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On [[May 16]], 2007 WWE.com reported that Sabu had been released. <ref name="sabufired">{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/sabureleased|title=Sabu released|accessdate=2007-05-16}}</ref>
On [[May 16]], 2007 WWE.com reported that Sabu had been released. <ref name="sabufired">{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/sabureleased|title=Sabu released|accessdate=2007-05-16}}</ref>
Although he has a 90 day no compete cause in his contract so i unable to wrestle anywhere else until this expires.


==Wrestling facts==
==Wrestling facts==

Revision as of 11:18, 22 May 2007


Terry Brunk
Born (1964-12-12) December 12, 1964 (age 59)
Detroit, Michigan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Sabu
Terry Essar
Terry Snuka
Sabu, The Elephant Boy
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight[undue weight? – discuss]
Billed fromBombay, India
Bombay, Michigan
Trained byThe Original Sheik
Debut1985

Terry Michael Brunk (born 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 throughout the 1990s, where he refined his high-risk hardcore wrestling technique and World Wrestling Entertainment where he was a part of the ECW Originals on the ECW brand.

Career life

Training under the Sheik

Sabu was trained by his uncle, The Sheik, and was initially trained to be a mat wrestler. He began his wrestling career in the Sheik's promotion, Big Time Wrestling, and was billed as being from saudia arabia. Much like the Sheik, Sabu's gimmick was that of a wildman character who didn't speak English, and promoters would explain his inability to speak English in order to add to his mystique. He would soon travel with his uncle to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1991-1993, where he would receive many of the scars on his arms and torso that he has become famous for. Sabu would often compete in Japanese barbed-wire matches and team with the Sheik, Tiger Jeet Singh and Horace Boulder. Sabu feuded with the likes of Tarzan Goto, Atsushi Onita in FMW.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

After Paul Heyman had watched a tape of Sabu, he immediately brought Terry into ECW, and he was accompanied by his 'handler' 911. 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) 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.

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.

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. This 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. 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, Sabu tore open his biceps on the barbed wire and 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 "ECW Bloodsport: The Most Violent 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".)

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 at Barely Legal 1997, 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

Although Sabu did not sign with WWE until April 2006, Sabu did get some mainstream exposure. He won two of his three matches in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) 1995 against Jerry Lynn and Disco Inferno. WCW did not like his violent style and unwillingness to lose a match, and thus did not offer Sabu a long-term contract. 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.

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.

Sabu went on to wrestle on the independent circuit, appearing with promotions such as Juggalo Championshit Wrestling (JCW), the promotion owned by his friends, the Insane Clown Posse.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

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.

In 2004, Sabu teamed with Raven to defeat Raven's former "Gathering" protégés, CM Punk and Julio Dinero. In March he began feuding with "The Alpha Male" 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 mouthpiece, 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 barbed wire rope 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

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 who stated that Sabu would become a part of WWE's ECW brand.

At the One Night Stand pay-per-view, Sabu faced Rey Mysterio in a "dream match" 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 downed 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. On July 5 2006, WWE.com announced that Brunk was to be fined $1000 based on the guidelines of WWE's Wellness Policy. 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, MVP, 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 Royal Rumble 2007 where he was eliminated by Kane after receiving a chokeslam over the top rope and through a table.

Sabu would later join the ECW Originals along with Rob Van Dam,Tommy Dreamer, and Sandman. The ECW Originals would then begin a feud with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker). The two teams would face off at WrestleMania 23 in which the ECW Originals won.

On March 31, 2007 Sabu, along with Rob Van Dam, would induct The Original Sheik into the WWE Hall of Fame.

On May 16, 2007 WWE.com reported that Sabu had been released. [1] Although he has a 90 day no compete cause in his contract so i unable to wrestle anywhere else until this expires.

Wrestling facts

Championships and accomplishments

Career and Style

Acclaimed for his career in hardcore wrestling, Sabu has developed a large fanbase in the US. Sabu was trained by his uncle, The Sheik. Notable title reigns he has had included the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW Tag Team Championship with Rob Van Dam as well as Taz, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and the XPW World Heavyweight Championship. 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 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".

Sabu's wrestling style is somewhat unorthodox, consisting mainly of aerial moves performed with the aid of props like 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. Sabu and Terry Funk created one of the most violent matches in American wrestling in a barbed-wire match on August 9, 1997 at ECW's Born To Be Wired event. It was during this match when 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. This technique of using super glue to temporarily seal cuts would become an accepted, if not recommended, first aid practice in sport.

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).

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) not prescribed to him and was fined $500.[2]

Brunk is married to a Japanese woman named Hitomi, who was given a kayfabed name, Mibu, to match his own.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Sabu released". Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  2. ^ "WWE Superstar's Rob Van Dam & Sabu In Court". Lordsofpain.net. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
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