Sabu is the nephew of the original Sheik, who terrorized the Midwest as the United States champion and showed fans the early stages of hardcore wrestling. Sabu trained under his legendary uncle, who often guided Sabu with his business decisions. Sabu began his career in 1985 under the watchful eye of his uncle. Not looking to live off his famous uncle's name, Sabu would make history his own way in due time.

Sabu toiled around indy feds throughout the Midwest, including near his home in Michigan. Sabu made his first big mark in the business outside the United States in Japan for the now-defunct Frontier Martial Arts (FMW) promotion, which was run by Atsushi Onita. Sabu competed for FMW in the early 90s, and teamed on occasion with The Sheik, including the annual FMW Tag Team League in late 1991, which was eventually won by Onita and Tarzan Goto.

Sabu also teamed with Horace Boulder, who is the nephew of former multi-time WWE and WCW champion, Hulk Hogan, as well as the cousin of former ECW World champion Mike Awesome. Sabu looked to get a measure of revenge on Onita & Goto for winning the tag league in 1991, so Horace & Sabu teamed up to face the FMW/WWA World Martial Arts Tag Team champions for the titles on May 1992. Sabu & Horace won the belts that night in one of Sabu's first major title victories in his career. Sabu & Horace were the second team to ever hold those titles. But, the reign was short-lived. On May 24, 1992, Sabu & Horace lost the titles to Tarzan Goto & Gregory Veritchev, who would go on to be the last team those titles.

When Sabu wrestled in the United States, he worked for several National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promotions. The NWA held one of their indy super shows, Grand Slam 2, in Brooklyn Park, MN on July 10, 1993. Sabu faced and defeated another man making his name in the indy scene, Jerry Lynn. The main event of that show saw former WWE, NWA and American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team champion Road Warrior Hawk defeat former United States Wrestling Association (USWA) Heavyweight champion, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. Sabu returned to Japan that August, and began a rivalry that would help put ECW on the map in the coming months. At the FMW Summer Spectacular on August 22, 1993, Sabu & The Sheik teamed up to face Tarzon Goto & former NWA World champion, Terry Funk. The bout was a Stretcher Match, which saw Funk & Goto get the duke. Little did anyone know that it would not be the last time Sabu and Funk would cross paths?

ECW, then known as Eastern, were competing under the NWA banner and running shows in Philadelphia at Viking Hall, a bingo hall that would later be known as The ECW Arena. The promotion recruited The Tasmaniac, who would go on to be Smackdown's color commentator, Tazz, as well as Sabu. Both men made their ECW debut at NWA/ECW Bloodfest Part 1 on October 1, 1993 at Viking Hall in Philadelphia. Both men battled each other in their first ECW match and Sabu got the win. Yet again, little did the fans know that this was the start of a rivalry, which would lead ECW to its first PPV?

The following night, at Part 2 of Bloodfest in Philadelphia, Sabu defeated ECW champion "The Franchise" Shane Douglas to win the ECW Title. The next ECW show would not take place until November 13, 1993. That was the first annual November to Remember, which would become ECW's major event, their version of WrestleMania. The main event pitted ECW champion Sabu and Road Warrior Hawk facing the team of Terry Funk & King Kong Bundy. Sabu pinned Funk, who was the ECW TV champion, to win the match. Due to a pre-match stipulation with both ECW Titles on the line, Sabu won the ECW TV Title.

Sabu and Terry Funk would have their first one-on-one encounter in ECW on December 26, 1993 in Philadelphia at Holiday Hell. They battled in a No Disqualification Match for the ECW Heavyweight Title. Funk got his revenge and beat Sabu to be the ECW Kingpin.

February 5, 1994 would go down in history as one of ECW's biggest nights. The event was The Night the Line Was Crossed. The main event was scheduled to be ECW champion Terry Funk facing ECW TV champ Sabu and "The Franchise" Shane Douglas in the first ever 3 Way Dance. The match went the entire one-hour and ended in a draw. Fans were not annoyed at the ending but applauded the efforts of all three men. This match would give more credibility to ECW.

Sabu made a defense of the ECW TV Title at the next show in Philadelphia on March 5, 1994. He retained the title defeating his former FMW nemesis, Mike Awesome. The following night at The ECW Arena, Sabu lost the ECW TV Title to The Tasmaniac. Titles meant nothing to Sabu as he was out to punish his opponents, even at his own body's expense. He went toe-to-toe with Terry Funk, in their first meeting since the one-hour draw, on April 16, 1994 in Philly. Sabu got the win over the Hardcore Legend.

Sabu was juggling ECW and FMW and would constantly be going back and fourth to Japan. He returned to FMW on May 5, 1994, competing on their 5th Anniversary event. Sabu teamed with Damien 666 to defeat the team of Dr. Luther & Yone Genjin.

At around this time, Paul Heyman had taken over as head booker of ECW. He was looking to shake things up. At When Worlds Collide on May 14, 1994, he put together a Dream Partner Tag Team Match in Philly. Sabu would choose a partner to face Terry Funk, who also got to choose a partner. Sabu chose former NWA/WCW Tag Team and Television champion "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton while Funk chose former NWA/WCW Tag Team, WWE Tag Team and WCW TV champion "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson. Sabu & Eaton won the big match when Sabu made Funk submit.

Sabu would be engaged in matches with other big names in ECW at the time. ECW held their annual Heat Wave event on July 16, 1994. Sabu teamed up with an unlikely partner to face The Pit Bulls, The Tasmaniac. The odd couple did well in their first tag match with each other as they defeated the future ECW Tag Team champions. Sabu wasn't finished that night. He challenged ECW champion Shane Douglas for the ECW Title and won the match by count-out but did not win the belt.

Another first for Sabu took place on August 14, 1994 at Hardcore Heaven. Sabu stepped into the ring with former WCW Tag Team champion, 2 Cold Scorpio. In a match that saw plenty of aerial warfare, Sabu got the win over the future ECW TV & Tag Team champion.

Later that month, ECW would be changed forever. Paul Heyman, looking to shake the industry up, was planning on breaking away from the tradition of the NWA and operating under his own legs. On August 24, 1994, the NWA held a World Title Tournament at The ECW Arena. The ECW champion, Shane Douglas, defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in the finals to win the title. However, after giving a speech, Douglas through down the NWA Title and proclaimed he to be the ECW WORLD champion. Soon after, Eastern Championship Wrestling went to the Extreme.

Paul Heyman was looking to put together another first for Sabu, so he booked him in a match against a fine Canadian wrestler and former ECW Tag Team champion, Chris Benoit. The match took place on October 1, 1994 in Philly. Sabu lost the match due to the referee stopping the match. A rematch was set up for the second annual November to Remember. After battling each other for just a few minutes, Benoit dumped Sabu on his head and neck, injuring Sabu and the match was rendered a no contest. It was because of that moment that Benoit became known to fans worldwide as "The Crippler."

Sabu is not one to let an injury force him to the sidelines. He was back wrestling on November 19, 1994 at the ECW Arena. This time, he was involved in a tag team match, so that he wouldn't see full action. He teamed with The Tasmaniac and defeated the brother duo of Dean & Joe Malenko. Although they were an odd pairing Sabu & The Tasmaniac were successful. They were granted an ECW Tag Team Title shot against The Public Enemy at Holiday Hell on December 17, 1994. Sabu & The Tasmaniac suffered their first loss as a team that night, but it would not end their partnership.

Sabu had broken ties with his home Japan promotion, FMW, and was looking to compete in another major Japanese organization. He worked for Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). In one of his first shows in his new Japanese home, he teamed with former NWA World champion Masa Chono to defeat the team of Tatsumi Fujinami & Junji Hirata.

Sabu began 1995 in ECW the same way he ended it: teaming with the unpredictable Tasmaniac. On January 7, 1995. Sabu and The Tasmaniac joined forces with the chokeslaming 911 to face The Public Enemy, Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit in the Handicapped main event. Team Sabu won the match over the fearsome foursome.

