Last Sunday, the professional wrestling world lost a true luminary in Terry Brunk, aka Sabu.
While Sabu is most commonly associated with his tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, the “Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death-Defying Maniac” worked for nearly every major promotion across the world; wrestling everywhere from the 2300 Arena to the Tokyo Dome, and every arena, armory and VFW hall in between.
Sabu was trained by his uncle, The Sheik, Ed Farhat. The Sheik was the longtime promoter of the Detroit-based territory, Big Time Wrestling, and a pioneer of hardcore wrestling.
While Sabu debuted in 1985, it wasn’t until he accompanied his uncle to Atsushi Onita’s Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in 1991, that he rose to prominence.
The Sheik was already in his 60s by the time his nephew journeyed to Japan with him. To that point, Sabu’s wrestling style was tame, compared to the death-defying style that would ultimately define him.
On their way to Japan, The Sheik, haggard and largely immobile, urged Sabu to unleash every tool at his disposal. Sabu obliged, and a legend was born.
As the 1990s progressed, Sabu’s rebel heart made the scarred showman the face of wrestling’s alternative. For the uninitiated, the “Human Highlight Reel” became the gateway into the violent world of hardcore wrestling, whose use of tables, chairs, and barbed wire only magnified the violence he could inflict.
Sabu became a rallying cry for underground wrestling fans, who would trade his “best of” highlight reel tapes with reverence.
In keeping with that spirit, I’ve compiled my own “best of” list, featuring some of Sabu’s greatest matches available on YouTube.
Sabu vs. Cactus Jack
NWC: Desert Death Match
Oct. 29, 1994
Few opponents were more perfectly suited for Sabu than Cactus Jack, aka Mick Foley. This particular encounter was an anything-goes match, dubbed as a “Desert Death Match,” at the Silver Nugget Pavillion in Las Vegas.
Jim Cornette once described Sabu’s style like a “cheetah was loose in the building.” This match typified that analogy, with both men battling from pillar to post, to the concession stand, and even the upstairs casino, where Foley drove Sabu through a blackjack table with a piledriver.
Sabu vs. Terry Funk
ECW: Born to be Wired
Aug. 9, 1997
In 1975, 31-year-old Terry Funk captured the NWA world heavyweight championship. By the 1997, Funk was in the final act of his remarkable career — having completed his metamorphosis into the “Hardcore Icon.” Funk entered “Born to be Wired” as the ECW world heavyweight champion, having held the title for 118 days. His opponent was none other than the “Human Highlight Reel,” Sabu. The stipulation was a barbed wire match.
Simply put, this was one of the most violent affairs in professional wrestling history. Sabu infamously tore his bicep on the barbed wire during the match and used surgical tape to temporarily close the wound.
While Sabu would ultimately require over 100 stitches to close the wound, his ability to continue the match speaks to his incredible fortitude.
Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs. Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki
ECW: Heatwave
Aug. 2, 1998
Rob Van Dam’s journey in professional wrestling began in 1989, under the stewardship of The Sheik. Van Dam quickly befriended The Sheik’s nephew, Sabu, forging a friendship that would last a lifetime. In the ring, their relationship began as an adversarial one. Over time, Sabu and Van Dam began teaming together, becoming one of the most prolific tag teams of the late 1990s.
This match saw the duo defend their ECW world tag team championship against FMW’s Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki. At the time, Hayabusa was the face of FMW, revolutionizing the junior heavyweight style both in Japan and abroad. For Sabu and Van Dam, there was no greater opponent to test their mettle against.
As sadistic as Sabu may have been, he was equally as graceful — often propelling himself off steel chairs or the top rope to inflict even more carnage.
While Hayabusa and Shinzaki’s exhausted every tool in their arsenal, it wasn’t enough to overcome Sabu and Van Dam; who were at the peak of their powers and seemingly telepathic.
This match was a car crash. Although the damage was incalculable — you just can’t avert your eyes. That’s the allure of the “Human Highlight Reel.”
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