Sabu

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Matt D]

It amazes me how well Sabu did in the 1994 Observer voting. I feel like he came in #2 in almost every category.

[Graham Crackers]

I love Sabu though I'm not sure if he's a top 100 guy. His greatest strength may be that botched sequences don't take away from his matches (for me at least) and often add to the bizarre atmosphere he creates. If he does make my list he'll be towards the bottom.

[El-P]

One of the most fascinating wrestler I've ever seen. By the end of my ECW watch, I was still as happy to watch yet another Sabu match as I was at the very beginning.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Yeah, I fucking love Sabu.

[W2BTD]

His greatest strength may be that botched sequences don't take away from his matches (for me at least) and often add to the bizarre atmosphere he creates.

 

Exactly.

 

The botches are part of the total package and add to the charm. He wouldn't be Sabu without them. There is an element of danger to a Sabu match that you just don't get with anybody else. He is unique in that there are guys who are similar in some ways (Hayabusa, Teddy Hart, etc), but there really is no fair comp to match him up with historically.

 

Probably my favorite wrestler ever to watch in person. The worst Sabu match is still fun to watch. An absolute mortal lock to make my list.

[Dylan Waco]

Was thinking about him today because a match between him and Ken Shamrock in TNA came up in my YouTube recommends side bar and I watched it. Match wasn't any good really, but the point is that I watched it because it seemed really novel and interesting in a way that was extremely attractive to me. And it occurred to me that that is really the story of Sabu as a whole. I will watch Sabu work just about anyone because it seems interesting on paper. His mere presence in a match will rope me into watching it AND being excited about it even though I rarely think the match that results is great. That is a really impressive trait for a wrestler to have, and even though I don't think he is one of the 100 best wrestlers ever, that sort of intangible is so rare that it makes me want to include him on my ballot.

[Zero]

Rick Rubin put Sabu over to Rolling Stone. http://rol.st/1JmqvV0

[Wade Garrett]

Sabu as a gimmick is an all-timer. Pro Wrestling needs more Sabu acts. As an in ring performer/worker he can be down right awful. He woulda been fantastic in the 70's and 80's. Woulda made a TON of money with that gimmick in that system.

[Goodear]

I would be able to share people's view on the botches if he didn't try to repeat spots so often once he had already screwed them up the first time. I really thought one of his weaknesses was in the set ups stages of his spots where his opponents would have to remain stationary for long periods of time so he could set up his spots. The triple jump moonsault the first time I saw it was a jaw dropping spot.

[WingedEagle]

And it occurred to me that that is really the story of Sabu as a whole. I will watch Sabu work just about anyone because it seems interesting on paper. His mere presence in a match will rope me into watching it AND being excited about it even though I rarely think the match that results is great.

 

This is basically Sabu. Always looking forward to it, never knowing what you're going to get, and rarely does the result even approach expectations.

[El-P]

Was thinking about him today because a match between him and Ken Shamrock in TNA came up in my YouTube recommends side bar and I watched it. Match wasn't any good really, but the point is that I watched it because it seemed really novel and interesting in a way that was extremely attractive to me. And it occurred to me that that is really the story of Sabu as a whole. I will watch Sabu work just about anyone because it seems interesting on paper. His mere presence in a match will rope me into watching it AND being excited about it even though I rarely think the match that results is great. That is a really impressive trait for a wrestler to have, and even though I don't think he is one of the 100 best wrestlers ever, that sort of intangible is so rare that it makes me want to include him on my ballot.

 

Totally agree with this. I can always get interested into any kind of Sabu match to this day.

[InYourCase]

Decided last night that Sabu needs to be represented on my list somewhere. I agree with what Lanza and Dylan said. He does his thing so well and that needs to be appreciated. He'll be near the bottom, but he'll be on there.

[Coffey]

Sabu is one of the only people where when going back & re-watching ECW, I feel like his stuff holds up. It's like, Sabu, 2 Cold Scorpio & Tajiri. Throw in some Little Guido and an occasional Steve Corino or Mikey Whipwreck & the rest is mostly forgettable.

 

As others have mentioned, Sabu just has an aura about him. His stuff is always fun. You don't know if it's going to be a trainwreck or not but you want to watch it to find out. He just has that intangible about him where you want to watch him.

 

I sort of agree & kind of disagree about the point where the botches don't hurt his matches. I can see both sides of that one. Blown spots sort of fit in with his breakneck, ruthless match style. Where he's crazy & he'll try anything, regardless of the consequences or repercussions that it may bring. But on the other side of the pillow, sometimes it just looks like he messed-up & takes me out of a match. It's a fine line. Definitely unique for him in that regard though. Anyone else & I would instantly be out of the match, more than likely. So since it doesn't guarantee that I feel that way when it happens to Sabu, I guess it's a net positive. That being said though, Sabu puts himself into a lot more situations where something could go wrong than most wrestlers do. There's not exactly a lot of people trying to do triple jump moonsaults.