That match set up a feud between Sabu & The Tasmaniac and the ECW Tag Team champions The Public Enemy, which was comprised of Johnny Grunge and the late "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. It was a feud bound to happen as Sabu and The Public Enemy used the table as a weapon as was part of their arsenal. This match took place at, appropriately enough, Double Tables in Philly on February 4, 1995. Sabu & The Tasmaniac became the new champs before the night was over. Unfortunately for the new champs, another team was also knocking on their door. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko, representing The Triple Threat along with Shane Douglas, wanted a shot. After Sabu & Tasmaniac won the titles, Benoit power bombed Sabu from the top rope through a table that had Rocco Rock on it. On February 25, 1995, Sabu & The Tasmaniac lost the titles to Malenko & Benoit at Return of the Funker.

Sabu was a major player in ECW, but was spending a lot of his time in Japan. NJPW held their Muscle Storm tour beginning on March 7 and ending on March 27, 1995. Because of his other commitments, Sabu only wrestled a couple of nights on the tour. On March 12, Sabu and Benoit's rivalry from ECW spilled into NJPW. Sabu beat Wild Pegasus, which was Benoit under a mask, by pinfall in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. On March 13, Sabu competed in the tag team main event, contested in a best of three falls match. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hiro Saito & Sabu beat Riki Choshu, Shinya Hashimoto, Hiroshi Hase & Junji Hirata. Choshu used a Scorpion Deathlock on Hiro to win the first fall, Chono pinned Hase to win the second fall and Tenzan pinned Hirata to win the deciding fall.

Paul Heyman booked a huge main event for his 3 Way Dance event on April 8, 1995. It was set to be The Public Enemy and Sabu & Tasmaniac challenging the ECW Tag Team champions Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko for the titles. However, Sabu decided to Sabu chose to wrestle in Japan that night, despite committing first to ECW. Heyman went to the ring with 911 and The Tasmaniac and publicly fired Sabu. Heyman would not let the fans down as he brought in Rick Steiner as a replacement. The Steiner Bros. were hot at the time, so the crowd ate this up. The Public Enemy won that match and regained the titles. That very night, NJPW ran a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and Sabu battled Gedo to a double count-out.

Being loyal to NJPW wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Sabu earned a shot at Koji Kanemoto's International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Junior Heavyweight championship. On May 3, 1995, Sabu walked away with the belt. Sabu and Terry Funk continued their feud during this tour as Funk teamed with The Great Kabuki to defeat Sabu & Masa Chono on May 17, 1995. Sabu and Kanemoto had a rematch for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title on June 14, 1995 at Budokan Hall. Sabu lost the title back to Kanemoto, who was also the UWA (Mexico) Junior Heavyweight champion.

As he competed for NJPW, those in WCW kept their eyes on this guy with all the scars on his body. NJPW and WCW had a close relationship at the time and would often trade talent. After negotiations during the summer, Sabu was signed to a WCW contract. He made his Nitro debut on September 11, 1995, which was the second ever Nitro. Booking him as a crazy man, Sabu took on Alex Wright and lost to him by reverse decision due to his use of a table.

After making his Nitro debut and being the talk of the Internet, Sabu returned to NJPW later that month. On September 20, 1995, Norio Honaga, Hiro Saito & Sabu beat Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Wild Pegasus & Gran Hamada when Sabu scored a huge win on Liger. Three nights later, Sabu and Liger met in a one-on-one match in Yokohama, Japan. Liger got the win over Sabu.

Sabu returned to terrorize the athletes of WCW. On the October 9, 1995 edition of Nitro, Sabu returned and defeated Mr. JL. WCW was full of creative geniuses and put a mask on the talented Jerry Lynn and dubbed him Mr. JL. The two had a rematch at Halloween Havoc on October 29, and Sabu once again got the win and even got to use the table again. The following night on Nitro, Sabu got a win over The Disco Inferno. It would end up being Sabu's final WCW appearance as he was unceremoniously released from his contract.

With no WCW contract, Sabu was looking for work in the United States. Sabu made a surprise return to ECW at The November to Remember on November 18, 1995. Just goes to show you that you can't burn bridges in wrestling. He defeated the popular "Shah" Hack Myers.

Even though he made his return to ECW, Sabu continued to do tours of NJPW. He returned to Japan to compete in NJPW's Battle Final tour, which ran from November 23-December 11, 1995. On the first night of the tour, Sabu challenged and successfully defeated UWA Junior Heavyweight champion Gran Hamada to win the title. On November 24, 1995, Sabu competed in the main event of the show held in Korakuen Hall in a Best of 3 Falls Match. Shinya Hashimoto, Junji Hirata, Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Osamu Nishimura beat Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hiro Saito & Sabu. Nishimura used a Northern Light suplex hold on Tenzan to win the first fall, Chono pinned Nishimura to win the second fall and Hashimoto pinned Hiro to win the deciding fall. Sabu continued on the tour and, on December 1, lost the UWA Junior Heavyweight Title to El Samurai after submitting to a cross arm breaker. On December 3 in Korakuen Hall, Jushin Liger & Wild Pegasus teamed up to defeat the team of Sabu & Black Cat when Pegasus pinned Cat. On December 10, Black Cat & El Mexicano beat Dean Malenko & Sabu. And on the final night, Hiro Saito & Sabu beat Wild Pegasus & Dean Malenko when Hiro pinned Malenko.

Since the 1993 Royal Rumble, WWE had brought in outside talent to compete in its 30 man over the top Royal Rumble match. Previous "outsiders" competing in the match included Carlos Colon, Genichiro Tenryu and The Great Kabuki. The 1996 Royal Rumble would be no exception. WWE had been negotiating with Sabu, Terry Funk and even Peter McNeely, who was knocked out by Mike Tyson in Tyson's first fight since getting out of jail. All three did not appear, as Funk had committed to a tour overseas and Sabu’s uncle, The Sheik, advised he not get into the match.

Sabu got a chance to regain the ECW TV Title on February 17, 1996 at Cyberslam, the annual Internet convention put together by ECW. He took on 2 Cold Scorpio and battled Sabu to a 30-minute time limit draw. Scorpio was just a mere speed bump on Sabu's road to feuding with Rob Van Dam, a man he trained with under the guidance of The Sheik. At Hostile City Showdown on April 20, 1996, Sabu defeated Rob Van Dam in a great match. After the match, Sabu extended his hand in a show of respect, but RVD walked away from him. RVD claimed he had no respect for Sabu and was looking out for himself. ECW set up an event called A Matter of Respect on May 11, 1996 and had the rubber match between the Michigan natives. In a huge upset, at the time, RVD pinned Sabu. Still, RVD had no respect for Sabu.

Their feud raged on and they did battle on another signature ECW event, Hardcore Heaven. Sabu got revenge on RVD, but it still wasn't over. Their feud took a break for one show as RVD had a Japanese commitment to fulfill. At Heat Wave on July 13, 1996, Sabu saved Mikey Whipwreck from an attack by the ECW Tag Team champions The Eliminators. The Eliminators challenged Sabu & Mikey to a match, which was quickly accepted. The Eliminators retained. Later that night, Louie Spicolli made his ECW debut and made short work of El Puerto Ricano. Spicolli made another challenge, which was accepted by Sabu. Spicolli reversed most of Sabu's signature moves, but Sabu found a way to overcome Spicolli and get the win.

ECW heavily hyped the Stretcher Match that was to take place at The Doctor Is In on August 3, 1996. Sabu got the win over RVD, but the match took such a toll on both guys that Sabu was also stretchered out. A new chapter in this war was about to be written. Sabu had embarked on another tour of Japan around this time, so RVD took it upon himself to mock Sabu on August 24, 1996 at Natural Born Killaz. He came out to Sabu's music to do a profanity-laced interview challenging anyone in the locker room. Doug Furnas from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) answered the challenge and lost to RVD. RVD extended his hand to Furnas, he gave RVD an incredible German suplex.

RVD and Furnas were then set to face off in a Dream Partner Match on September 14, 1996 at When Worlds Collide. Furnas chose his longtime AJPW tag team partner, Dan Kroffat, to be his partner, while RVD shocked ECW fans by choosing Sabu. The teams faced off and battled each other to an amazing time limit draw. A rematch was held on October 26, 1996 at High Incident and RVD & Sabu shocked fans again by defeating the former AJPW Asian Tag Team champions Furnas & Kroffat. After the match, Sabu & RVD finally shook hands and were now on the same page.

