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EspañolSABU (WRESTLER)
'Terry Michael Brunk' (December 12, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, 'Sabu'. He is perhaps best-known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) throughout the 1990s, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2002 until 2006, and his recent tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment on its ''ECW'' brand, which lasted from April 2006 until May 2007.
Professional wrestling career
Training under the Sheik
Sabu was trained by his uncle, The Sheik, and was initially trained to be a technical wrestler. He began his wrestling career in the Sheik's promotion, Big Time Wrestling, and was billed as being from Saudi Arabia.
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1991-1993)
He would soon travel with his uncle to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, where he would receive many of the cuts and bruises on his arms and torso that he has become famous for. Sabu cleared all rumors that the cuts and bruises were self induced in a shoot interview with RF Video solidifying that they were a result of numerous hardcore matches he was involved in as he did up to 16. Sabu would often compete in Japanese hardcore matches and team with the Sheik, Tiger Jeet Singh and Horace Boulder. Sabu feuded with the likes of Tarzan Goto and Atsushi Onita in FMW.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993-2000)
Sabu revealed in a shoot promo and in ''Forever Hardcore'' DVD that in fact it wasn't Paul Heyman that brough him into ECW that they were at the right place at the right time he was referred by a friend to Todd Gordon. According to the storyline, Sabu (who at that time often arrived to the ring strapped to a gurney and with a Hannibal Lecter-style face mask trying to break free - he claimed to hate this part of his gimmick as he was normally tired before he started his match) was an uncontrollable suicidal madman who could only be released from his bonds to wrestle his matches. Sabu also quickly became synonymous with table-breaking at this time; if a table was not destroyed during his match, Sabu would break a table with his own body after the bell had sounded. Sabu could not even look at a table without wanting to destroy it, which sometimes led to 911 having to restrain Sabu during backstage interviews if a table was present.
"Bombay, Michigan"
One of the most notable aspects of Sabu's early career was his refusal to speak, a gimmick that he inherited from The Sheik (who never spoke English in public to protect kayfabe). In his early career, Sabu was billed as being from Saudi Arabia, or Bombay, India. But in ECW, he was clearly heard to speak in the ring on several occasions and it was fairly common knowledge that Sabu 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".
''The Night the Line Was Crossed'' and other notable fueds
His best matches during the early part of Sabu's career in ECW were his three way dance for the Heavyweight title at ''The Night the Line Was Crossed'', against Terry Funk and Shane Douglas, which went to a 1-hour time limit draw and his tag team feud with The Public Enemy in which Sabu and his partner The Tazmaniac captured the Tag Team Titles in a double tables match. Another notable event occurred when, scheduled for a 3-way dance for the tag title, Sabu no-showed the event to accept a booking in Japan -- which led Paul Heyman publicly (and legitly) fire Sabu at the event. He eventually returned to ECW the next year, and engaged in matches and feuds with the likes of Rob Van Dam. In the meantime, former-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, Heyman revealed that he had asked Sabu, as a friend, to ignore Taz's challenge. This standoff culminated in a grudge match at ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, which Taz won. The two continued to feud on and off for the remainder of Taz's ECW career. Sabu had mentioned in a shoot interview with RF Video that he didn't want to work with Taz for this match because he had already wrestled him before and wanted to work with other talent. He also mentioned that Taz calling him out for a year was a shoot and not planned. Paul Heyman convinced Sabu to wrestle Taz one year later at said Barely Legal PPV.
''RAW'' invasion angle
Notable moments of Sabu's later ECW career included being part of the ''RAW'' 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 at this show when Sabu appeared during Taz's match and prepared for an aerial move off the "R" in the "RAW" lettered entryway onto Team Taz members, but instead accidentally fell off the "R". This was not planned which led to Sabu landing on top of Team Taz members and becoming an inside joke between him and Taz backstage. This invastion angle also led to a heel turn for Sabu in ECW as he teamed up with Rob Van Dam and their manager Bill Alfonso to promote the virtues of the WWF and WCW product over ECW's. Sabu feuded with ECW patriots Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman during this period.
