[1996-05-11-ECW-A Matter of Respect] Sabu vs Rob Van Dam

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

RVD is pretty green here, so take what you know about RVD and Sabu and add RVD being green into it, and there you go. Important match in the series, but not particularly good.

[Tim Evans]

Yeah RVD's two brainbusters from the top look really unsafe. I'm still amazed Sabu isn't Jerry Estrada right now, crippled in a wheelchair. The ending with Paul E was great.

[PeteF3]

More of the same from the previous month, with some spots that are more death-defying but also more that are blown. RVD cripples Sabu with a super fisherman buster and scores the pin shortly afterward.

 

Sabu is seemingly too hurt afterward to say "I respect you" into the mic or shake hands, but he drags himself away from the paramedics to come back to the ring. Paul E. calls RVD back out, and Sabu extends his hand again, but RVD tells him he's a piece of shit and leaves with Fonzie and Taz.

[soup23]

I understand these matches got over but man, this series of three long ECW matches in a row can drive down a disc and take up a ton of real estate. Especially when this was the worst of the three by a wide margin and everything that was tried here was done better in Scorp/Douglas. In addition, my thoughts for this match again makes the ending feel really hollow with Paul E putting these guys and the match over as some classic and Fonzie and RVD linking up. **

[tim]

Okay, I gotta say, the splash through the table and the triple jump moonsault all the way across the ring were pretty awesome. But this is worse than their last match, more transparently a spotfest, sloppy in a bad way and oftentimes boring when they weren't working their set up spots. But they do succeed in making RVD feel like a big deal as an up and comer when the match is over.