Ever since Sabu returned to ECW at the 1995 November to Remember, Taz made it a priority to inflict pain on Sabu. For one full year, Taz called out Sabu and Sabu never answered. Taz did everything he could to antagonize a confrontation, but it never happened. Taz was pissed about Sabu walking out on the company at 3 Way Dance and then being allowed back later that year after being publicly fired. Taz was a destructive heel led by Bill Alfonso. Taz hadn't lost a match since the heel turn as he took his frustrations out on all his opponents. The list of guys Taz has choked out include Hack Myers, Chris Jericho, Buh Buh Ray Dudley, Devon Storm, UFC fighter Paul Varlans, Tommy Dreamer, and Johnny Smith. Sabu & RVD had been booked to face The Eliminators in a #1 Contenders Match at the November to Remember on November 16, 1996. The winners would face the ECW Tag Team champions The Gangstas later that night. Sabu & RVD battled The Eliminators to a draw. ECW commissioner Tod Gordon then said, in the tradition of ECW, that the title match would be a 3 Way Dance. The Gangstas ended up winning the match. Later that night, 2 Cold Scorpio was competing in his final night in ECW before debuting in WWE the following night at Madison Square Garden at The Survivor Series. On his way out, Scorpio defeated Devon Storm, JT Smith and Hack Myers in separate consecutive matches. Then, Scorpio lost to Louie Spicolli. Scorpio refused to leave the ring until Taz forced him out. Taz called Sabu out again, and the lights went out. When they came back on, Sabu was in the ring opposite Taz since early 1995, which made the crowd erupt. As they made their way toward each other, the lights went off again, teasing the fans. This was done to set up the first ECW PPV.

Sabu & RVD pursued the ECW Tag Team titles, which were now being held by The Eliminators. The two teams did battled on January 1, 1997 at Crossing the Line Again. The Eliminators retained, but it wasn't over yet. At Cyberslam on February 22, 1997, the two teams did battle in the first ever Tables & Ladders Match. The Eliminators once again won the match. Later that night, Sabu returned to defeat Chris Candido in the main event.

ECW was gearing up for their first PPV, Barely Legal. It was set to take place at the famed ECW Arena in Philly on April 13, 1997. In late February that year, WWE had set up to send half it's talent on a tour of Europe, while the other half stayed behind to do a live Raw at The Manhattan Center, the site of the first set of Raw tapings. Vince McMahon decided to lend a helping hand to Paul Heyman's company and did somewhat of an invasion. Vince was desperate for ratings because WCW was in the midst of kicking their asses and Heyman was looking for a major vehicle to promote his PPV. Jerry Lawler called out ECW and Heyman accepted the challenge on February 17, 1997. Raw was taken to the Extreme on February 24, 1997 and made their first mark when The Eliminators hit Total Elimination on a ring attendant. A few of the ECW matches that took place included Stevie Richards, representing the bWo, defeating Little Guido, who is now Nunzio in WWE, Tommy Dreamer defeating D-Von Dudley and Taz getting a win over Mikey Whipwreck. During Taz's match, Sabu appeared on the Raw entrance, which was giant letters spelling out R-A-W. Sabu dove onto Team Taz in Sabu's first, but not last, Raw appearance.

After almost a year and a half of build-up, Taz was set to face Sabu a Barely Legal. It was the biggest night in company history and were banking on Sabu vs. Taz to help move ECW to the next level. In a heated match, Taz got the win by making Sabu tap out to the Tazmission. In a show of respect, both men shook each other's hand while they soaked in the applause of the audience. Taz got on the mic and told Sabu he respected him and they hugged each other. Then, RVD, Sabu's partner who cut a heel promo earlier in the PPV, came out and attacked Taz. Sabu then turned heel and joined in on the beating of Sabu. Taz's manager, Bill Alfonso, then took off his Taz shirt to reveal a Sabu shirt. Fonzie was now aligned with Sabu & RVD, beginning a new chapter in the feud and turning Taz face for the first time in 2 years.

Chris Candido found himself in the middle of this rivalry. Candido was injured and could not compete on the PPV, so RVD took his place, which is why RVD turned heel to begin with. RVD felt he should not be a second string wrestler and should have been involved in the PPV from the start. At one point, on an episode of Hardcore TV, Candido came out to Taz's aid, only to have Taz suplex Candido out of his shoes. That didn't matter, as they were paired as a team on select house shows to face Sabu & RVD. At ECW Chapter 2 in Philly, Taz and Candido got the win over Sabu & RVD on May 10, 1997.

The grudge re-match of the century was to be held in one of ECW's better ECW Arena events, WrestlePalooza, on June 6, 1997. Sabu vs. Taz was heavily hyped for this show. Unfortunately, before the night was over, the ECW Arena debut of Jerry “The King” Lawler and the final, for now, ECW appearance of Raven, overshadowed it as he went to WCW. Sabu gave Taz his first loss since 1995 in this match. Taz got redemption right after the match, defeating Shane Douglas in under three minutes to win the ECW TV Title.

Also that night, Tommy Dreamer faced Raven in Raven's final night before going to WCW. Dreamer had never got a win over Raven...until that night. Since the Barely Legal PPV, RVD had been pledging his alliance to Monday Night wrestling, and being against ECW. RVD had proclaimed himself as Mr. Monday Night, and was aligned with Sabu & Bill Alfonso. When Dreamer won, the lights went out, and RVD appeared. The lights went out again, and when they turned back on, Sabu was there to join in on the Dreamer beat down. When the lights went off and on a third time, Jerry Lawler appeared. The Sandman tried to help, but to no avail. Team WWE had taken control.

This set up appearances of RVD and Sabu on Raw, as guests of Jerry Lawler. RVD had made the first appearance in early June, defeating Jeff Hardy. Then, when Raw came to Michigan, Sabu made an appearance on the June 23, 1997 edition of Raw. He took on Flash Funk, who was former ECW rival of Sabu's 2 Cold Scorpio. With Paul Heyman on commentary, Sabu and Funk battled to a no-contest, but saw Sabu take several attempts to put Funk through a table while Heyman insulted Nitro for stealing the table gimmick from Sabu.

Soon after, the relationship soured a bit between WWE and ECW, as RVD and Sabu were seen as prima donnas and weren't asked back on their shows. But the angles continued in ECW. On June 28, 1997, at Orgy of Violence, RVD & Sabu teamed to defeat the ECW heart & soul team of Tommy Dreamer & Sabu. It was that night when the lights went off and on and Heyman's hated rival, Jim Cornette, made an appearance and laid a beating on Dreamer with his tennis racket. Lawler was once again in on the beating.

This set up a huge Cage Match at Heat Wave on July 19, 1997. It was Sabu, Jerry Lawler & RVD taking on Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman & a mystery partner. That mystery partner appeared before the match to be the late "Ravishing" Rick Rude. However, Rude was still inactive as a wrestler, so he turned on his team, making it a handicapped match. The match ended in a no contest, with another beat down on Team ECW. However, Taz made an appearance for his company and choked out Jerry Lawler.

Before ECW held it's second PPV, they hyped another major event at the ECW Arena. It was named Born To Be Wired on August 9, 1997. The main event saw Sabu challenge the ECW champion, Terry Funk, for the title in a Barbed Wire Match. Funk was scheduled to defend the title eight nights later on PPV against Shane Douglas. But the face of the main event was changed before the PPV took place. In a brutal match, Sabu won the title from Funk.

Paul Heyman had no choice but to make the Hardcore Heaven PPV main event to the original 3 Way Dance that took place in ECW's infancy: Sabu vs. Shane Douglas vs. Terry Funk. In Ft. Lauderdale, FL on August 17, 1997, Sabu lost the ECW Title to Shane Douglas. Sabu was eliminated by both Funk & Douglas first, so the fans were guaranteed a new champion before the night was over.

In one of his many retirements, Terry Funk once again called it quits on September 11, 1997 in Amarillo, TX. He held a major show, which saw athletes from ECW compete in a show to honor Terry Funk. The main event saw then-WWE champion Bret Hart defeat Terry Funk. Sabu competed on the show, losing to longtime ECW rival Mankind by DQ.

