-style matches and angles on the show. One memorable moment occurred when Sabu appeared during a match and performed an aerial move off the "R" in the "RAW" lettered entryway onto Team Taz members.[45][46] He and Van Dam defeated ECW loyalists Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman at Orgy of Violence on June 28.[42] On July 24, Sabu and Van Dam teamed with Jerry Lawler to face Dreamer, Sandman and Rick Rude in a steel cage match at Heat Wave. The match ended in a no contest after Rude turned on his teammates and attacked them.[42] Sabu defeated Sandman in a Tables and Ladders match at November to Remember on November 30,[47] lost to him in a Stairway to Hell match at House Party on January 10,[48] and defeated him again in a Dueling Canes match at Living Dangerously on March 1, 1998 to conclude the rivalry.[49] Shortly after the event, Sabu and Van Dam turned into fan favorites. At Wrestlepalooza on May 3, Sabu challenged Van Dam for the World Television Championship, but the match ended in a thirty-minute time limit draw.[50]

On the July 1 episode of Hardcore TV, Sabu and Van Dam defeated Chris Candido and Lance Storm to win the World Tag Team Championship, beginning Sabu's second individual reign with the title.[51] Sabu and Van Dam held the title for nearly four months, retaining the titles against various ECW teams such as Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney), Full Blooded Italians, and The Dudley Boyz throughout the summer.[52] They also defeated the Japanese team of Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki at Heat Wave.[53] Sabu and Van Dam lost the titles to the Dudley Boyz on the October 28 episode of Hardcore TV.[51] Around the same time, they joined forces with former rival Taz to feud with The Triple Threat and formed a short-lived alliance to counter the faction called New Triple Threat. On November 1, at November to Remember, New Triple Threat defeated The Triple Threat in a six-man tag team match.[52][54]

At the ECW/FMW Supershow II in Japan on December 13, Sabu and Van Dam defeated the Dudley Boyz to win their second World Tag Team Championship, marking Sabu's third individual title reign.[51] On the December 23 episode of Hardcore TV, Sabu defeated Taz and Justin Credible in a three-way elimination match to win the FTW Heavyweight Championship after Taz put Sabu on top of him.[52] Van Dam and Sabu retained the titles against Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks at House Party on January 16, 1999.[55] Sabu and Taz competed in a falls count anywhere title unification match for Sabu's FTW Championship and Taz's ECW World Heavyweight Championship at Living Dangerously on March 21, which Taz won to unify both titles.[56] Sabu would begin wearing a neck brace and take some time off, resulting in his partner Van Dam defending the World Tag Team Championship against D-Von Dudley in a singles match on the April 23 episode of Hardcore TV, which D-Von won. As a result, the Dudley Boyz won the titles.[51][55] Sabu then defeated Justin Credible at Anarchy Rulz on September 19.[57]

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Sabu delivering the Arabian Skullcrusher to Rhyno in December 1999

Sabu failed to win the World Television Championship from Van Dam on the November 19 episode of Hardcore TV and the November 26 episode of ECW on TNN.[55] After defeating Chris Candido on November 7 at November to Remember,[58] Sabu again failed to win the title at Guilty as Charged on January 9, 2000, in his final ECW pay-per-view appearance.[59] On the January 30 episode of Hardcore TV, Sabu wrestled his last televised match in ECW, in which he defeated C.W. Anderson.[60] Sabu left ECW following a victory over Scott D'Amore on February 26.[60]

Independent circuit (2000–2005)

After leaving ECW, Sabu went to compete on the independent circuit for promotions such as Xtreme Pro Wrestling, IWA Mid-South, Stampede Wrestling and Border City Wrestling.[8] On April 29, 2000, he won a tournament for the vacated XPW World Heavyweight Championship. He was the only champion to defend the title outside of the United States. Sabu was stripped off the title in May 2001 after he was not present for an event. He also returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling in 2000 and 2001 as a singles competitor.[29] In 2002, he worked for Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling, winning the 3PW World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Gary Wolfe on October 19. He lost the title to Wolfe on December 28.[61]

After Sabu suffered a legitimate back injury, Brunk contracted a virus and was hospitalized, sidelining him for ten months. On December 12, a benefit show, A Night of Appreciation for Sabu, was held by the AWWL to raise funds for him.[62][63] The show was considered a success, raising enough money for Brunk to cover the costs of his medical care and make a full recovery.[64] Sabu appeared at Hardcore Homecoming on June 10, where he defeated Terry Funk and Shane Douglas in a three-way no-ropes barbed wire match,[65]

