An icon thanks to his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Sabu is not only one of the innovators of the hardcore style that took North America by storm in the 1990s, but he’s also one of the best performers in that genre. Sabu’s combination of high-flying moves and a complete disregard for his own body paid off, as he became one of the top draws for the company, capturing the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the TV Title, and the Tag Team Title.

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Sabu has also enjoyed a long career, debuting in 1985 and continuing to wrestle on the indie scene even today. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some essential stories from the career of the wrestler lauded as “suicidal, homicidal, and genocidal.”

10 His Training

It’s fairly well known that Sabu was trained by his uncle, the legendary Ed Farhat, otherwise known as The Sheik (not to be confused with The Iron Sheik). Less known, however, is the training he experienced before he was taught how to wrestle. For months, The Sheik made Sabu chop wood every single day and then had him spend an entire day repeatedly putting together and taking apart a wrestling ring. Sabu soon learned that this was Sheik’s method of weeding out aspiring wrestlers who didn’t actually have the determination required to learn the ropes.

9 Secretly Practicing With RVD

Sabu wasn’t the only ECW star to train under The Sheik -- fellow Michigander and future tag team partner/rival Rob Van Dam learned how to wrestle from him as well. During their training, Sabu and RVD would experiment together, developing the high-flying style they'd come to be known for, unbeknownst to The Sheik -- or so they thought. When Sabu was invited to wrestle for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan, The Sheik encouraged his nephew to do all the crazy moves he was practicing when he thought his uncle’s back was turned, and it was through these matches that Sabu started gaining notoriety.

8 No Showing Three-Way Dance

By 1995, Sabu was simultaneously a popular staple in ECW as well as one in Japan, where he made a lot of money performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, especially compared to ECW. In April 1995, Sabu was booked to take part in the eponymous main event of ECW’s big show Three Way Dance, but there was an unfortunate conflict.

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Sabu was also booked for a date with NJPW at the same time but claimed that he could hop on a plane after the Japan show and fly out to Philly, which was physically impossible. As a result, Sabu was replaced by Rick Steiner and ECW boss Paul Heyman came out to inform the fans of Sabu’s absence, publicly firing him via promo. However, Heyman brought Sabu back later that same year.

7 The Time He Almost Signed With WCW

Fans may remember Sabu’s brief run of appearances in WCW in the fall of 1995, but by the end of the decade, WCW was ready to sign him to a huge, highly lucrative contract. However, before he signed, he wanted to get on the phone with his mother to tell her about it, but she had a heart attack while on the line. Sabu rushed home to visit his mother in the hospital, but when he called WCW back, they had rescinded the deal hours after offering it. It turned out that Paul Heyman had caught wind of the signing and threatened to sue them over it, even though Sabu claimed to not be under contract to ECW.

6 The Sabu/Taz Beef

One of ECW’s greatest in-ring feuds was between Sabu and Taz, with their classic match at Barely Legal being a result of 18 months of buildup with no physical contact. In preparation for the bout, Taz wanted to spend a whole week at ECW’s wrestling school planning it out, which went against Sabu’s approach to wrestling, which involved feeling it all out in the ring during the match. The relationship between them got increasingly strained as a result, which may have bled into the match itself.

5 Intimidated By Vince

In 2006, Sabu signed to WWE, where he wrestled as one of the big stars of the ill-fated ECW revival until his release the following year. In the years since, he’s spoken publicly about meeting WWE boss Vince McMahon, who Sabu claimed to find legitimately intimidating. In fact, Sabu was so nervous about having to meet with McMahon that one time he threw up before a meeting with him. This may come as a surprise to many fans, considering Sabu’s in-ring persona is all about high-risk, potentially dangerous maneuvers.

4 Sabu’s Shyness

Sabu fans know that the wrestler rarely talks, usually relying on managers like Bill Alfonso (during his ECW days) to cut promos on his behalf. The reason for this is because Sabu is actually incredibly shy by his own admission.

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In fact, when he signed to WWE, Vince McMahon told him that he would have to talk more on camera if he wanted to be a top star in the company. Sabu, preferring to let his in-ring abilities speak for him, didn’t believe he needed to change as a performer, but in retrospect admitted that Vince was probably right about that.

3 Sabu’s Dislike For Barbed Wire

At ECW’s Born to Be Wired, Sabu took part in an infamously bloody barbed wire match against Terry Funk, but that was hardly his first. He actually started wrestling in barbed wire matches during his early ‘90s days in FMW. According to Sabu, the gimmick was sprung on him at the last minute for his first outing with it, but he strived to do his best with the stipulation. By his admission, he may have done TOO well, because FMW management assumed he enjoyed the gimmick, so it became his signature. This may come as a shock, but in reality, Sabu has stated that he actually doesn’t enjoy wrestling barbed wire matches.

2 Destroying a Hotel

In 2015, Sabu started appearing for Pat Buck’s now-defunct Pro Wrestling Syndicate in New Jersey, but soon Buck posted on Facebook a horror story about one of the last times PWS booked Sabu. In addition to claiming unprofessional behavior like demanding more money to lose to opponent Fallah Bahh, Buck found himself slapped with loads of incidental charges due to Sabu’s treatment of his hotel room, which included smoking, bringing in a dog, and reports of feces, blood, and syringes found in the room. Sabu publicly denied this but did admit to having a dog and bleeding due to his match.

1 The Time He Almost Signed With WWE

Long before signing in the 2000s, Sabu was offered a deal with WWE in the early 1990s. According to Sabu, they wanted to change his name and give him a sultan-type gimmick, which he was fairly amenable to. However, he drew a line and declined the offer when he found out they wanted The Iron Sheik to portray his manager and uncle. Sabu felt this decision was disrespectful to his actual uncle, whose Sheik gimmick predates The Iron Sheik.

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