ECW had been saving the first match before to the hardcore icons for quite some time and were now ready to deliver on it. Never before had Sabu and The Sandman met in a one-on-one match. They saved the match for As Good As It Gets on September 20, 1997. Unfortunately, it turned into a huge brawl that ended in a no-contest.

The Sandman was put on the shelf, so Sabu & RVD had themselves preoccupied with Tommy Dreamer & Taz. The two teams met at Ultimate Jeopardy on November 8, 1997. In the main event, Dreamer & Taz got the win when Dreamer pinned RVD. They had a rematch at Better Than Ever on December 6, 1997. In the main event, Sabu & RVD got revenge and won the match.

The Sandman had returned and was set to finally have a match against Sabu. They were to meet at House Party on January 10, 1998. This time, it was a Stairway to Hell Match, the first of it's kind. A strand of barbed wire hung above the ring. One of the participants had to climb a ladder to get to the barbed wire. Once the barbed wire was retrieved, it became a blood bath. The Sandman got the win over Sabu after a wicked cane shot across the side of Sabu's face.

Sabu & RVD concentrated on becoming one of ECW's better tag teams. The main event of Hostile City Showdown on January 31, 1998 saw a 4 Way Dance involving Sabu & RVD going against The Dudley Boyz, New Jack & Kronus and The Sandman & Tommy Dreamer. D-Von Dudley pinned Kronus to eliminate Kronus & New Jack, Sabu & RVD eliminated The Dudleys and Sabu pinned The Sandman to win the match.

Continuing their streak in main events, Sabu & RVD took on another heel team at Cyberslam on February 21, 1998. They met the challenge of Triple Threat members of Shane Douglas & Bam Bam Bigelow. Douglas & Bigelow got the win when Bigelow pinned RVD.

Sabu and The Sandman were booked to face each other in their first one-on-one match on PPV at Living Dangerously in Asbury Park, NJ on March 1, 1998. This time, the match was a Dueling Canes Match. The match was actually taped before the PPV went on the air and it saw The Sandman get the upper hand on Sabu at the beginning of the match...or so we thought. It was RVD dressed as Sabu and the real Sabu came out soon after the match started and ended up getting a win over The Sandman.

Soon after this, dissension was visible between Sabu & RVD. At a taping of Hardcore TV on April 4, 1998 in Buffalo, NY, RVD took on ECW TV champion Bam Bam Bigelow. Sabu was supposed to challenge Bigelow for the TV Title after this taping, with the idea of RVD softening up Bigelow for Sabu. That wasn't the case as RVD won the TV and was set to make some history as the champion. This pissed off Sabu big time.

Al Snow was getting over huge with his new Head gimmick. Instead of jobbing all the time, he found himself slowly moving up the ladder in ECW. He was booked to face Sabu at the ECW Arena on April 18, 1998. Sabu and Al Snow battled many times throughout their early careers in indy feds throughout the country. Now they revived that rivalry in ECW. Al Snow got the win over Sabu when RVD, feeling Sabu could not continue, which was bogus, threw in the towel. Sabu was pissed again.

Paul Heyman appeared during a RVD and Sabu promo and told RVD that he would defend the ECW TV Title at the next PPV, and his opponent was Sabu. The promo ended with Sabu and RVD playing tug-of-war with the ECW TV Title. The next PPV was WrestlePalooza on May 3, 1998. They had a great battle, but there was no winner as it ended in a draw.

Another team was having problems themselves. It was Triple Threat member Chris Candido and Lance Storm. It was obvious that the feuding teams would end up in a match against one another. At A Matter of Respect on May 16, 1998, Sabu teamed with Chris Candido to battle RVD and Lance Storm. The match ended in a no-contest when Sabu & RVD turned on their partners and reunited with each other.

Candido wanted revenge on Sabu & RVD and teamed with Triple Threat leader, Shane Douglas, in a tag match on June 6, 1998. Sabu & RVD got the win over The Triple Threat. But Lance Storm also seeked a measure of revenge. So, he teamed with Candido to take on Sabu & RVD on June 27, 1998. Candido & Storm were the ECW Tag champions. Sabu & RVD won their first Tag Team Titles together that night from Candido & Storm. A rematch was held on July 18, 1998 at the ECW Arena. In the main event, ECW Tag Team champions Sabu & RVD got the win in one of their earliest title defenses over Candido & Storm.

To show how dominant they were as champions, and to also prove that they were WORLD champions, ECW imported Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki to face Sabu & RVD at the Heat Wave PPV on August 2, 1998 in Ohio. Shinzaki is remember by WWE fans as competing as Hakushi and being aligned, at various times, with Jerry Lawler and Barry Horowitz. In the match that stole the show, Sabu & RVD retained their titles against the Japanese duo.

Sabu pulled double-duty at the August 8, 1998 ECW Arena taping in Philly. First, he was involved in a 3 Way Dance against Taz and Bam Bam Bigelow. The match ended in 30-minute draw. Later that night, in the main event, the ECW Tag Team champions Sabu & RVD battled The Dudleys to a no contest. The two teams had rematch on August 29, 1998, again in the main event. Sabu & RVD won the match and retained their belts.

Everyone, especially The Triple Threat and The Dudleys, targeted Sabu & RVD. They were the tag champs and RVD was the reigning TV champion. On September 19, 1998, at the ECW Arena, Sabu & RVD recruited future ECW champion, Masato Tanaka, to be their partner in a main event match against The Triple Threat. That match ended in a no-contest. The next show in Philly, October 10, Bam Bam Bigelow was booked to face Sabu in the main event. The former ECW World & TV champion Bigelow got the win over Sabu.

During a taping of Hardcore TV on October 24, 1998 in Cleveland, OH, Sabu & RVD defended the ECW Tag Titles against The Dudleys. The Dudleys won their fourth ECW Tag Team championship from the highflying duo. A rematch was set on an ECW tour of Japan. The match took place on December 13, 1998 in Tokyo Japan at Korakuen Hall, a site of many of Sabu's matches in the past. In the first and only international title change of the tag team titles, Sabu & RVD regained the ECW Tag Team Titles from The Dudleys.

The Triple Threat main enemies were Taz, Sabu and RVD. RVD claimed his TV Title was more important to Shane Douglas' ECW World Title. Taz wanted to get all the members of The Triple Threat in the ring at one time. The only way he could do it was to team with his most hated rivals, Sabu & RVD. On November 1, 1998, at November to Remember on PPV, the six-man tag match was the main event of the show. Sabu, RVD and Taz emerged victorious. Bam Bam Bigelow soon left ECW for WCW due to problems with laying out this match, among other things.

Taz appeared at a Hardcore TV taping in Queens, NY demeaning Shane Douglas' ECW Title. Douglas was on the shelf for many months, but was never stripped of the belt. Taz created the F*ck The World (FTW) Title and claimed that was the only real world title in ECW. However, the belt was never recognized as an official title by ECW, but that never stopped it from being defended. On December 19, 1998 at the ECW Arena, a 3 Way Dance for the FTW Title was set up between Taz, Justin Credible and Sabu, reigniting the Sabu-Taz war. Sabu won the title when Taz knocked him out, but then Taz put an unconscious Sabu on him to let Sabu win the title.

Sabu was put on the shelf after this match, but his presence would soon be felt. The main event of the Guilty As Charged PPV was Taz finally challenging Shane Douglas for the ECW World Title in Florida. During the match, Sabu made his return and attacked both men. After leaving his mark, he left and the match continued and Taz finally became the ECW World Champion.

At the beginning of 1999, RVD had the TV Title, Sabu had the FTW Title and both guys were the tag champs. They defended their titles against the "Hardcore, Chair Swinging Freaks" Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney on January 16, 1999 at House Party. Sabu & RVD retained their titles against the hardcore duo, a match overshadowed by the return to ECW of The Public Enemy.

The next ECW Arena event didn't take place until March 13, 1999. Sabu & RVD were in the main event, defending their titles in a 3 Way Dance. Their opponents were The Dudleys and Tommy Dreamer & Shane Douglas, who had turned face in January. The Dudleys were the first team gone and Sabu & RVD eliminated Douglas & Dreamer to win the match.