No-Rope Barbed Wire match with Terry Funk
One of Sabu's most infamous matches was the No-Rope Barbed-Wire match with Terry Funk at ''Born To Be Wired'', a match which was promoted as being "too extreme even for ECW" - and with good reason: both men bled profusely. In one of the most memorable moments in ECW history, Sabu attempted the "Air Sabu" corner splash on Terry Funk. Funk moved and Sabu ended up colliding violently into the wire which tore open his biceps. He then asked his manager Bill Alfonso for some tape and after Alfonso went to get some Sabu began to tape the gash up, which was about twelve inches long. To this day, Terry Funk has stated that he has never seen anything like what Sabu did that night. 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 (on the DVD ''Bloodsport ECW: The Most Extreme Matches'' released by World Wrestling Entertainment, Paul Heyman said that the match was "so gruesome, I never ever dared to schedule another one like it", and that they never had another Barbed-Wire match in ECW because "no one could top that one -- and in good conscience, I never wanted anyone to try.").
Injuries
Sabu racked up an astounding catalogue of injuries during his ECW tenure, including broken ribs, broken jaw, and most infamously, breaking his neck twice (the first time was during a match with Chris Benoit on November 5, 1994 in which communication problems appeared to be to blame as Benoit lifted Sabu over for a back body drop, but Sabu mistimed his landing and landed on his head instead of his back; the other was during a match against Taz in December 1998, when Sabu took a Tazplex through a table and landed wrong). Sabu was able to recover from the neck injuries and return to wrestling, and he even wore a neck brace in his return match in the United States a month following the injury at Taz's hands; by Sabu's account, however, he started actively wrestling in Japan on a short tour a little over two weeks after that injury.
Mainstream exposure
In October 1993, Sabu contested in two WWF matches. He defeated Scott Taylor in a dark match before the October 18 Monday Night Raw tapings in Poughkeepsie, NY. The following night he was defeated by Owen Hart in Glens Falls, NY.
Sabu did get some more mainstream exposure in the year 1995. He debuted in World Championship Wrestling on September the 11th of that year for the ''WCW Monday Nitro'' program by picking up a victory over Alex Wright, only for it to be reversed by Referee Nick Patrick, following Sabu's behavior after the match (he put Alex Wright through a table outside the ring). He would then pick up two consecutive victories over Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn) on October 9 (on Nitro) and at WCW Halloween Havoc 1995. WCW did not like his violent style and unwillingness to lose a match, and thus did not offer Sabu a long-term contract. As a result, his last appearance in WCW was on the October 30 episode of Monday Nitro, defeating Disco Inferno in under two minutes. Following the match, Sabu threw a table at Inferno and was preparing to put Disco through it with a somersault over the top rope, but Disco moved off the table and Sabu landed on his back.
Sabu was the first wrestler to dive off the entrance sign during an episode of ''WWF RAW'' on February 24, 1997, while WWE and ECW were cross-promoting. He had actually lost his balance before diving off, but managed to reposition himself in mid-air to land on Team Taz. In addition, Sabu was featured in the Playstation Video game WCW vs. the World later on in the same year, under the pseudonym 'David Harley'.
WCW signed Sabu to a contract in 2000, but legal action threatened by ECW precluded Sabu from ever making an appearance before WCW's demise. From 2000 to 2001, he had a successful run in California's XPW, which catapulted him back into the national spotlight after Paul Heyman had tried to prevent him from working outside of ECW by actually suing him in court for breach of contract, when---as it turned out---Heyman was actually the one who had breached Sabu's contract. He won the XPW World Heavyweight Championship during his stay, and was managed by former Danzig bassist Josh Lazie.
Sabu went on to wrestle on the independent circuit, appearing with promotions such as Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW), which is owned by the Insane Clown Posse.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002-2006)
Sabu debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on July 17 2002, defeating Malice in a ladder match. The next week he faced Ken Shamrock in a ladder match which was declared a No Contest when Malice interfered.
Sabu returned briefly in 2003, along other ECW alumni.
In 2004, Sabu teamed with Raven to defeat Raven's former "Gathering" protégés, CM Punk and Julio Dinero. In March he began feuding with Monty Brown and Abyss, who outnumbered him on several occasions after Raven failed to "watch his back". Eventually Raven challenged Sabu to an empty arena match to be held on June 9, but Sabu refused to wrestle him, claiming that he had promised his uncle, The Sheik, that he would never fight Raven. Raven then waged a campaign against Sabu, disrespecting the memory of his uncle and assaulting Sabu's friend Sonjay Dutt, until Sabu finally broke and attacked him on July 23. Raven defeated Sabu on August 4, and a scheduled return match on August 18 was cancelled after Sabu (legit) suffered a serious back injury.