Return to Frontier Martial–Arts Wrestling (1997–2002)

Sabu returned to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling on December 22, 1997, when he defeated ECW rival The Sandman at Super Extreme Wrestling War 1997 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall. Then on December 13, 1998, he and Rob Van Dam defeated the Dudley Boyz to retain the ECW World Tag Team Titles at ECW/FMW Supershow. He would team up with Super Leather in a few tag team matches during 1999.[citation needed]

On February 3, 2002, Sabu defeated former ECW wrestlers The Sandman and Vic Grimes in a three-way dance. The next day was his last match with FMW was when he teamed with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and lost to The Sandman and Kodo Fuyuki for the vacated WEW Tag Team titles. This would be the promotion last event as it went bankrupt on the 15th.[66]

World Wrestling All-Stars (2002, 2003)

Sabu competed for the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) in a number of events during 2002 and 2003. This included four appearances on PPV and a number of memorable matches. His first appearance was at Revolution PPV in Las Vegas in February 2002. He faced Devon Storm in a hardcore match. He was defeated in this match after his manager Bill Alfonso accidentally hit him with a chair after Storm moved out the way. After the match Sabu and Storm continued to fight onto the ring entrance way. Sabu placed Storm on a table and leaped from the entrance way through Storm and the table. This feud continued on the next PPV, the Eruption, in Australia in April. Sabu fought Storm in a steel cage match. The action spilled out of the ring and the cage with Sabu gaining the victory after leaping from the top of the cage through Storm, who was placed on top of two tables on top of each other.[citation needed]

Next up Sabu took part in WWA European tour of November–December 2002. This included the Retribution PPV in Glasgow, which was broadcast two months later in February 2003. On this tour and PPV he fought former fellow ECW stars Perry Saturn and Simon Diamond in a three-way hardcore match. Sabu took the victory in each of these matches, usually gaining the pinfall over Diamond after Saturn left the match to defend his companion. His final appearance for the WWA came in their last PPV, The Reckoning, in New Zealand. During this tour he first fought Shane Douglas but due to injury he did not face him at the PPV. Instead, Douglas came to the ring and eventually allowed Joe E Legend to face Sabu instead. Sabu won this match, his second and last WWA match ever. When the All World Wrestling League began in April 2003 (a spin-off of Big Time Wrestling), which was run by Eddie & Tom Farhat, Sabu joined them for a while, before he left for another territory.[citation needed]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2006)

Sabu debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on July 17, 2002, defeating Malice in a ladder match.[67] The following week, he faced Ken Shamrock in a ladder match which ended in a no contest after interference from Malice.[68]

On February 25, 2004, Sabu teamed with Raven to defeat Raven's former "Gathering" protégés CM Punk and Julio Dinero.[69] The following month, he began feuding with Monty Brown and Abyss, who outnumbered him on several occasions after Raven failed to "watch his back".[70][71][72] Sabu was eventually challenged to a match by Raven, but he refused to wrestle Raven as part of a promise he made to his uncle Ed "The Sheik" Farhat. Raven tormented Sabu by assaulting his friend Sonjay Dutt and waging a campaign against Sabu by disrespecting his uncle's memory,[73][74][75] causing him to finally attack Raven on July 23.[76] On August 4, Sabu lost to Raven,[77] and a scheduled return match on August 18 was canceled after Sabu suffered a legitimate back injury.[citation needed]

Sabu returned to TNA on July 29, 2005.[78] At Sacrifice on August 14, Sabu teamed with old rival and then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven to face Jeff Jarrett and Rhino. During the match, which Rhino and Jarrett won, Abyss interfered and attacked Sabu, starting a feud between the two.[79] At Unbreakable on September 11, Abyss defeated Sabu after performing his Black Hole Slam finisher onto a pile of tacks in the ring.[80] On October 23, at Bound for Glory, Sabu lost to Rhino in a Monster's Ball match also involving Abyss and Jeff Hardy, as well as in a ten-man gauntlet match later that night.[81] Sabu again lost to Abyss on November 13 at Genesis,[82] before defeating him in the promotion's first ever Barbed Wire Massacre at Turning Point on December 11, ending their feud.[83] After a hiatus, Sabu, having a broken forearm, returned at Lockdown on April 23, 2006, facing Samoa Joe for the TNA X Division Championship in a losing effort; he was released from TNA following this match.[84]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2005, 2006–2007)

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Sabu in the ring at a WWE house show in 2006