Even though Taz was the ECW World champion, he was looking to retire the FTW Title, which was still held by Sabu. They had a match for the FTW Title on March 21, 1999 in Asbury Park, NJ in the main event. Taz won the match by knockout and finally retired the FTW Title for good.

Sabu still had the tag team titles...right? On April 17, 1999, ECW TV champ RVD defended the ECW Tag Team Titles against D-Von Dudley. The match aired on Hardcore TV and was taped on April 17, 1999 in Buffalo, NY, the site of RVD winning the TV Title a year earlier. D-Von, with a lot of help from Buh Buh Ray Dudley, defeated RVD to win the tag titles for The Dudleys.

While feuding with all other teams, heels and faces, as the tag team champs, Sabu & RVD eventually made a full face turn and were very over with the fans. RVD was the cool TV champion while Sabu was putting his body on the line every night to pop the crowd. Another team had rose on the scene, and that was The Impact Players, which was comprised of Lance Storm & Justin Credible. On June 26, 1999, at Hostile City Showdown, The Impact Players joined forces to take on the unlikely team of Sabu & Jerry Lynn in the main event. Lynn had been feuding with RVD and came close on several occasions to dethrone RVD, so Sabu teamed with Lynn to piss RVD off. The match was a Death Match, which saw Storm get the pin on Lynn for the win.

This led to a feud between Sabu and Justin Credible. By this time, ECW saw Sabu as a veteran that needed to put over the younger talent in ECW to keep ECW afloat. Paul Heyman looked to use Justin Credible as a cornerstone of the company, and would do that at Sabu's expense. ECW did an angle where Sabu was banned from competition in the United States and could not get his hands on Credible, who had antagonized Sabu over this. They did this most of the summer of 1999. They did this angle on all house shows, and eventually saw Sabu find a loophole and wrestle Credible.

Sabu was officially reinstated in time to face Credible at Anarchy Rulz PPV in Villa Park, IL on September 19, 1999. Credible got one of the biggest wins of his career when he defeated the hardcore icon, live on PPV.

Sabu and RVD still bickered with one another to see who was the better wrestler. They had a rematch from WrestlePalooza in 1998 at the ECW Arena on October 23, 1999. Just like WrestlePalooza, this match ended in another draw. The match also marked Sabu's final ECW Arena match while under contract to ECW. The bickering didn't end there as they would have a rubber match of sorts later on. In between, Chris Candido & Tammy Lynn Stych returned to ECW after leaving due to personal problems. In a match with really no hype to it, they battled each other in ECW's signature event, November to Remember. The event aired on PPV on November 7, 1999 in Buffalo, NY. Sabu made Candido tap out to the Camel Clutch.

Sabu and RVD had yet another match against each other on January 9, 2000 at the Guilty As Charged PPV. RVD finally got a win over his tag team partner and left Birmingham, AL as the champ, continuing his streak of almost two years as the champion.

Sabu's tenure in ECW officially came to an end soon after. He had a contract dispute with Paul Heyman and no-showed some events. He did return to a house show for one more match. When he arrived the following day for the ECW Arena show, Heyman informed Sabu that he would be doing the job to Super Crazy. Sabu was infuriated and walked out on the company for the last time.

Sabu was now back to where he started: on the indy scene. In one of his first matches on the indy scene since leaving ECW, Sabu made his debut for Fat Frank's Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). On April 7, 2000, he defeated Low Ki and Billy Reil in a 3 Way Dance.

As an "F" You to ECW, Sabu began to work for ECW's west coast competitor, Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW). Porn bigwig Rob Black ran XPW. XPW mass produced DVD's quicker than ECW did because XPW had more money than ECW. On April 28, 2000, Sabu debuted for XPW in Venutra, CA, defeating another former ECW talent and Tag Team champion, John Kronus.

The following night in Bakersfield, CA, at an event called And Then There Were Four, XPW held a tournament to crown a new Heavyweight champion. The previous champion, Chris Candido, had just signed a contract with WCW so he had to vacate the title. In the one-night tournament, Sabu defeated John Kronus, "The Real Deal" Damien Steele and The Messiah to win the vacant belt.

Another big indy Sabu was competing for was Border City Wrestling (BCW), which is run by NWA: Total Non-stop Action (TNA) manager Scott D'Amore. On May 17, 2000, Sabu beat D'Amore to win the BCW Can Am Title in London, Ontario, Canada. Sabu had a lengthy reign, but didn't defend it much. He was finally stripped on March 7, 2001.

Chris Candido returned from his short tenure in WCW to reclaim the title he never lost, the XPW Title. On May 26, 2000 in Los Angeles, Candido challenged Sabu for the title, which saw Sabu retain it. The following night in Bakersfield, CA, Sabu once again defended the title, this time in a 3 Way Dance against Candido and The Messiah, the man he defeated in the finals to win the title. Sabu was once again victorious. Then, on May 28 in Ventura, CA, Sabu and The Messiah met in their first one-on-one encounter since the tournament. Sabu yet again retained.

Sabu was a fighting champion and XPW felt the need to bring out other hardcore icons to see if they could take down Sabu. On June 17, 2000, in Los Angeles, XPW brought in the legendary Abdullah the Butcher to take on Sabu for his XPW Title. Sabu defeated the hardcore legend in a bloody battle.

Sabu's Japanese and ECW rivalry then spilled into XPW. XPW brought in another hardcore legend, Terry Funk. They two had a match on July 22, 2000 in Los Angeles. Sabu retained the title over the former ECW & NWA World champion. His defenses in XPW continued as he defended the XPW Title on November 11, 2000 against John Kronus and the late "Big" Dick Dudley in Los Angeles. And guess what? Sabu won again.

Sabu had never been about winning titles, but kept doing it. He thought he needed to add another title to his repertoire. So he challenged NWA World champion "The Colorado Kid" Mike Rapada on November 14, 2000. The match took place in Tampa, FL and Sabu made history by winning the NWA World Title. Four nights later, Sabu returned to JAPW for their Third Anniversary show. In the main event, Sabu defeated Axl Rotten in a match that saw interference from Ian Rotten and "The Pit Bull" Gary Wolfe.

Ian Rotten runs Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South, which runs shows in Indiana and Kentucky. The company has seen it start out as a hardcore fed, but in time, has evolved into a mix of hardcore and great wrestling action. Sabu made his debut for IWA Mid-South on December 16, 2000, gaining a win over Dino Bambino.

Sabu's NWA Title reign came to an end on December 22, 2000. He had a rematch against Mike Rapada in Nashville, TN and Rapada regained the title. Sabu ended 2000 losing a title and began 2001 defending another. On January 13, 2001, at XPW's first show of 2001, he defeated The Messiah in the main event in Los Angeles to retina the title. The coming months saw Sabu defend and retain the title against the likes of Supreme, "Vicious" Vic Grimes, Kid Koas, Juventud Guerrera, and The Messiah.

On May 26, 2001, Sabu no-showed an XPW Title Defense at Redemption in Los Angeles. He was booked to defend the title against his main rival, The Messiah. However, Sabu did not make it. Instead, New Jack defended the title for Sabu. The Messiah finally won the XPW Title.

BCW had booked a match between Scott D'Amore and former WWE World Tag Team champion, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Unfortunately, "The Anvil" no-showed the event. The promotion scrambled to find a suitable replacement. They brought back Sabu to take part in the match and defeat D'Amore handily.

Sabu made his return to XPW on July 7, 2001 in Los Angeles. He got a chance to regain the belt he never lost. The Messiah didn't just have Sabu to worry about as Vampiro was also booked in the match. The Messiah overcame the odds and defeated Vampiro and Sabu to retain in this 3 Way Dance.

