There is a fundraiser going to help Sabu pay to have his left hip repaired. His hip has bothered him over the last few years, but has gotten to the point where he has a pretty bad limp and the pain is making it very difficult to sleep.
Sabu was trained by his uncle, The Sheik, and when he first started out he worked a very technical style. He first went to FMW in Japan in November 1991, teaming with The Sheik in the World’s Strongest Tag-Team tournament. It was in FMW where he started to work a much more extreme style and gain notoriety, not to mention many of his signature scars on his arms and torso. In 1993 he joined ECW where he became one of their biggest stars, and one of the most popular wrestlers in the world amongst hardcore wrestling fans.
Southern California wrestling fans first got to see Sabu in the mid 1990s. An early notable Southern California appearance for Sabu was in September 1995 for AAA when he teamed with Psicosis and Halloween in defeat to Rey Misterio Jr., Damian 666, and Southern California Hall of Famer Cincinnati Red in San Bernardino. However it was in 2000, shortly after leaving ECW as still one of the biggest stars in the company where he’d make his biggest impact in California.
On April 15, 2000 at XPW’s “And Then There Were Four” Shane Douglas was set to face Chris Candido for the XPW title. Several minutes into the match the lights went out, and when they came on Sabu was in the ring. The match became a three way dance and eventually Candido pinned Sabu. I was at this show, and while it was held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and there may have been only about 2,000 people in attendance, the pop for Sabu’s appearance was huge. Shortly after the show, Candido signed with WCW and was stripped of the XPW title and tournament was held in Bakersfield on April 29, 2000, in which Sabu would defeat Messiah in the finals to become the new XPW champion.
His reign brought some credibility to the title and increased exposure. Sabu would hold the XPW title for over a year and actually defended the title outside of Southern California and even outside of the United States. He eventually would lose the title (New Jack defended it for him when Sabu was unable to make the show) and in August 2001 would be on the losing end of a loser leaves XPW match.
Sabu wasn’t gone from Southern California long. In June of 2002 he defeated Jerry Lynn at EPIC’s debut show. He would appear on the next 2 EPIC shows, but the promotion folded before the year’s end.
Sabu would make a few appearances in SoCal over the next few years, including with WWE. In the last few years he has made at least one or more appearances a year for AWS, including on the tribute show for Cincinnati Red, his opponent in one of his first matches in Southern California.
Any donations made to his GoFundMe will be used for Sabu to get his hip repaired which includes pre-op procedures, the surgery, and post-op procedures including physical therapy.
Once all medical procedures are finished, Sabu plans on continuing his wrestling career, though he will not be able to wrestle during the process which will greatly impact his finances.
If you wish to donate to his GoFundMe you can do so here.