At ECW One Night Stand, Sabu defeated Rhyno.[85] On April 23, 2006, Sabu signed a one-year contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[86] At ECW One Night Stand on June 11, Sabu faced Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship, but the match ended in a no contest after Sabu caught Mysterio in a front facelock and hit him with a DDT which caused both men to crash through a table. WWE medical staff rushed to the injured men and declared neither of them could continue, thus Mysterio retained his title.[87]

On the June 13 premiere of ECW on Sci Fi, Sabu won a 10-man Extreme Battle Royal to earn a match against John Cena at Vengeance.[88] Sabu lost to Cena in their "Extreme Lumberjack match" at Vengeance on June 25.[89][90] On July 2, while traveling with fellow ECW wrestler Rob Van Dam, he was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and nine Vicodin tablets on U.S. Route 52 in Hanging Rock, Ohio.[91] Brunk was fined $1,000 based on the guidelines of WWE's Wellness Policy.[92] He pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dropped. He was given a suspended sentence of 10 days in jail and a $500 fine.[93][94]

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Sabu wrestling C. W. Anderson at the ECW Arena in June 2006

Towards the end of July, Sabu began to talk on camera for himself – instead of using a go between – and demanded a shot at Big Show's ECW World Championship which Paul Heyman refused to grant him in order to "protect" his champion.[95][96] Instead, he forced him into a match against the returning Kurt Angle to determine a number one contender, which ended in a no contest after interference from the returning Van Dam.[97] On the August 15 episode of ECW, Sabu defeated Van Dam in a ladder match to earn the title match against Big Show at SummerSlam on August 20, which he lost.[98][99] At Survivor Series on November 26, Sabu was a part of Team Cena (John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Kane and Van Dam), defeating Team Big Show (Big Show, Montel Vontavious Porter, Finlay, Test and Umaga); he eliminated Test but was eliminated by Big Show.[100] At December to Dismember on December 3, Sabu was originally set to appear in the main event, an Extreme Elimination Chamber match for the ECW World Championship, but was "taken out" and replaced by Hardcore Holly.[101] The following episode on ECW, after Punk and Van Dam defeated Test and Holly in a match they dedicated to Sabu, Heyman and his security team came out and beat them down until Sabu, with a heavily wrapped arm, returned to save them.[102]

On January 28, 2007 at Royal Rumble, Sabu made his Royal Rumble match debut at number 7, but was eliminated by Kane after receiving a chokeslam over the top rope and through a table.[103] Sabu then joined the ECW Originals along with Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman and feuded with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker), defeating them at WrestleMania 23 on April 1[104] but lost a rematch two nights later on ECW.[105] Sabu's final WWE match was on the May 1 episode of ECW, where he competed in a fatal four-way match against Dreamer, Van Dam and Sandman to determine the number one contender for the ECW World Championship, which Van Dam won.[106] On May 16, Sabu was released from his WWE contract.[107]

Independent circuit (2007–2010)

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Sabu performing his signature taunt in 2009
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Sabu in 2008

On July 13, 2007, it was announced that Sabu would be working in Mexico's AAA promotion in Mexico for their Triplemanía XV event. Sabu came out during the main event and put La Parka through a table, joining forces with the heels X-Pack, Ron "The Truth" Killings, and Konnan. Thereafter, he made appearances on their major televised programs on Galavision as a minor part of Konnan's heel stable, La Legión Extranjera.[8] On October 30, 2010, Sabu defeated Damián 666 to win Xtreme Latin American Wrestling's International Championship.[108]

Juggalo Championship Wrestling (2007–2011)

In 2007, Sabu teamed with Insane Clown Posse to defeat Trent Acid and the Young Alter Boys at Juggalo Championship Wrestling's Bloodymania.[109] During the second season of the company's internet wrestling show SlamTV!, Raven was involved in a feud with JCW Heavyweight Champion Corporal Robinson.[110] In the third episode, Sabu appeared from out of the crowd and saved Robinson from an attack by Raven and his lackey Sexy Slim Goody.[111] Raven and Goody teamed up against Robinson and Sabu in the following episode, but Raven fled from the match.[112] At Bloodymania III, Sabu defeated Raven in a Raven's Rules match.[113] He returned as a full-time member of the roster at Oddball Wrestling 2010, where he defeated Officer Colt Cabana in an "I Quit" match.[114] Following two victories, Sabu teamed with The Weedman to defeat Bull Pain and Isabella Smothers at Hardcore Hell.[115][116][117] After the match, per narrative thread, he aligned himself with villainous manager Charlie Brown.[117] Sabu defeated heroic face 2 Tuff Tony at the next event, and continued to attack him after the match ended.[118] He and Tony wrestled again at Up in Smoke in a match where Rob Conway was hired by Brown to attack Tony.[119] After Rhino scared off Sabu and Conway, a tag team match was scheduled between the two and Rhino and Tony at St. Andrew's Brawl.[119]