By this time, WWE was the only game in town. ECW had filed for bankruptcy and WCW was sold to Vince McMahon. Fans needed an alternative to WWE, and John Collins was the man to do it. Or so he told the wrestlers. John Collins set up a monster show to take place on August 11, 2001 at Viking Hall, formerly the ECW Arena. He booked every free agent in wrestling not binded to WWE to compete in this super show. The name of the company was Main Event Championship Wrestling (MECW). The promotion booked such names as New Jack, Chris Chetti, Danny Doring, Buff Bagwell, Steve Corino, the late Curt Hennig, America's Most Wanted "Wildcat" Chris Harris, The Public Enemy, Simon Diamond, Mike Rotundo, The Sandman, and Sabu. This was going to give fans an alternative to WWE. On it's debut show, in the main event, Sabu defeated The Sandman in a Ladder Match to become the first and only MECW Alternative champion. After all the pomp and circumstances, MECW was nothing but a wet fart. Collins ended up with run-ins with the law, which is another story for another time.

Sabu's tenure in XPW was coming to an end. With not much left to accomplish in the promotion, XPW and Sabu were looking to part ways. On August 25, 2001, XPW set up a Loser-Leaves-XPW Match in Los Angeles. Sabu teamed up with his mouthpiece, Josh Lazie, to take on Johnny Webb and XPW head honcho Rob Black. Black & Webb forced Sabu's other extreme career to come to an end.

Sabu made a return to FMW in Japan, just before they ceased operations. He was booked to compete in FMW/WEW's Tag Team Title Tournament on December 21, 2001. Those titles were once known as the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Titles. Sabu was paired up with Yoshito Sasaki. In the first round, they defeated Biomaster DNA & Super Leather. They fell to Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Mr. Gannosuke, who would go on to win the tournament, in the second round. The titles were later vacated and Sabu had a chance to win them again. He teamed with the former titleholder, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, to face Hiromichi "Kodo" Fuyuki and The Sandman for the vacant titles in Osaka, Japan at Hirakata Park on February 2, 2002. Fuyuki and The Sandman won the titles.

Jac Sabboth, a New York promoter, once ran a pretty good fed in New York City and some shows in New Jersey called Impact Championship Wrestling (ICW). Despite the cancelled shows and many restarts, the action they provided were great and brought in talent that no other indy company could present. They ran their First Anniversary show on January 26, 2002 at the famed Elks Lodge in Queens, NY. To make the show special, Sabboth booked Sabu to come in and face main eventer Low Ki. It was their first match against each other since Sabu's JAPW debut. The match ended in a wild no-contest.

In another attempt to give fans an alternative to WWE, Andrew McMannus put together a promotion called the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA). He ran shows outside of the United States, with the exception of one live PPV in Las Vegas. He brought together major names, including Lex Luger, Bret Hart and Sting, to work the tours. It never intended to get ahead of WWE, just give us another form of wrestling to watch. They held a live PPV on February 24, 2002 in Las Vegas called The Revolution. In a Hardcore Match, Sabu was reunited with Bill Alfonso and he defeated Devon Storm.

WWA held another tour in Australia in April 2002. They taped another PPV event called The Eruption, which was taped in Melbourne. Some of the wrestlers involved on this show included Scott Steiner, Sid, Nathan Jones, AJ Styles, and Jerry Lynn. Sabu and Devon Storm had a rematch from the previous PPV, this time it was a Steel Cage Match. Sabu once again got the duke.

An event was put together to reunite some of ECW's elite in one show. It had been over a year since ECW went out of business and No Holds Barred was looking to put together a reunion show. The main event was a 3 Way Dance, involving Jerry Lynn, Shane Douglas and Sabu. The winner would win a replica ECW World Title. Sabu won the match.

In BCW, Scott D'Amore was involved in a feud with Cyrus and Terry Taylor. D'Amore needed a partner capable of taking on the challenge of the BCW Tag Team champions, so he brought back Sabu. On March 12, 2002, in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada, D'Amore & Sabu defeated Cyrus & Taylor in a non-title match. In a rematch that took place on May 2, 2002, Taylor & Cyrus retained the titles over D'Amore & Sabu by DQ to keep their titles.

In another tribute to ECW, Michigan Championship Wrestling (MCW) booked a huge 4 Way Dance for their May 5, 2002 event. Sabu, staying close to home, was involved in the main event. It was Sabu taking on The Sandman, Chris Candido and Balls Mahoney. The Sandman got the win over his former ECW adversaries.

Pro Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), under Jasmin St. Claire & The Blue Meanie, began operations on February 15, 2002, bringing big time wrestling back to Viking Hall, formerly the ECW Arena. They held their second event on May 18, 2002. At the event entitled 3 Men and A Bodybag, the main event was a Triple Threat Bodybag Match involving Sabu, The Sandman and New Jack. New Jack was the first man eliminated, but Sabu and The Sandman battled to a no-contest.

Meanwhile, back in BCW, D'Amore & Sabu's war with Cyrus & Taylor intensified. This time, Cyrus & Taylor added former TNA X-Division champion Chris Sabin to their team while D'Amore & Sabu recruited Simon Diamond. The 6 Man Tag Team Match took place on June 13, 2002 in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada. Taylor, Sabin & Cyrus won the match when Simon Diamond turned on Sabu & D'Amore.

Bill Alfonso turned on Sabu in 3PW while former ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon turned on his longtime friend, The Sandman. This set up a tag team match at 3PW A War Renewed in Philadelphia. Sabu & Tod Gordon defeated Fonzie & The Sandman. The following month, on July 14, EPIC Pro Wrestling, a promotion run on the West Coast, booked a dream match as Sabu went one-on-one with "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. Sabu got the win against one of the best wrestlers in the world.

In another attempt to create an alternative to WWE wrestling, Jerry & Jeff Jarrett put together NWA:TNA. The promotion began shows June 2002 and ran shows in Nashville, TN. Sabu made his in-ring debut for the PPV only promotion on July 17, 2002, the fifth episode. He defeated the late Malice in a Ladder Match. The following week, Sabu had a chance to regain the NWA World Title when he took on Ken Shamrock in another Ladder Match. Shamrock retained the title.

Hoping to gain a measure of revenge on Simon Diamond for turning on him at a previous BCW event, Sabu was looking to inflict pain and teach Simon a lesson. On August 15, 2002, they had their grudge match in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada. Sabu won the match and avenged the heel turn by Simon Diamond.

3PW was becoming a big player in Philadelphia wrestling and were bringing in a lot of marquee names. On September 21, 2002, they held an event called This Ones For You. One of the matches booked on the show was the legendary Abdullah the Butcher squared off against former WCW Tag Team champion and booker Kevin Sullivan. The match ended in a no-contest when Sabu attacked The Butcher and Sabu's opponent later that night, Syxx-Pac, made the save. In the main event, Syxx-Pac, formerly X-Pac and The 1-2-3 Kid in WWE, defeated Sabu after delivering an X-Factor from the top rope through a table.

Another company was making waves in Florida by bringing in some top talent from not just here in the United States but in Japan as well. It was run by Court Bauer and was called Major League Wrestling (MLW). They ran their first set of shows in the northeast. They ran their first show on June 16, 2002 at Viking Hall. Sabu made his MLW on the second event on September 26, 2002 in New York City at The Manhattan Center. In a #1 Contender's Match, Sabu lost to Taiyo Kea.

Sabu would occasionally continue to compete in BCW. He was brought in more as an attraction, just like other promotions were using him as. He returned to BCW on October 10, 2002 in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada. He faced off against Chris Sabin, the man brought in by Cyrus & Terry Taylor as their tag partner in the feud against D'Amore & Sabu. Sabu got the win over the very talented Chris Sabin.

3PW held a memorial show in honor of Ted Petty aka "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. The organized a show that took place on October 19, 2002 called A Night for the Flyboy. In the main event, Sabu challenged 3PW champion "The Pit Bull" Gary Wolfe in a Table Match. In a match that would make Rocco Rock proud, Sabu put Wolfe through a table to win the 3PW Title.

One of the premier indy feds in the northeast, USA Pro, puts together some of the best, but long, shows. Over the years, they have brought in numerous main eventers to work their shows. Run by Frank Goodman, USA Pro wanted to make their Eight Anniversary Show in Queens, NY a special event, so a match was booked between long time adversaries Sabu and The Sandman in a TLC Match for the vacant USA Pro Title on November 22, 2002. In the main event, Sabu captured the title, adding to his championship resume.