While injured, Sabu 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 to raise funds for him. The show was considered a success, raising enough money for Sabu to cover the costs of his medical care and he was able to make a full recovery. In his first match back from the injury, he defeated N8 Mattson. Sabu then appeared at ''Hardcore Homecoming'', where he defeated Terry Funk and Shane Douglas in a three-way no-ropes barbed wire match, and (two days later) at ECW One Night Stand, where he defeated Rhyno.
Sabu returned to TNA on July 29 2005. At TNA Sacrifice Sabu teamed with his old enemy, and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Raven to face Jeff Jarrett and Rhino. Rhino and Jarrett won the match after Rhino gored Raven through a table and pinned him. The match saw Abyss interfering and attacking Sabu, starting a feud between the two of them. They went on to have a match at Unbreakable in September which Abyss won after performing his Black Hole Slam finisher on to a pile of tacks in the ring. Sabu once again found himself squaring off against Rhino and Abyss, as well as Jeff Hardy, during Bound for Glory in the Monster's Ball 2 match. Rhino won the match. On the same night, Sabu competed in a 10-Man Gauntlet Match to decide a number one contender, which he also lost, once again to Rhino.
In late October of 2005, Sabu signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment to be a part of its ''Legends'' program. Sabu continued his feud with Abyss, once again losing to him at Genesis after taking a Black Hole Slam onto a barbed wire steel chair. They met up again, in the promotions first ever Barbed Wire Massacre at Turning Point. Sabu finally got the better of Abyss, but following the match wasn't seen on TNA TV for several months.
He made his return at Lockdown on April 28th, 2006 in a match against Samoa Joe for Joe's X Division Title despite Sabu having a broken forearm. Sabu was defeated in what would turn out to be his final TNA match. Following the match Samoa Joe reported on his MySpace page that Sabu's injuries from Lockdown were more serious than reported. Joe stated that part of Sabu's fingertip was severed, he had a broken arm, and he had been partially scalped at an undisclosed Mexican independent event.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2006-2007)
On April 24th, 2006, Sabu's official website reported that he signed a one-year contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. This was soon confirmed by WWE.com, which stated that Sabu would become a part of WWE's ''ECW'' brand. At the One Night Stand pay-per-view, Sabu faced Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. At the end of the pay-per-view matchup, Mysterio found himself standing on a ringside table with Sabu flying at him. Sabu caught the champ in a front facelock and nailed him with a DDT which caused both men to crash through the table. At this point, the WWE medical staff rushed to the injured men and declared neither man could continue and ordered the match stopped, resulting in a No Contest in which Mysterio kept his title.
On the June 13 premiere of ''ECW on Sci-Fi'', Sabu won a 10 man Extreme Battle Royal (legalized weapons) with the stipulation that the winner face John Cena at ''Vengeance''. Sabu further fueled the feud during the next week's ''RAW'' when he interfered in a Cena match and performed a ''Triple Jump Leg Drop'' on him, diving onto Cena and putting him through the announcers' table. Cena defeated Sabu in their "Extreme Lumberjack match" at Vengeance. On July 2 2006, Sabu, traveling with fellow ECW wrestler Rob Van Dam, was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, and nine Vicodin tablets following a traffic stop in Hanging Rock, Ohio.[1] On July 5 2006, WWE.com announced that Brunk was to be fined $1,000 based on the guidelines of WWE's Wellness Policy.[2] Meanwhile, he defeated Stevie Richards in an Extreme Rules match at ''Saturday Night's Main Event''.
Towards the end of July, Sabu began to talk on camera for himself - instead of using a go between - and demanded a shot at The Big Show's ECW World Championship which Paul Heyman refused to grant him in order to "protect" his champion. Instead he forced him into a match against the returning Kurt Angle to determine a #1 contender. When that match was interrupted by the returning Rob Van Dam another match was signed, Angle vs RVD vs. Sabu, for the number one contendership (Angle then became too injured to compete and was pulled from the match). Sabu beat Rob Van Dam in their ladder match to win a shot at Big Show at SummerSlam, a match which he ended up losing. At Survivor Series 2006, Sabu teamed up with John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Rob Van Dam and Kane to face the team of The Big Show, Test, Montel Vontavious Porter, Finlay and Umaga. Sabu eliminated Test following a Tornado DDT, but he was later eliminated by Big Show via pinfall after receiving a chokeslam. In the end, Team Cena gained victory. At December to Dismember Sabu was originally to appear in the main event, an extreme elimination chamber match against The Big Show, Test, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk and Bobby Lashley, but was "taken out" and replaced by Hardcore Holly. Sabu made his Royal Rumble debut in the 2007 Royal Rumble where he was eliminated by Kane after receiving a chokeslam over the top rope and through a table.