Return to TNA (2010)

On August 2, 2010, it was confirmed that Sabu would be taking part in TNA's ECW reunion show against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam in the main event of Hardcore Justice on August 8,[120] which he lost.[121] On the following edition of Impact!, the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0), were assaulted by A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who thought they did not deserve to be in TNA.[122][123] The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter gave each member of EV 2.0 TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with Fourtune.[124] At No Surrender on September 5, Sabu unsuccessfully challenged Williams for the TNA X Division Championship.[125] At Bound for Glory on October 10, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino and Stevie Richards defeated Fortune members Styles, Kazarian, Morgan, Roode and Storm in a Lethal Lockdown match.[126] On the October 21 edition of Impact!, Sabu and Van Dam lost to Storm and Roode after Sabu accidentally hit Van Dam with a chair. After the match, Van Dam and Sabu began shoving each other, before being broken up by the rest of EV 2.0.[127] At Turning Point on November 7, EV 2.0 faced Fortune in a ten-man tag team match, where each member of EV 2.0 put their TNA careers on the line. Styles won the match for his team by pinning Sabu, who as a result was fired from TNA.[128] It had been reported earlier that Brunk's release from TNA was legitimate.[129]

Return to independent circuit (2012–2021)

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Sabu performing his Arabian Facebuster on Michael Elgin in August 2011

On January 14, 2012, Sabu returned to the former ECW Arena, when he defeated Justin Credible at an Evolve event in the venue's final professional wrestling event.[130] In 2013, Sabu completed a UK tour, wrestling for a number of the UK's top promotions. Sabu entered the Extreme Rising World Championship tournament but was eliminated in the first round by Devon Storm.[131]

On March 30, 2013, Sabu made his Newfoundland wrestling debut when he wrestled in the Newfoundland and Labrador based company's CEW "King Of The Rock" tournament. This was a two-show event which saw Sabu defeat multiple CEW mainstays such as CEW headliners Psycho Mitch and Krys Krysmon. Sabu ultimately lost the tournament after a brutal match with Scott Gotch in which Sabu lost intentionally at the request of CEW owner Dennis Guthrie. As a reward, CEW owner enshrined Sabu as the new CEW Newfoundland Heritage Champion. He defended his title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match on April 1, 2013, for CEW in St. Lawrence, NL against Justin Lock, Tony King and Brandon Flip. In Scotland, Sabu challenged Jack Jester for the ICW Heavyweight Championship but was defeated.[132] Sabu returned to ICW in 2015 to continue his feud with Jester and challenge the ICW World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway[133] but was again defeated.[134]

Sabu also worked for Pro Wrestling Holland, where he held the PWH Championship.[135] On October 18, 2014, at Insurrection, Sabu defeated Balls Mahoney to win the WWL Extreme Championship. He lost the title against Monster Pain. He also wrestled for the Big Time Wrestling independent circuit.[citation needed]

On June 5, 2015, Sabu lost a match to his long-time partner Rob Van Dam in Scranton, Pennsylvania. At the end of the match, after pinning Sabu, RVD helped him up off the mat and both raised hands together.[136]

On August 17, 2018, Sabu lost to Nick Gage at a GCW event.[137]

On November 5, 2021, Sabu officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling.[138]

Second return to Impact Wrestling (2019, 2020)

On February 8, 2019, it was revealed that Sabu would return to TNA, now named Impact Wrestling, at United We Stand on April 4,[139] where Sabu and Rob Van Dam were defeated by the Lucha Bros (Pentagón Jr. and Fénix).[140]On the May 31 episode of Impact, Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer defeated The North and Moose. On the June 6 episode of Impact, Sabu and Rob Van Dam lost to The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander). on the July 20 episode of Xplosion, Sabu defeated Raj Singh. On September 4, it was reported that Impact would bring him back for more dates in the future.[141] Two days later, Sabu fought Rohit Raju to a double countout at the Impact television tapings in Las Vegas.[142] At Bound for Glory on October 20, Sabu competed in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match, which was won by Eddie Edwards.[143]

On the March 24, 2020 episode of Impact, Sabu and Rhino defeated Ohio Versus Everything (Dave Crist and Madman Fulton) in Sabu's final match in TNA.