In his first defense of the 3PW Title, Sabu was pitted in a rematch against a man that held a victory over him in 3PW: Syxx-Pac. At Return of the Dream on November 23, 2002, Sabu defended and retained the 3PW Title in the main event against the former WWE Tag Team champion.

Andrew McMannus organized yet another WWA tour in late November-early December. On December 6, 2002, WWA taped Retribution, which would air on PPV February 9, 2003. The event was taped in Glasgow, Scotland. Some of the athletes competing on the event included Konnan, Buff Bagwell, Norman Smiley, Swinger, Jeff Jarrett, Nathan Jones, Lex Luger, and Sting. The main event was a 3 Way Dance involving Sabu, Perry Saturn and Simon Diamond. Sabu won the match.

MLW put on another mega show called King of Kings on December 20, 2002 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Their shows were becoming few and far between. Some of the results of the show saw Fuego Guerrera (The Amazing Red under a mask) defeat Super Crazy and Christopher Daniels in a Triple Threat, CW Anderson & Simon Diamond defeating The SAT, Mike Awesome defeating Jerry Lynn, and Steve Corino beating "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk in a Triple Threat. Sabu competed on the show and defeated La Parka, who is now known as LA Park in TNA.

Sabu made another defense of the 3PW Title on December 28, 2002 at Year End Mayhem in Philadelphia. This time, he defended, in a rematch, against the former champion, Gary Wolfe. Wolfe regained the title from Sabu.

It took several months before Sabu made his first defense of the USA Pro title. His first defense was made on January 17, 2003 at A Wrestling Odyssey in Queens, NY. It was an unsuccessful defense as he lost the title to the former ECW Tag Team champion, Balls Mahoney.

The following day was a heart-broken day for Sabu. On January 18, 2003, the legendary hardcore wrestler, "The Sheik" Ed Farhat, passed away. Sabu looked to his uncle for guidance on some many occasions and respected all of his uncle's decisions. The Sheik's passing was considered a big deal as ESPN even covered his death. He died in Williamston, Michigan due to heart failure.

Being a true warrior, Sabu didn't miss a step. He competed the day after his uncle passed in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). He made Kendo Ka Shin submit to his dreaded Camel Clutch, a move used often by The Sheik.

Sabu's rivalry with Terry Funk took place all over the world, in FMW in Japan, ECW and XPW. A new chapter was to be added in their famous war in 3PW. 3PW booked Sabu vs. Terry Funk at their First Anniversary Show on February 15, 2003. Terry Funk got the better of Sabu in a battle of hardcore icons.

Sabu had been working on and off for Carlos Colon's World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico. He traveled there for shows in March 2003. On March 15, 2003, he challenged WWC Universal champion Carly Colon for his title in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Sabu won the title from the future Carlito Caribbean Cool. He returned to WWC for action on April 20, 2002 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where he once again did battle with Abdullah the Butcher. The two unpredictable wrestlers forced the match to be rendered a no-contest. He would go on to lose the WWC Universal Title back to Carly Colon on May 31, 2003 in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

MLW ran their first show of 2003 on May 9 in Orlando, FL. Some of the results of that show saw Paul London defeat Jerry Lynn, Homicide defeat Christopher Daniels, Raven defeat CM Punk, and Terry Funk defeat Steve Corino. Sabu and La Parka faced off in a rematch of the last show, this time in a Mexican Massacre Match. La Parka was right at home in this match and won it.

WWA ran their final three shows in May 2003. On May 21, in Sydney, Australia at a house show, Sabu defeated Joe E. Legend. On May 23, in Melbourne, Australia, Shane Douglas upended Sabu. Then, on the final night of a PPV taping called The Reckoning on May 25, 2003, WWA held their final event in Auckland, New Zealand. The show would air on June 3, 2003. Some of the big names appearing on the show included Rick Steiner, Konnan, Jerry Lynn, Bret Hart, Shane Douglas, Jeff Jarrett, and Sting. Sabu was scheduled to face Shane Douglas, but Douglas was injured in his previous match against Sabu, so Douglas chose Joe E. Legend as his replacement. Sabu got the win, but was attacked by Douglas after the match.

MLW returned to hold another big show on June 20, 2003. The first one took place on June 20, 2003 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL called Hybrid Hell. Sabu faced off against Mikey Whipwreck, who antagonized Sabu by wearing a La Parka costume. Sabu took out his frustrations on Mikey and got the win. Other matches on the show saw Homicide defeat Michael Shane, Kenzo Suzuki defeat Norman Smiley, CW Anderson & Simon Diamond retaining their tag titles over "Dr. Death" Steve Williams & D'Lo Brown, and Terry Funk defeating Steve Corino in a Barbed Wire Match.

MLW returned the following month on July 27, 2003 with Rise of the Renegades in Orlando, FL. Mikey Whipwreck and Sabu had a rematch, this time with a different ending. The Sinister Minister, Mikey's manager, threw a fireball in Sabu's eyes, causing him to lose the match. Other matches on the show saw Homicide defeat Jerry Lynn, Simon Diamond defeat The Sandman, Terry Funk defeat Abdullah The Butcher, and Steve Corino defeat Mike Awesome.

To MLW's credit, they ran pretty good shows and were putting on regular, monthly events. The next one was on August 22, 2003 at Summer Apocalypse. In a Spike Match, Sabu defeated Christopher Daniels. Their next big event was on September 19, 2003. It was War Games and it featured The Funkin' Army taking on The Extreme Horsemen. The Funkin' Army comprised of Terry Funk, Sabu, Steve Williams, and The Sandman. The Extreme Horsemen were made up of Steve Corino, Simon Diamond, CW Anderson, Justin Credible, and former NWA World champion Barry Windham. The Funkin' Army got the win.

Sabu made his return to USA Pro on September 26, 2003 in Queens, NY. The show was Extreme Resurrection. With an ECW theme to it, the main event was booked to be WWE Superstar Al Snow taking on his old nemesis, Sabu. In a match that spilled in to the crowd and every else in the building, Snow emerged from the wreckage that was the match as the winner and the fans were treated to a fun and spectacular match.

Sabu returned to Japan in October 2003, debuting for Michinoku Pro. From October 4-19, Michinoku Pro held their Tag League. Sabu was paired up with MIKAMI in the tag league. On October 4, 2003, MIKAMI & Sabu defeated Kazuya Yuasa & Masashi Ikeda when Sabu used a Lionsault on Ikeda. The following night, Sabu wrestled a singles match, defeating Nobutaka Moribe with his patented Triple Jump Moonsault. Sabu returned to tag competition on October 7, teaming with MIKAMI to defeat Atlantis & Kesen Numa-jiro when Sabu won the match with a Triple Jump Moonsault on Numa-jiro. The following night, in a non-league match, Sabu teamed with former Kai En Tai member Dick Togo to beat Hayate & Masashi Ikeda when Sabu once again used the Triple Jump Moonsault for the win. October 10 is when MIKAMI & Sabu finally lose their first match, being defeated by Tarzan Boy & Macho Pump when Sabu was DQed. On October 11, Sabu remained undfeated in singles on the tour when he beat Masashi Ikeda. Continuing his singles undefeated streak, Sabu made Nobutaka Moribe submit to the Camel Clutch on October 12. The following night, Sabu beat Kesen Numa-jiro. He returned to league competition on October 14 when Hayate & Komachi battled Sabu & MIKAMI to a double count-out. Then, Masao Orihara & Macho Pump fell to Sabu & MIKAMI on October 16 when Sabu pinned Pump. MIKAMI & Sabu suffered their first pinfall defeat of the league on October 17 when Dick Togo & Masao Orihara defeated them after a Senton Bomb by Togo on MIKAMI. In their final match as a team on the league, Sabu & MIKAMI beat Tarzan Boy & Nobutaka Moribe after using a chair on Moribe. Sabu closed the tour on the final night, defeating Kazuya Yuasa in the main event when Sabu used a Triple Jump Guillotine Drop to win the match.

