What's up everyone and welcome to another McTape Review here on the DOI. This time I got to check out the highly anticipated shoot interview with Sabu, which was conducted by RF Video. Rob Feinstein, the owner of RF Video, recently put this shoot over to me off the record as one of the best shoot interviews he's conducted, and also talked about this shoot in the recent DOI Interview he did. There has been alot of feedback all over the internet about this shoot, and right off the bat, I have to say this is one of the top shoots I've ever seen. While this shoot isn't as revealing as other shoot interviews, as a huge Sabu/ECW mark, it was great just watching Sabu talk about his career for the first time in wrestling history. While other shoots might be more of a tell-all, this was the first time on tape that you just watched Sabu be Sabu.

Before I get into the shoot, here is the official question/topic list. These are the questions/topics that were asked of Sabu to talk about on this shoot:

-How old were you when you realized your Uncle was a wrestler
-How often did he stay in his character
-How close did you become to him
-Do you have any funny stories about him scaring your friends or anything like that
-What was his reaction when you told him you wanted to wrestle
-What do you remember about Rob Van Dam as a kid
-Who did you enjoy watching as a fan growing up
-What was the training like
-When did you start going tos hows with him
-What do you remember about your first match
-What do you remember about the Terry Snuka years
-What do you remember about your appearances for Joel Goodhart
-How did other old school wrestlers treat you as the Sheiks nephew
-How did you wind up in Memphis
-Memories of Chris Candido from Memphis
-Memories of Jerry Lawler
-How did you wind up in FMW
-Thoughts on Onita
-Thoughts on Pogo
-Thoughts on Matsunaga
-Thoughts on Hayabusa
-Memories of the fire match
-Thoughts on Mike Awesome back then
-Is it true you were offered a WWF deal in 1993 and turned it down? What were the circumstances, did you have a try out?
-Over the years is it true the WWF contacted you several times but wanted to change your name
-How did you wind up in ECW
-Initial impressions of Paul Heyman
-Initial memories of your early matches with Taz
-Initial memories of your early matches with Shane Douglas
-Initial memories of your early matches with Terry Funk
-Memories of the night the line was crossed
-Do you think that turned ECW around
-Were you for or against teaming with Taz
-Memories of your series on the Michigan indys with Al Snow
-Did you ever try and get him into ECW
-Memories of your Minneapolis match with Sean Waltman
-Memories of teaming with your Uncle in ECW
-Memories of Dennis Coraluzzo
-Memories of your seires with Public Enemy
-Memories of your series with Cactus Jack
-Cactus said he didnt like the first match, do you agree
-Initial memories of your early matches with Chris Benoit
-Memories of the night you broke your neck
-Did Benoit visit you in the hospital
-Do you hold him responsible
-Did Paul pay your bills
-Were you pressured from Paul to get back in the ring sooner than you expected
-Does the injury still bother you
-Memories of your first tours for New Japan
-Thoughts on Otani
-Thoughts on Kanemoto
-Thoughts on Liger
-Thoughts on Eddie Guerrero from the tour
-Was it a big deal to cross over to New Japan from FMW and why did you do it
-Was Onita bitter about it
-What were the circumstances to you missing the 3 Way Dance
-Is it true you promised Paul youd be there and just didnt show
-Did it bother you the way that Paul made it public
-Did it bother you the way he turned the fans against you
-Did you think you would go back to ECW after that
-Did you talk to Taz about it
-Memories of your first match against ABdullah the Butcher in Big Japan
-How did you wind up in WCW
-Was this the first time you had talked to WCW about working there
-Thoughts on Eric Bischoff
-What were you promised by Bischoff
-How well did you get along with the locker room
-Was there a stigma on you from being an "ECW guy"
-Memories of your series with Alex Wright
-Thoughts on Hogan
-Memories of your series with Jerry Lynn
-Did you have an incident with the Yakuza in Japan
-Was it hard to conform to being a "tv wrestler" in WCW
-Why did you get fired from WCW
-How did you find out
-How soon did you and Paul E begin talking again
-Was there a difference in your relationship
-How did the boys react when you came back
-Thoughts on Taz's public reaction to you when you came back
-How did ECW change when you returned
-Where did you get the idea to crazy glue your wounds
-when did you first use it
-Memories of your ECW series with Too Cold Scorpio
-Memories of your series with Rob Van Dam
