Rob Van Dam and Sabu
| Sabu and Rob Van Dam | |
|---|---|
 RVD entering the arena with Sabu behind him. | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Sabu Rob Van Dam Bill Alfonso (manager) |
| Name(s) | Sabu and Rob Van Dam The ECW Originals |
| Billed heights | Sabu: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Rob Van Dam: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Combined billed weight | Sabu: 220 lb (100 kg) Rob Van Dam: 235 lb (107 kg) Total: 455 lb (206 kg) |
| Disbanded | 2007 |
| Years active | 1997-1999, 2005-2007, 2010 |
| Trainer | Ed Farhat |
Rob Van Dam and Sabu are professional wrestlers who often competed as a tag team in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW brand. While teaming in the original ECW, the duo was managed by Bill Alfonso.
Career
ECW (1997-1999)
Rob Van Dam and Sabu first met in December 1989 and became close friends. The pair started out as enemies in ECW when Van Dam debuted in 1996. Both men were trained by Sabu's uncle, Ed Farhat, and fans wanted to see them face each other since they both utilized high-flying, daredevil techniques.
In 1997, they eventually became a tag team as they went for the ECW World Tag Team Championship. At ECW Barely Legal, Bill Alfonso betrayed Taz and joined Sabu and Van Dam. Four months later, Van Dam helped Sabu beat Terry Funk in a barbed wire match to capture the ECW World title. After Sabu lost the belt in a three-way dance with Terry Funk and Shane Douglas at ECW Hardcore Heaven 1997, Sabu and Van Dam joined Jerry Lawler in his crusade to "kill" ECW. When the crusade ultimately failed, Sabu eventually set his sights on Bam Bam Bigelow's ECW TV title. So Bill Alfonso helped schedule a match between Bigelow and Van Dam, so that the latter could "soften" Bigelow before Sabu would face him at Wrestlepalooza 1998. When Sabu interfered in the match, however, he "accidentally" helped Van Dam win the title, so the two then faced each other at Wrestlepalooza. The match ended in a 30-minute draw, preventing title from changing hands. A month later, the two captured the ECW Tag Team titles when they defeated Chris Candido and Lance Storm. As champions, Sabu and Van Dam took on all challengers including Jinsei Shinzaki and Hayabusa at Heatwave 1998 in Dayton, Ohio. They lost the titles to The Dudley Boyz in October 1998; however, yet they went on to win them back from the Dudleyz in December at ECW/FMW Supershow.
After they lost the titles again to The Dudley Boyz, The Impact Players formed and started to attack Sabu and Van Dam. When Sabu broke his jaw, the Impact Players had him eventually banned because of his injury and because he was too "dangerous" or "violent." Sabu returned, and after his loss to Justin Credible at Anarchy Rulz 1999, Sabu started to attack Van Dam because he was still jealous that Van Dam was the TV Champion; they would face each other at Guilty as Charged 2000. Sabu proclaimed before the match that if he could not win the belt, he would leave ECW. That night, Van Dam defeated Sabu with the Five Star Frog Splash, forcing Sabu to leave the company.
WWE (2005-2007)
Several years after ECW folded, Sabu and Rob Van Dam reunited at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) produced ECW One Night Stand in 2005, when Van Dam helped Sabu defeat another former ECW wrestler, Rhyno. When ECW became the third WWE brand (to Raw and SmackDown), Van Dam and Sabu became a major part of the show and teamed on several occasions, including an "Extreme Rules" match against Test and Mike Knox on September 5, 2006.
The team also became part of the ECW Originals stable in 2006 which feuded with the The New Breed. On March 31, 2007, Sabu and Van Dam inducted The Original Sheik into the WWE Hall of Fame. The following night, at WrestleMania 23, the ECW Originals defeated the New Breed but continued battling them into spring. In May 2007, Sabu was released from WWE. Van Dam's WWE contract expired in June 2007, and he chose not to renew it.
TNA (2010)
On August 8, 2010, Sabu returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at Hardcore Justice, where he was defeated by Van Dam in the main event of the evening.[1] Sabu and Van Dam both then went on to join EV 2.0, a stable consisting of former ECW wrestlers. On the October 21 edition of TNA Impact! Sabu and Rob Van Dam were defeated in a tag team match by Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode), after Sabu accidentally hit his own partner with a chair. After the match Van Dam and Sabu began shoving each other, before being broken up by the rest of EV 2.0.[2] In November 2010 Sabu was released from TNA. As was Van Dam in 2013.[3]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Stereo diving leg drops usually through a table to prone opponent
- Combination Five Star Frog Splash | Arabian Facebuster usually through a table to prone opponent.
- Triple Jump Moonsault followed by a Five Star Frog Splash or vice versa
- Signature moves
- Air Sabu
- Rolling Thunder, springboard leg drop combination
- Simultaneous Standing Arabian Facebusters
- Simultaneous Standing Arabian Skullcrushers
- Simultaneous Van Daminators
Championships and accomplishments
References
- ^ Caldwell, James (2010-08-08). "Caldwell's TNA Hardcore Justice PPV results 8/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of ECW-themed PPV headlined by RVD vs. Sabu". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
- ^ Wilkenfeld, Daniel (2010-10-21). "Wilkenfeld's TNA Impact report 10/21: Complete "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV's live broadcast". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2010-11-02). "TNA News: EV2 wrestler gone from TNA after this Sunday's Turning Point PPV, say sources". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2010-11-08.