[1993-11-06-ACW] Terry Funk vs Sabu

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. It's a big brawl, but there's a lot of good wrestling spots mixed in too, and I like the way they built to the chaos instead of just going to it right away. And because crazy brawling and tables was still new at this point, the ref's selling and failed attempts to maintain order really mean something. I couldn't make out who the ref was, but he did an outstanding job in this match. Sabu's missed moonsault is a tremendous spot, but Funk doing a spinning toehold after all that and then winning by inside cradle is the thing I grew to detest the most about the ECW style.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Sabu in 1993 was pretty wicked and I can definitely see how he became a huge star on the indy scene. Did he ever actually get a hold of anybody with those leg dives? What did he do? They look great, but I am curious. This entire match is worth for Funk's selljob of Sabu's piledriver. Funk is pretty good on offense himself busting out the piledriver and dropkick on the floor. I liked the crowd brawling it was short and crisp, which is how it should be. The table spot is wicked and works on multiple levels because Sabu hits his leg on the table. Naturally, Funk followed up with the Spinning Toe Hold. I agree stuff like the Spinning Toe Hold in ECW looked stupid, but when it is such a logical progression it is just bitchin. This along with Vader/Tamura has been my favorite match of the day.

 

I liked it so much I looked up some 94 Funk/Sabu and am looking forward to seeing it.

[Kevin Ridge]

Nice piledriver by Sabu. Funk responded with a slip and slide floundering across the ring sell to the floor outside. I like them doing the brawling on the outside in the crowd but keeping it to the minimum. Really only happened towards end of match. This allowed for more wrestling in the ring and the more dangerous spots mean more.

[PeteF3]

Whatever you want to say about Sabu, he's never dull--at least not yet. Just constant motion. If his opponent is getting into the ring, he's still a bundle of energy bouncing around and looking to the ceiling. If he's in the ring, he's diving at his legs. If he's on the floor during the match, he's looking to dive onto him. The ending was a little sudden, but the instant Sabu hit his leg on the table I knew where Funk was going, so that made sense.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Terry Funk vs Sabu - ACW 11/6/93

 

I apparently watched this match on May 11, 2013. Welp, I had no fucking recollection of this match. I loved it all over again! Sabu is so great. He separates himself from other stuntmen wrestlers with one of the best working punches, great selling, and actual psychology around his high risk moves. They are HIGH risk, they should NOT land all the time. You really get the feel that Terry did not know what to make of Sabu and all his leg dives at first. Sabu blasts him with a punch. I love how Sabu's highspots feel like a full court press. Nowhere is safe from Sabu because at any moment he could dive on top of you. I have to agree with myself from three years ago that Sabu's piledriver is bitchin as is Terry Funk's selling of it. The transition is Sabu missing a moonsault (very well-executed). Now Funk is firing away with stiff shots, I love it. Funk not to be outdone (in 1981 he dove from the top rope onto Snuka on the floor) hurls his body at Sabu from the middle rope to the floor. He clears out a bunch of chairs. I love the use of chairs throughout the match. Sabu's transition back on offense could have been better, but hey those punches are fucking sweet so I shouldn't complain. The finish is great. Sabu moonsaults onto a table so Funk immediately grabs the Spinning Toehold. Inside cradle and reversed Terry Funk wins. Excellent Indy brawl. Super fun. ****

[garretta]

What I saw was pretty good, but the camerawork was awful, especially in the postmatch brawl. It took me a while to realize that Terry and Sabu were still brawling on the floor. I had no idea in the world what the ref could have possibly been waving off until they popped up.

 

I liked the mix of regular wrestling and extrreme spots, but I still think that bringing a table into the ring should be an automatic disqualification. Outside the ring, tables look as dangerous as they should; inside the ring, the ref looks like a complete fool for not trying his best to either keep the table out or get rid of it if a wrestler manages to sneak one in. I didn't see Sabu's leg hit the one he used, but Terry doesn't need an opening like that to go for the spinning toehold, so it really doesn't matter much.

 

If Sabu had kept working like this instead of constantly trying to top his own insanity, he'd be in a lot better shape today, and that goes for all the guys (including Terry) who took a needed breath of fresh air in wrestling (the extreme style) and proceeded to run both it and themselves into the ground.

 

Are we sure that this is ACW and not E​CW? Would ECW have been running a house show loop yet? Steelton's a Harrisburg suburb, which makes it likely that someone simply misidentified the promotion in question. On the other hand, Philly's had plenty of small indy promotions over the years, and ACW could very well be one of them, although what they'd be doing as far west as Harrisburg I have no clue.

[soup23]

This was a fun brawl throughout the gym that used the building and the weapons to keep the action moving. I thought it was nice that even with the crowd brawling, it seemed pretty easy to follow the action for both the live audience and the people watching the handheld. Sabu takes some nasty bumps in this and is more crazy than Funk. These two match up a good bit throughout the 90's and this is a welcome addition to that feud. ***1/4