-Was there a lot of pressure on you and Taz at Barely Legal
-Was it hard doing a double turn a week after Wrestlemania did it with Austin and Bret
-Did Paul E's relationship with the WWF bother you
-Memories/thoughts on the angle you and Taz did at Raw
-How well were you received by the WWF crew
-Memories of the Terry Funk barbed wire match
-Thoughts/memories on your Raw appearance against the Hardys
-Did the WWE try and sign you guys at that time
-Memories of the night you broke your jaw in Boston
-Were you and RVD supposed to wrestle Dreamer and Sandman on a Summerslam
-Memories of your series with RVD against the Eliminators
-Did any of those matches turn into shoots
-Thoughts on the whole "mole" situation, were you a part of it
-Thoughts on your series with Sandman
-Thoughts on your November to remember match with him in Pittsburgh
-Memories of your series with Candido and Storm
-Memories of your 30 minute draw with RVD at Wrestlepalooza
-Thoughts on Tommy Dreamer, in and out of the ring
-How did you wind up in All Japan
-Thoughts on the Babas
-Thoughts on Misawa
-Thoughts on Gary Albrights
-Thoughts on Kawada
-Thoughts on Kobashi
-Did it hurt your value by jumping around from company to company
-Memories of your Heatwave match with Shinzaki and Hayabusa
-What went wrong with the November to remember match with Taz and RVD against the Triple Threat
-Did you get any heat from Paul E when Konnan did an interview in the Torch and quoted you saying Paul E was a liar
-Thoughts on being paired with Bill Alfonso
-Thoughts on the Dudleys
-Did your checks ever bounce in ECW
-Was there a storyline you ever proposed to ECW that Paul E turned down or vice versa
-Did you ever refuse to do a job in ECW
-Thoughts on Steve Corino
-What do you remember about the ECW-XPW riot
-Thoughts on Tajiri
-Thoughts on Rhyno
-Thoughts and memories from your series with Justin Credible
-Thoughts on influencing a ton of indy workers that are out there today
-What lead to your last fall out with Paul Heyman
-WCW signed you at that time and Terry Taylor claims you told them you didnt have a contract, Paul E said you did, what happened
-Terry Taylor said you burnt your bridge with WCW at that time, thoughts
-Did you attempt to go back to ECW
-Were you surprised to see ECW go out of business
-How did you wind up with XPW
-Thoughts/stories on Rob Black
-Memories of matches with Messiah
-Did you feel like you were taking a step down working for XPW as compared to ECW
-What lead to you finishing up with XPW
-What were you expecting from MECW
-Thoughts on John Collins
-You had a tremendous match with Sean Waltman at 3PW, memories, thoughts
-Have Paul E or the WWE contacted you at all since ECW closed
-How did you wind up in NWATNA
-Thoughts on your matches there
-Thoughts on Jeff Jarrett
-Thoughts on being paired with Sonjay
-Do you think JJ sabotaged your program with Raven
-Thoughts on Raven
-Thoughts on the ICP and touring with them
-Thoughts on Vampiro
-Thoughts on Teddy Hart
-Thoughts on Carlos Colon
-Thoughts on Abyss
-Do you think people get prefered treatment at TNA
-Thoughts on Americas Most wanted
-Thoughts on Kid Kash
-Thoughts on Bob Ryder
-Thoughts/memories working against Carly
-Were there problems in a match with you and Low Ki in Queens
-Talk about the new generation of indy workers, what is right and wrong
-Who do you like, dislike
-Have you trained anyone of note
-Thoughts on workin the indys overall
-Anyone you have been impressed with on the indys
-What do you see for yourself in the future in this business
-Are you bitter or angry at the business
-Do you think you should be owed more by Paul E and the rest of the crew at ECW for their success
-How did you come up with the concept of sacrificing your body to break a table
-Whats the most painful injury you have ever had
-Any regrets
-Fav and least fav opponents over your career
-Do you think Taz took his gimmick too seriously
-How did you hurt yourself
-what is different about this injur from your previous ones that is keeping you out of the ring
-Is there anyone you never worked with that you wish you had or can
-Do you follow the business, if so who do you like, not like to watch
-How hard did you take your Uncles passing
-Thoughts on Jon Pee Wee Moore
-Do you think it was wrong for Paul E to immediately take a job in the WWE and leave a lot of his former wrestlers who went broke out in the cold
-Thoughts on former ECW wrestler's success in WWE
-Did WWE contact you at all about the ECW dvd
-Did you see it? IF so, thoughts
-Thoughts on newsletters, Meltzer, and Keller
-You have a reputation for double and triple booking yourself on indys, thoughts
-Do you think another indy can break out like ECW did
-Thoughts on the current state of the business.

