Ep. 420: The TLF Tribute to Sabu (Part 2)

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So we have acquainted ourselves, Boss with the thing Saboo did to become an independent wrestling sensation when the lights wort necessarily brightest and tape trading was in its most fervent. And that's how you found out about the suicidal and homicidal.

Exploits and one half of the Headshrinkers, right, and we started, and we started with the proposition from you that he is a fucking idiot.

Yes, I stand by that, Okay.

I was going to ask after digesting a lot of his early ECW work and its FMW stuff and the stuff he did on that Raw Dark match.

Still U, that's still where we're at. It's gonna take a lot, I think for him to not be an idiot, because I think anyone who's who who, because here's here's the thing, this is, this is where it really comes down.

I've been thinking a lot about this.

Actually, this this has gone through my mind because because I do understand and there there is there is respect. Okay, I don't want people to think that there's not respect for what he did.

It's a matter of perspect According to the RVD program, Yeah, that's very true. That's very true.

I don't know if I would have shaken his hand, but because because I can respect the idea that you're trying to change the game, you're trying to do something different. He's trying to do something that is never been done before. But where he's an idiot. And where I don't think

What makes him an idiot?

I know the question is, well, if if I criticize Saboo and I put him and Terry Funk in the same position, in the same category here, what makes him an idiot and not Terry Funk or a Mick Foley for that matter. Because I'll say this, Terry Funk didn't do this all the time. This wasn't his thing, as we've seen. The evidence is there that he didn't do this kind of shit or this the extreme, the violent, the ECW type stuff his entire career. He did it

Yeah, it's it's interesting because while we've seen that he has fundamentals, I don't think anybody talks about Saboo. If he tries to do what you said he might consider doing, he would have never he would have never been a wrestler anybody talked about.

That's a choice of me.

He chose being talked about.

And maybe that's true, Maybe that is true, But how many people have you know, in a weird way, suffered because of his desire to be memorable.

That's true, that that is something apparently that you can't even if you do think about it, it's not going to stop you. Not these type we're talking about. And the difference with him and Terry Funk and Cactus Jack said he didn't do promos, so the only way he was ever going to get over anywhere is by bringing this to the table. For whoever inked him.

I just think, I mean, and listen, you know what the stuff in the it's really the stuff that goes outside the ring. That is what the end, the barbered wire shit, that is what's alarming. The stuff in like climbing the chair and doing the stuff inside the ring and whatever. It's great and I think, especially at that time.

Watching the show was last time on part one of our tribute to Saboo, like that triple jump Moonsalt was legitimately impressive, like the distance he covered and he almost never fucked it up.

Yeah, it was. It was cool.

It was a cool ass move made only possible by bringing a chair into the ring, you know, Yes, yes, And I think that there's a lot to be set for that, and I think in a weird way that that, to me is more interesting than jumping from the top rope over the guard rail to the floor. Yeah, you know, like using the chair not as necessarily a weapon, but as a device.

To execute a high impact move. You could otherwise exactly that. That to me is what I think to be fascinating. And I I question, I don't know, maybe would would I look at him differently if he did not do the stuff on to the.

Floor the floor, And yeah, that's an interesting point of delineation. The think about Saboo is he innovated so many things that everyone can pick their own and say like that was good, but this was shit and this was shit and that was good, and it's like, yeah, you've got a full grab bag. I mean, there's probably I don't know, if I sat down and thought about it, it's probably fifteen things that he was the first to do in a wrestling ring that we still see echoes of today.

Take your pick.

You know, he doesn't have to have a chair, but the Arabian press, where you know you do the split leg in moon salt off the ropes, the jumping you know, to the top and into the floor with like a summrsault or coming off the top with just a moon salt. We saw how that influenced Terry Funk. We talked on the Laps of Funk about him moonsalting ont A no Way, and Smoky Mountain giving Jim Cornett a fucking heart attack.

And I and I and again I say there is respect. There is respect.

