[1993-10-05-ECW-TV] Sabu vs Tazmaniac

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I had never seen Sabu do the chained down entrance until watching this yearbook, but wow, insane gimmick and I wish he'd kept that side to it. Not a good match at all, but a crazy one and I can definitely understand Sabu's appeal at the time, considering his stunts and the crazy bumps he takes.

[Zenjo]

I loved Sabu being chained like a madman and then let loose when the match started. That was a fun way to put over the gimmick. He was all about doing crazy shit so this fitted right in. I fast forwarded through the rest of the match though because he's such a fundementally bad worker.

[Kevin Ridge]

Sabu's arrival fits perfectly with the current direction of ECW. Taz ends up coming through a table for no reason other than table giving away. Taz doing flips off the top rope. Sabu does his nutty moonsault on to tables after the match.

[PeteF3]

A Hunter Q. Robbins III sighting! Not many people remember he was Sabu's original manager before selling his contract to Paul E. Crazy entrance as Sabu is wheeled to the ring chained to a gurney wearing a Hannibal Lecter mask. He takes out Taz, then starts heaving chairs all over the place as the fans run for their lives before Taz comes back. Styles: "OH MY WORD!" Oh, so close, Joey. From an execution and fundamentals standpoint this is pretty much a mess, but Sabu's appeal is undeniable. He takes some sick bumps on suplexes and some high-flying that North Americans didn't normally see. Then he tears a table apart after the win. How does Sabu even walk nowadays?

 

The familiar ECW is pretty much here, quicker than I expected. A lot of the mid-'90s mainstays have been established including the first true face of the company, Styles is on the mic, and even though this is hyped as "no DQ, no countout" as though it's a novel stipulation, these types of matches are becoming the rule rather than the exception.

[garretta]

Everything not to like about ECW in one great big package: Sabu and Taz taking insane bumps for no earthly reason, Joey hyperventilating on the mic (though not nearly to the extent he would later on) and a match with no real story except "Let's beat the hell out of each other with everything that's not nailed down and try to commit suicide in the process". Never mind just Sabu, how do both he and ​Taz manage to walk these days?

 

Just in case you're wondering: Yes, I actually liked some ECW matches and feuds. When a backstory is provided and I can understand what the wrestlers are doing and why, the violence, extreme as it is, has a point and is understandable. The Tommy Dreamer-Raven feud is one example, the Terry Funk-Eddie Gilbert feud from earlier in this set is another. But too many times, guys just started beating each other to death because that's the way things were in ECW, with no real issue at stake and thus no reason to be so out of control. ​Those ​are the matches I despised, and that's when the things like the fans chanting "E-C-Dub!" and Joey nearly having a stroke onscreen became intolerable. I know Sabu and Taz had issues later, but here they're just two crazy bastards trying to kill each other because they're booked to do so, and that doesn't sit well with me at all.

 

The highlight of this was Heyman on commentary. Much like Bill Watts, he knows better than anyone what he wants to push, in this case Sabu's insanity, and does it like no one else possibly can. It's a shame that he wasn't in the booth more often; he might have made Joey a lot more listenable as the years went by.

[soup23]

I liked the gimmick of Sabu and it is easy to see the aura of him but man what a mess of a match that was all about creating chaos and visuals instead of having any structure. I can appreciate the way this feels unique and different but watching it back now, it just seemed like an intriguing gimmick that is doing a big performance art piece. **1/2