As you can tell, alot of things were discussed. The common theme throughout the shoot interview was that Sabu didn't know the camera was on. He was trying to stay in gimmick, and pretended that the camera wasn't rolling when talking to RF Video. It was a recurring theme throughout the shoot, and it shows the true professionalism of Sabu and how much he believes in the old school style of wrestling. It was funny watching Sabu look at the camera from time to time, just to make sure it "wasn't on."

The shoot starts off with Sabu talking about his famous uncle, the Original Sheik. Sabu talks about how much influence Sheik had on him, and what it was like training with the Sheik. Sabu also discusses how he got smartened to the business from The Sheik, and what it was like being the nephew of the Sheik when he first broke in. Sabu talks about and keeps going back to The Sheik throughout this interview. Sabu does say that Sheik said he was proud of Sabu before the Sheik died. You can tell that Sabu really loved The Sheik and that Sheik was his true mentor in wrestling. It seemed whereever the Sheik was, Sabu was, from Michigan to Japan to Philadelphia. You really appreciate The Sheik more, after hearing Sabu talk about him.

After talking about his early indy career, even being dubbed "Terry Snuka" at a show, the talk moves to Sabu's time in Japan. Sabu talks alot about Japan and what it was like there. He does a long word association, and puts alot of people over. One thing about Sabu- if he calls you a cock-sucker, that's a good thing. For example, "That Sandman is one hell of a cock sucker". Sabu is also prone to saying the word fuck alot too, which is normal, but weird hearing coming out of this man who hasn't talked to the public like this ever.

While talking about Sabu's language, I guess I should mention Sabu's lifestyle. During the shoot, he smokes a joint and drinks beer. That definitely gets the DOI's seal of approval. I know other sites were offended about Sabu drinking and smoking, but this is what a shoot interview is- the interviewee just being himself and being laid back. Sabu also talks about his drug use, talking about how he used pain killers a bit. One of the reasons Sabu had to use painkillers, is because some promoters, who wanted to be a dick to Sabu, would give Sabu almost indestructable tables to use in his match. Sabu didn't give a fuck, and would try 10 times before the table would break.

On the subject of tables, Sabu talks about how it got started in Japan. Sabu then said once he got to ECW, the fans knew about it, and they dug him right from there. Sabu talks about other people who used tables, such as the Public Enemy. The Public Enemy were "cocksuckers", which means they were cool as hell, but Sabu said they killed the whole table gimmick and became one dimensional, which has always been one major criticism about The Public Enemy from wrestling fans. Sabu talked about the table, and how big it got in wrestling. He said once he saw Vince McMahon use it, he laughed, because Vince told Sabu earlier in his career that he didn't like it.

Sabu quickly talks about his brief run in WCW, which he didn't seem to enjoy. He actually wanted to work for ECW over WCW and WWF at the time.

About an hour of the shoot is dedicated to talking about ECW, while talking about tours of Japan in between. Sabu discusses all his feuds and his rocky relationship with Paul Heyman. Sabu talked about how himself and Taz didn't get along in the beginning, but by the end of it all, Taz was a good old "cock-sucker". Sabu talks about how great RVD was and how much he liked working him. Sabu also mentioned that he loves singles wrestling, and preferred wrestling singles than tag team any day. As far as the Sabu/RVD team, he liked tagging with RVD, but he said it was just excellent wrestling him. Sabu talking about RVD brought up some great memories for me, because I remember the first indy tape I ever bought was the best of Sabu vs RVD. Man, those were the days, I don't think any other series of matches produced such multi-layered matches, although Angle/Benoit was close.

Sabu talks about Paul firing him from ECW in 1994, when Sabu decided to do a 3 week tour of Japan, rather than one day in Philly. The day after Paul fired him, Paul asked for him to come back. Sabu laughed and said hell yea he wanted to be back. Sabu really loved ECW, but he hasn't watched the Best of ECW DVD yet.

Sabu talked about moving on to XPW. He said they were a low rent ECW. He had some good matches there, but it was only really a payday.

After XPW, Sabu talked about his time on the indy scene. He talked about working Low Ki and Homicide in USA PW. He said his match with Low Ki was bad, and it was just a bad match, that just didn't click that day. He felt bad for Low Ki, because Sabu said he just wasn't on that day. Sabu put over his series of matches with Homicide in USA PW, and said he enjoyed working him.

Sabu talked about his matches with Sean Waltman before they both became stars, and 12 or so years later in 3PW. He likes working the artist formerly known as Syxx-Pac, and had a good time working for Tod Gordon again, in 3PW.

Sabu also goes back and discusses John Collins' MECW. He talked about all the fake checks this guy was handing out. He was happy to find out that John is in jail.

Sabu talks about his health and says that he hopes to start training again this month. (January 2005). He says if he can't go back to being Sabu, he'll retire for now, but he knows he'll come back again.

Sabu closes the interview by thanking all his fans and thanking everyone for all the support.

Final McWord
Obviously Sabu talks much more in this shoot interview, but if there is only one shoot interview you see this year, this is it. Sabu doesn't really bury anyone, but he does talk about everything. Being a longtime fan of Sabu myself, it was great just listening to him talk about all his war stories, including how he got all scarred up in Japan.

You can tell that you saw the real Sabu after watching this. From him talking in his vernacular from him smoking and drinking on camera, this was Sabu. The man has done alot for the wrestling business and has innovated and has left a legacy on the sport.

Overall- I've seen alot of shoot interviews from various companies. This is the one I was anticipating the most, and it delivered. If there is only shoot you can afford, save your money for this. This is a tape in my wrestling library that I know I will go back and watch and watch and watch again. An excellent job by RF Video, as well as Sabu, in this interview.

To pick up this shoot go to http://www.rfvideo.com or go to Sabu Shoot directly. This is the shoot to buy, if you buy any shoots at all this year.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com