Sabu returned Stateside on November 22, 2003, at 3PW's Raven's Rules. He was involved in a Triple Threat TLC Match also involving Raven and The Sandman. The 3PW was vacant and winner took all. Raven, as the Commissioner, got the win and was the new 3PW champion. At the next 3PW event called United We Stand, Divided We Brawl, Sabu faced and defeated Jerry Lynn.

MLW tried one final relaunch in early 2004. At MLW Reloaded Night #1, Sabu competed on the show, teaming with Steve Corino to lose to Vampiro & Rave in a Lethal Lottery Tag Match in which the wrestlers were randomly partnered up. MLW ran another show the next night, without Sabu, and it turned out to be their final show before ceasing operations.

3PW's first show of 2004 took place on January 24, 2004 at Got Head. The main event saw Al Snow make his 3PW debut, taking on his long-time rival, Sabu. Sabu got the win and revenge on Snow for winning their USA Pro match that past November. After the hard-fought match, Al Snow put over Sabu on the mic and thanked Sabu for all the years they worked with each other. Breaking character, Sabu grabbed the mic and said "Thank you" to Snow.

Sabu had a busy month of February as he was getting booked all over the place. His first stop was to return to BCW on February 8, 2004. He teamed with his TNA rival, Raven, to defeat Shane Douglas & Dyson Pryce. Sabu then made a return to IWA Mid-South on February 13 to take on JC Bailey and Nate Webb in a Triple Threat, which was won by Sabu. The following night, USA Pro held The Valentine's Day Massacre in Bethpage, NY. Sabu requested he team with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka at the event, once he found out Snuka was on it. It was the first time they ever teamed up and were successful defeating Mexico's Most Wanted, who were Damien 666 & Halloween. 3PW then held their Second Anniversary Show on February 21, 2004 in Philly. Sabu was involved in another 3 Way Dance, this time taking on current Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) Tag Team champion Joey Matthews and Jerry Lynn. Sabu ended up putting Lynn through a table and Matthews threw a chair at Sabu's head. Matthews then snuck on top of an unconscious Lynn to secure the win and the #1 Conterndership. Sabu ended the month of February by making his return to TNA as a mystery partner of Raven, helping in Raven's war against The Gathering, which was Raven's former henchmen Julio Dinero & CM Punk. Raven & Sabu won the match.

Raven came out on TNA's PPV on March 3 and demanded a NWA World Title shot. Instead, he gets jumped by the former NWA World Tag Team champions, The Naturals. Sabu ran in and made the save. Four nights later, the now defunct Zero-One promotion in Japan held a PPV shown in Japan only called Hustle II. On the show, Sabu was booked in a 6 Man Tag Match, teaming with Justin Credible and The Gladiator aka Mike Awesome and the trio lost to Masato Tanaka, Kinataro Kanemura and Tetsuhiro Kuroda.

Another major indy fed in Philadelphia is John Zandig's Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Sabu made his debut for CZW on March 27, 2004. However, CZW is the only indy fed to hold shows overseas, so Sabu was brought in during their tour of Italy. At Aftershock in Parma, Italy, the main event was a No DQ 6 Man Falls Count Anywhere Match. Sabu teamed with his XPW nemesis The Messiah and Adam Flash to face and defeat Ian Knoxx, Wifebeater and Zandig.

TNA was building up to the first ever meeting between Raven and Sabu. Despite their long tenures in ECW, their paths never crossed. Raven would call Sabu out for weeks, sort of like the way Taz did in his pursuit of Sabu in ECW. Sabu would not answer the challenge out of respect for his late uncle, who trained Raven. Raven didn't care and kept pursuing him. Sabu returned to TNA action on March 31, battling Monty Brown to a no-contest. Brown was a man Sabu brought to TNA after watching him compete in Michigan indy feds.

Sabu returned to 3PW on April 17, 2004 for The Future Is Now event in Philly. He went head-to-head with a man he knew very well, Jerry Lynn. Lynn got the big win over Sabu with his trademark Cradle Piledriver. On the 25th of that month, Sabu ventured back to BCW and took on Shane Douglas in Belleville, MI. They battled in a wild main event that was too uncontrollable for the ref, so he rendered the match a no-contest.

CZW held a show called Apocalypse in Philly on May 1, 2004. As the evening progressed, The Messiah & Adam Flash jumped Ian Knoxx backstage and brought him, unwillingly, to the ring. The lights went out and when they came back on, Sabu made his United States CZW debut putting Knoxx through a table with an Arabian Facebuster. Sabu returned later in the night to compete in the main event, which was an Elimination Tables Match. The Messiah, Adam Flash and Sabu took on the team of Nick Gage, Wifebeater and current USA Pro United States champion Trent Acid. It came down to Sabu and Acid and Sabu put Acid away with help from The Messiah.

Another first in Sabu's career was set to take place again, this time in USA Pro. USA Pro had heavily advertised and hyped the first ever meeting between Sabu and "The Notorious 187" Homicide at Deadly Sins. It took place on May 14, 2004 in Queens, NY. In one of many five star matches on that show, they ended up battling each other to a no-contest when Dan Maff, Sonjay Dutt, Boogalou, Eddie Guapo, and Low Ryda all interfered in the match.

Homicide and Sabu had a rematch on June 19, 2004 at Meltdown 2 in Franklin Square, NY. In another fantastic match that showed Sabu could still, Sabu got the win over Homicide this time around. After the match, Homicide and Sabu showed each other some respect by shaking hands. Sabu then hopped in a car and drove to Philadelphia that night to compete at 3PW's Splintered. Sabu faced the challenge of Ruckus, another first time match for Sabu. After a highly competitive match, Sabu finished the night 2-0. A bitter Ruckus then laid out Sabu with a chair attack.

In his TNA war with Raven, Sabu adopted fellow Indian Sonjay Dutt as his mouthpiece. Sonjay had been Sabu's ally in his rivalry with Raven. Sabu and Sonjay started teaming up with each other. On June 30, Sabu teamed with Sonjay Dutt to defeat Team Canada members Bobby Roode and the current TNA X Division champion Petey Willams. The teamed up again two weeks later on July 14, this time losing to Abyss & Alex Shelley. After the match was over, the lights went out and Raven's voice came over the public address system, warning Sabu about what is to come. Two nights later, Sabu made his TNA Impact debut, which airs on Fox Sports Net, defeating Alastair Ralphs.

The fued between Raven and Sabu intensified week after week. On July 21, Abyss got a win over Sabu after Raven interfered by putting Sabu through a table. Two nights later on Impact, Raven wrestled and defeated Kid Romeo. After the match concluded, Sabu brawled with Raven all over the arena. They finally had their first match on August 4, 2004. In a match that opened the TNA PPV, Raven defeated Sabu in a No Holds Barred Match. They were to have a rematch on August 18, 2004 on PPV, but Sabu was pulled from the match due to a serious back injury he had been suffering from.

That was the last time Sabu appeared in a match. He is currently on the shelf with a back injury, which is what he suffered from putting his body on the line over the years. Sabu spent 50 days in a hospital due to his ailment. He is prominently featured on the recently released WWE DVD The Rise and Fall of ECW and is credited with helping change the landscape of professional wrestling. Unfortunately, he needs help paying his medical expenses, so an indy event has been set up to take place on December 12 in Belleville, Michigan. All proceeds will go to Sabu. Scheduled matches include Raven vs. Shane Douglas, AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, America's Most Wanted vs. Team Canada and Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams. Other talent that will be making appearances include The Insane Clown Posse, Jeff Hardy, D'Lo Brown, Monty Brown, Shark Boy, and D-Ray 3000.

A benefit fund has also been set up for those who wish to contribute. A donation may be made via Paypal.com to Gmakpoulos@aol.com or a check or money order may be made out and sent to:

Georgiann Makropoulos
23-44 30th Drive
Astoria, NY 11102-3252
Be sure to mark the donation - SABU FUND – in the memo.

If anyone wishes to get more information about the event or to donate items for the show, email SabuShow@hotmail.com. The organizers of the show wish to make it clear that while we deeply appreciate the outpouring of independent performers willing to donate their time to perform on the show, the card has been booked, and we hope everyone will donate their efforts to help Sabu in other ways.

This DOI Spotlight was written by John Gjoni. To reach him, you can email him at Johnftw7533@aol.com