I can definitely say, even watching from you know, learning more about him last week than I ever have in my entire history as a wrestling fan, a lot of respect. Yeah, without a doubt, he's still a fucking idiot. Yeah, you can respect people who are self destructive. It's it's yes, it's extremely possible, Yeah, Saboo, it's It's an interesting legacy, and it's one that I think people until he was gone, didn't really stop to catalog the things that didn't exist

Yeah, well, that's that's true. It's just sometimes, I mean, God, if you're the number one business attraction in the industry for sures running, you're in the Hall of Fame. You know, sure something Sabo could never put in his in his category. But we're about to get into speaking of Austin kind of what Sabu was doing during the Attitude era. Up to this point in our TLF Tribute to Sabu, we've been getting acquainted with the raw material that built the buzz.

It is one of those times you know we've heard you know, I remember we've heard Pritchard say, how how you know when they were when? When when ww was in the dol drums, he would still say, well, it was great for everybody. You know, nWo was great for everybody, But I think I wouldn't. I I agree that the attitude era when everybody was hot and everybody was fucking like wrestling was on a whole different level.

I agree. I can, I can.

I can see how everyone is just trying to soak in so much wrestling at the same time that. I mean, I was in a way, honestly, like I've said a million times, if I was if I had been able to find where E. CW was, I would be a fan. Yep, I would be a fan, I can guarantee you, because because it was that kind of violence that I was hungering for.

Yes, you know, I agree. I agree. It's just old age, I absolutely no. I mean, if you didn't see it, you didn't ride the wave. And so when you know Sabu passes and everybody remember so fondly, you know, staying up to two in the morning watching ECW television. If you weren't doing that, it doesn't resonate in the same way.

Because because then it becomes more like, what is wrong with you? Why do you enjoy watching people kill themselves like this?

Because the thing is those people still look at it and go, that's phony anyway, right, And that's even more phony almost in a way, like these guys are just like purposely doing this to themselves. They're not even trying to make it look like an actual contest, So they're idiots, right again, goes back to idiots, And I think that was so funny that And we've talked so much about what is the psychology at the root of deathmatch wrestling, what is the psychology at the root of the fan

With No, it's it's it's in a way, it's worse. It's definitely it's worse. You know, like people are actually gonna think even you know, it's it's funny, it's a wrestling thing. You want to prove to people that it's real. But then when you get to show them, show them something that that is in many ways has more realism than than w B or WCW, you're even more of a fool for watching people harm themselves for fraudulents.

Right, and like pretending that there's honor in that, you know, right, what all there is in that is just a way to stand out if the big two don't want to employ you, right.

When, and and and and nobody cares. None of your friends care about that.

Yeah, e CW kind of tricked you and I thinking your friends could care. But I had some friends that were sort of like borderline wrestling fans, but I got them involved in e c dub and they kind of they got the whole like, you know, almost like a screaming at a heavy metal concert live show experience that was. That was pretty differentiated going to an ECW live show versus a WWF W CW live show, no comparison, it was. It was much more of like a mosh pit atmosphere and it was just.

Oh, for God's sake, Yeah, everyone was more.

Everyone was a smart ass scream and shit trying to you know, a lot of swearing going on, which was of course hyper cool if you were in your teens, like we were doing the Attitude era, that you could go somewhere and your parents would drop you off and you could scream fuck at the top of your lungs and people would laugh at you instead of seek to have you ejected because their kid is here, right, right,

Eight, ninety eight. She's managing the illegion exactly to me. She's like, not, I'm supposed to be here. It's like a right, it's inappropriate, it's against WWA protocol. She probably was already on the outside. I just didn't know it yet because I think it was the summer of ninety eight. But that's how I found out about that show. They were flying wrestleman Yua fourteen. They were handing out ECW flyers outside of the Fleet Center. But oh shit, yeah,

You know.

Mmm, it's an interesting position for us because having done Barely Legal in the archives, having done Born to Be Wired, the barb Wire match against Cherry Funk, Yes, a lot of the real key flash point like matches you could say were Sabu truly main evented and carried the ship on a big show that everybody remembers, we've already done per happenstance, So right right, it's kind of true we're in this position of having to revisit without fully revisiting.

No, it wasn't that far back, but it was definitely it was one of the uh, I'm gonna say it was like maybe a twelve somewhere around it because it was one of the four shows that we did. We did the first Chairman's Choice where we did you picked that as one of your two shows we picked. We each picked two shows, so four total before we started the Wrestling Your Journey.