Final appearances (2023–2025)

On May 24, 2023, Sabu made his debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on Dynamite, where he was revealed to be the special guest enforcer for the unsanctioned match between Adam Cole and Chris Jericho at Double or Nothing.[144]

On April 18, 2025, Sabu won his retirement match, a No Rope Barbed Wire match against Joey Janela at Game Changer Wrestling (GCW)'s Joey Janela's Spring Break 9, three weeks before his death.[145] The match and GCW would later come under scrutiny after an interview with Janela was published in which he intimated that Sabu was unfit to wrestle the match until he was provided a dose of the opiate substitute kratom in response to pain to ensure his attendance, and that he still appeared intoxicated backstage when he arrived at the show.[146][147]

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Other media

He appeared in the video game ECW Hardcore Revolution, Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This At Home, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008.[148] Sabu's likeness also appears, albeit unofficially, in several games within the Fire Pro Wrestling franchise including Fire Pro Wrestling, Fire Pro Wrestling 2, and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.[citation needed]

On September 8, 2016, Brunk guest starred on an episode of the Viceland television program, Traveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Watch 'Ancient Aliens': Alien Devastation with his former tag team partner Rob Van Dam and manager The Super Genie.[149]

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Personal life

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Brunk's father was of Irish and German descent, while his mother was of Lebanese descent.[150] He graduated from Sexton High School in 1982.[151] At the age of 19, Brunk was shot in the face at a house party, and he began training for his wrestling career after being released from the hospital.[152]

Brunk was married to a Japanese woman named Hitomi, on June 22, 1997, in Michigan, and had a separate Japanese ceremony on December 12, 1998, in Tokyo while in Japan for the ECW/FMW Supershow.[153] They later separated and divorced in 2012. In Forever Hardcore, Brunk reveals he took his name "Sabu" from Indian-American actor Sabu, of whom his uncle Ed Farhat was a fan.[150]

In July 2016, Brunk was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred "long term neurological injuries" and that the company "routinely failed to care" for them and "fraudulently misrepresented and concealed" the nature and extent of those injuries. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[154] The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant in September 2018.[155]

In the mid-2010s, Brunk began dating Melissa Coates, who also began working as his wrestling valet from late 2014 until her death on June 23, 2021.[156][157]

Death

Brunk died on May 11, 2025.[158][159][160] Despite being listed as aged 60 at the time of his death, court documents indicate he was actually 61.[1] GCW, which hosted Sabu's final match three weeks prior to his death, denied any involvement in Sabu's death.[147]

Professional wrestling style and persona

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Sabu performing the Arabian Clutch on Dru Onyx

Sabu was nicknamed "The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal, Death–Defying Maniac" due to his mixed style of high-flying and hardcore wrestling.[4] Some of his moves included using a steel chair, like the Air Sabu (a heel kick to a cornered opponent, with the assistance of a steel chair), the Arabian Facebuster (jumping, diving or a somersault leg drop, driving a steel chair into the face of the opponent) or the Arabian Skullcrusher (jumping, diving or a somersault leg drop, driving a steel chair into the back of the opponent's head, usually through a table).[5]

One of the most notable aspects of Sabu's character was his refusal to speak, however, he claimed that he had to do the most talking he ever did in WWE.[161] In his early career, Sabu was billed as being from Saudi Arabia, or Bombay, India (in real life he was a second-generation Lebanese American from a suburb of Detroit). In ECW, however, he was clearly heard speaking in the ring on several occasions and it was fairly common knowledge that Brunk was an American citizen from birth. This led to a joke at kayfabe's expense when Sabu began to be billed as hailing from "Bombay, Michigan".[9] When he debuted in ECW, Sabu's character was an uncontrollable madman who was strapped to a gurney, wore a Hannibal Lecter-style face mask and was accompanied by his handler 911.[12] He also wore turban ring entrance attire similar to that of his uncle and was even considered to be the one who carried The Sheik's "legacy".[151]

Sabu was credited as a revolutionary due to his work in ECW.[9][162][163]

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Championships and accomplishments

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Sabu's Hardcore Hall of Fame banner in the former ECW Arena
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Footnotes

  1. Sabu's first reign occurred while the promotion was an NWA affiliate named Eastern Championship Wrestling, and was prior to the promotion becoming Extreme Championship Wrestling and the title being declared a world title by ECW. Sabu held the title again after these events.
  2. Title was not officially sanctioned by ECW.

References

External links

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