Sabu joined the ECW Originals along with Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. The ECW Originals began a feud with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker). The two teams faced off in a match at WrestleMania 23 in which the ECW Originals won. On March 31 2007 Sabu and Rob Van Dam inducted The Sheik into the WWE Hall of Fame. On May 16, 2007 WWE.com reported that Sabu had been released. [3] He was released with a 90-day no compete clause in his contract.
Independent Circuit (2007)
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA)
On July 13, 2007, it was announced that Sabu would be working in Mexico's AAA promotion in Mexico for their Triplemania 15 Event. Sabu came out during the main event and put La Parka (AAA version) through a table joining forces with the heels X-Pac, Ron "the Truth" Killings, and Konnan.[4]
UWF Live
On August 3rd and 4th 2007, Sabu wrestled in Fayetteville NC and Jacksonville NC for Hermie Sadler's UWF Live promotion.[5]
Style
Sabu's wrestling style is unorthodox, consisting mainly of aerial moves performed with the aid of tables (which he is famous for smashing opponents through) and chairs, which he uses as weapons and as launching pads for some of his more death-defying moves. He is also famous for the invention of his ''triple-jump'' techniques, which involve jumping from a set-up chair onto the ring ropes and then springing off onto an opponent with a flying attack of some sort.
Sabu is also notorious for continuing to wrestle matches even though he has suffered serious injuries that require medical attention. An example of this was during the ''Stairway to Hell'' match with The Sandman where Sabu's jawbone was broken when he landed face-first on the steel guardrail outside the ring. Rather than ending the match early, Sabu actually duct-taped his jaw shut and continued to wrestle the match to its scheduled conclusion. During the aforementioned "Born To Be Wired" match with Terry Funk, Sabu legitimately tore open his biceps on the barbed wire. He taped it up on the spot and continued the match. Afterwards, he super-glued himself together to drive to the hospital where it took more than 100 stitches to close the wound. He refused to miss any matches because of that injury.
Sabu's famous signature gesture, Magician of Arabia, is pointing to the sky while looking upwards, especially when entering or exiting the ring, or before performing an especially dangerous move (the gesture is often referred to as Sabu pointing to the heavens in tribute to his uncle The Sheik, even though he had been using the gesture while the Sheik was still alive.
Personal life
On August 31, 2006 Sabu and Rob Van Dam appeared in court. Sabu was found guilty of possession of prescription medication nine tablets of testolactone (a steroid) not prescribed to him and was fined $500. WWE Superstar's Rob Van Dam & Sabu In Court
Brunk is married to a Japanese woman named Hitomi, who was given a kayfabed name, Mibu, to match his own.[6]
It has been announced that Sabu will appear in the new WWE video game, "WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008" as a legend.