 

One time Tommy Dreamer was verbally putting over Sabu, talking about his greatness & how he was under appreciated & the folks should feel honored that they got to see Sabu. At the time, I rolled my eyes. I grew up watching guys like André the Giant & I did feel honored being able to see him & was bummed that I never got to meet him in person. Now though, I can sort of see what Tommy was talking about. Sabu is an original. We've seen the Sheik gimmick before, of course, but what Sabu brings to the table - he really was innovative.

 

Sabu is going to be at the very bottom end of my list.

 

Also, random fun fact: in high school I wore a lot of pro-wrestling shirts. I don't remember them all, but I know that in the rotation were three ECW shirts. Two of which were just ECW logo brand t-shirts. The third was a Sabu shirt. A shirt that I had to turn inside out once because a teacher was upset that it said "homicidal, suicidal & genocidal" on it.

[Jingus]

Sabu doesn't get enough credit for some of the little things he does. He's got really good punches, for one thing; how many flippy spot-monkeys can make the same claim? And most importantly, he sells everything. Far too many younger guys who took the wrong lessons from innovators like Sabu think it's all about the visual impact of the moves; they'll hit some huge dive, and then pop up and celebrate as if they didn't just fly through the air and land with an almighty THUD in a painful manner. And of course, then they're sprinting to the next big spot, acting as if they didn't do anything that should be emphasized as "hey, that one guy hit a huge move which really hurt the other guy". Sabu doesn't do that shit, he takes a moment to let everything sink in. And he certainly never tries to come across as an invulnerable robot who feels no pain, he goes to great lengths to express just how painful and dangerous his own offense is to himself.

[The Russian Daydream]

I think Sabu deserves a huge amount of credit. He is a fantastic and really interesting character, which I think is probably reflected in real life to some extent. His style really is unique too. Many have tried to copy or borrow elements of it but, as said above, Sabu has this aura about him that just cannot be replicated. He also needs recognition for still being able to go out now aged 50ish and have a good shot at doing what he always has, when smart money would have bet on him being crippled two decades ago.

 

He's a true innovator and a brilliant character who's had scores of matches which were tremendously fun to watch if not 'good'. Is he top 100? Part of me says yes, but another part says don't be silly.

[Benbeeach]

Is he top 100? Part of me says yes, but another part says don't be silly.

And the beauty is probably that both parts are right. Sabu's probably top 100 in a way most workers on this list aren't. But that's ok

[joeg]

I could probably name 100 wrestlers who were "better" than Sabu. There is no way I could name even 20 that were more fun to watch. If that makes any sense.

[Loss]

It's quite possible Sabu is the greatest horrible wrestler ever.

[Sidebottom]

It's quite possible Sabu is the greatest horrible wrestler ever.

 

I prefer to think of him as the most horrible GREAT wrestler

 

Dylan hit the nail on the head earlier with the Shamrock comments: I remember being EXCITED for his match against Big Show back in 2006. There's something about Sabu which makes him appealing to watch. We all know he can be clumsy and awkward (some of his spot set ups in FMW and ECW are the worst offenders - there was also a cringe moment in the above Big Show match with a table) but as noted elsewhere, it's always exciting. He sells brilliantly, he punches brilliantly and I don't think he gets enough credit for tackles and holds, it's not all crash bang.

[Parties]

It's strange that exhibiting one's faults with brazen charm is a lot more interesting than being someone who does everything correctly without flair, but that's life. Sabu's botches are more exciting than the best-executed move in most workers' arsenal.

[Childs]

Sabu's appeal is almost completely lost on me. It's one of those things I get intellectually but have never actually felt. There's little question he projected his character as well as anyone, but his matches have always struck me as displays of masochism more than anything competitive or hate-filled. Of course, you could say the same thing about Necro, and I like him a lot. So I don't know. I just know that when I'm watching the yearbooks, Sabu is usually a fast forward. The same could be said for a lot of ECW.

[Loss]

It's strange that exhibiting one's faults with brazen charm is a lot more interesting than being someone who does everything correctly without flair, but that's life. Sabu's botches are more exciting than the best-executed move in most workers' arsenal.

 

Yeah, would anyone here rank Christopher Daniels above Sabu?

[El McKell]

 

It's strange that exhibiting one's faults with brazen charm is a lot more interesting than being someone who does everything correctly without flair, but that's life. Sabu's botches are more exciting than the best-executed move in most workers' arsenal.

 

Yeah, would anyone here rank Christopher Daniels above Sabu?

 

​*raises hand*

[elliott]

Sabu was someone I dismissed outright in 2016. In the years since I've ended up revisiting a decent amount of matches from his prime and at his best he's a really special performer. He's someone I want to watch more of and think about at some point in the next 5 years. The Terry Funk rivalry is one of the best US rivalries of the 1990s.