In wrestling
★ 'Finishing and signature moves'
★
★ '''Flying Arabian Facebuster' / 'Atomic Arabian Facebuster' '' (Diving leg drop or somersault leg drop, driving a steel chair into the face of the opponent)
★
★ '''Flying Arabian Skullcrusher' / 'Atomic Arabian Skullcrusher''' (Diving leg drop, diving leg drop bulldog or somersault leg drop, driving a steel chair into the back of the opponent's head, often through a table)
★
★ '''Triple Jump Moonsault''' (Triple springboard moonsault)
★
★ '''Triple Jump Legdrop''' (Triple springboard legdrop)
★
★ 'Camel clutch'
★
★ ''Triple Jump Arabian Press'' (A running start, jumps to a chair, to the top ring rope and then performs a crossbody block to an opponent on the outside of the ring)
★
★ ''Triple Jump DDT'' (A running start, jumps to a chair, to the top ring rope and then performs a DDT to an opponent through a table)
★
★ ''Triple Jump Somersault'' (A running start, jumps to a chair, to the top ring rope and then performs a somersault senton to an opponent on the outside of the ring)
★
★ ''Triple Jump Bulldog'' (A running start jumps to a chair and then performs a bulldog through a table in the corner of the ring)
★
★ ''Air Sabu'' (Heel kick to a cornered opponent, with the assistance of a steel chair)
★
★ ''Standing Arabian Facebuster'' (Leg drop, driving a steel chair into the face of the opponent)
★
★ ''Standing Arabian Skullcrusher'' (Leg drop, driving a steel chair into the back of the opponent's head)
★
★ ''Arabian Piledriver'' (Scoop slam piledriver)
★
★ ''Arabian Powerbomb'' (Sunset flip powerbomb)
★
★ ''Arabian Press'' (Slingshot split-legged moonsault)
★
★ Asai moonsault
★
★ Guillotine leg drop
★
★ Plancha
★
★ Springboard tornado DDT
★
★ Springboard leg lariat
★
★ Somersault plancha
★
★ Top rope hurricanrana
★
★ Fireball
★
★ Throwing a steel chair at an opponent
★ 'With Rob Van Dam'
★
★ Assisted ''Air Sabu''
★
★ Leg drop, splash combination
★
★ Springboard somersault legdrop, ''Rolling Thunder'' combination
★ 'Managers'
★
★ The Cuban Assassin
★
★ Paul E. Dangerously
★
★ Bill Alfonso
★
★ Josh Lazie
★
★ Rob Van Dam
★
★ The Sheik
★
★ Tammy Lynn Sytch
★
★ Gideon Wainwright
★
★ Shaffee
★
★ The Sandman
★
★ Tommy Dreamer
★ 'Nicknames'
★
★ "The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal, Death-Defying Maniac"
★
★ "ECW's Evel Knievel"
★
★ "The Arabian Machine of Destruction"
★
★ "The Crazed Kamikaze"
★
★ "The Human Highlight Reel"
★
★ "The Modern Day Kamikaze"
★
★ "The Death Bringer"
Championships and accomplishments
★ 'Asylum Championship Wrestling'
★
★ ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Border City Wrestling'
★
★ BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Eastern Championship Wrestling | Extreme Championship Wrestling'
★
★ ECW FTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★
★ ECW Television Championship (1 time)
★
★ ECW Heavyweight/ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)1
★
★ ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Rob Van Dam (2) and The Tasmaniac (1)2
★ 'Extreme Wrestling Alliance'
★
★ EWA Junior Championship (1 time)
★ 'Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling'
★
★ FMW World Martial Arts Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Horace Boulder
★ 'Insane Wrestling Federation'
★
★ IWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
★ 'Juggalo Championshit Wrestling'
★
★ JCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Main Event Championship Wrestling'
★
★ MECW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Motor City Wrestling'
★
★ MCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'National Wrestling Alliance'
★
★ NWA Independent World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) '(First and Only)'
★ 'NWA Florida'
★
★ NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'National Wrestling Conference'
★
★ NWC Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
★ 'New Japan Pro Wrestling'
★
★ IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Professional Championship Wrestling'
★
★ PCW Television Championship (1 time)
★ 'Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling'
★
★ 3PW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Stampede Wrestling'
★
★ Stampede Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Ultimate Championship Wrestling'
★
★ UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Universal Wrestling Association'
★
★ UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'USA Xtreme Wrestling'
★
★ USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
★ 'World Wrestling Council'
★
★ WWC Hardcore Championship (1 time)
★
★ WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Xtreme Pro Wrestling'
★
★ XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
★ 'Pro Wrestling Illustrated'
★
★ PWI ranked him # '86' of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
★ 'Other Titles'
★
★ USPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
1Neither of Sabu's ECW Championship reigns are recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment.
2Sabu's ECW Tag Team Championship reign with Taz isn't recognized by the WWE.
References
1. Wrestling stars busted in Hanging Rock
2. 2006: The year in wrestling Hicks Brady
3. Sabu released
4. http://wrestleland.blogspot.com/2007/06/update-on-aaas-triplemania-show.html
5. http://www.combat-hooligans.com/2007/08/uwf-news-and-notes-august-2-2007.html
6. There were two ladies that shot ringside during the matches, Hitomi Brunk and Christine Coons. Both very nice young ladies.And a trivia note for some of you that may not know, Hitomi is the wife of Terry Brunk aka hardcore wrestling legend Sabu.
External links
★ Official Website
★
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