Amazing, So we certainly weren't on the mode of you know, doing the full all points, research and everything in terms of background and context. So there's a little bit more to say here. I think we've already established though, this idea that Taz versus Saboo was really like this thing simmering under the surface for over a year in ECW. That clearly was a big match because while they had team together when he was the Taz Maniac, they really never had much of a of a one on one feud.

When you give you word.

It just further added to the feud, even if it was shoot comments, it continued this idea that Sabo that Taz was was taking pot shots at Sabu, and Sabu really wasn't in a position to respond. Although he did respond in the sheets and stuff, he didn't go on television and just throw his whole character away, you know, to start answering in English. You know, he wanted people, he wanted the wrestling fans to believe he didn't speak English basically, like like the icy right, So that really

You know, I remember that, you know, there were people who were you know, I remember feeling that that wrestling fantom was already this brief wrestling fandom, like people acknowledging in high school that they were wrestling fans was about was almost so short lived because of UFC. Yeah, and people were like suddenly like the same people who were And again keep in mind, I still kept my fandoms as close to the chest as.

I possibly could.

I never really let that out in high school, even when there were people who were who were going nuts for it, and but I remember thinking, Wow, God, that was fast. They're already onto this other thing. Jesus Christ, what's going on?

Absolutely yeah, and that that ended up coming to Fruition in two thousand and five, taking so many racing fans away. But you know, the thing was UFC's competitor, main competitor at the time was Extreme Fighting. It was called Extreme something or other. So you could see where a lot

So we.

Were getting there and we're getting to barely legal, and we'll talk about it, of course, But if you're on talk about the history of Taz and Saboo, you of course have to go back to the beginning of Extreme Championship Wrestling, because Taz was really one of the first guys that Paul Hayman brought over there, one of the New York guys along with Dreamer and stuff. Whereas Sandman and and Saboo to some degree were more like the

And I comment, I'll have to go back to time a little bit, and I want to I want to put Saboo over Big Gear because you talk about that. He was like an internet dolling kind of before there was internet. Uh, I'm telling you right now, bro. In the early nine is Shaboo was red hot and Hayment, Paul Hayman called me. I didn't really know Paul that well. I might have met him one one time before and he called me up and he said, have you ever

Do you know who he is?

I go, I don't know him personally, I said, but I was recently on a show at him in Minneapolis. Uh, and I met him and I said, the guy's fucking fantastic. He goes, well, I need to put him over and I can guarantee you one date that date and if it goes well, we'll see what happens. I said, I don't give a fuck. I'll put him over, no problem. That guy's great. And then you know, Shabou was like he was like throughout the independent circuit before it was

A lot of people saying similar things about sab But he sounds so weird. Really, yeah, you don't think he sounded like that. He doesn't sound like Taz it sounds.

He sounds. I don't know, he sounds.

That's Taz at home, you know, I guess I guess that's what it is. Tazit home in his in his skin, not trying to do that, Taz in Red Hook. He probably lives in Westchester County now, I'm sure he does. Like his son plays lacrosse and lives up on a fucking hill. You know that, you know, fucking you know, gated community. Can you imagine the vest in the fall, the Patagonia vests.

I mean, I imagine every fucking function that he wears. He's got a vest, all right. He kind of remember one time he wore.

A Polo vest On Dynamite because they were outside during COVID and Jacksonville and I was like, that's that's definitely Taz. On the weekend going to the sports fields.

Oh, I mean, that's like he decided that that was gonna be his things, the vest and so he everywhere he goes, if he's out of the house, he's got some sort of vest on. Even if it's a fucking you know, like hoodie vest whatever, he's got the vest. He's got a vested interest in himself.

It is pretty funny the New York parents that don't know he was a wrestler. You know, Oh the is no Miss Pete, you know.

Oh my god, you know that there are that there are a slew of neighbors that he has who really have no fucking clue that he that he was a wrestler.

They have no idea. They just think he's some nice guy you.

Know who you know, or a little television it's a little loud when you know, something happens on the on the on the soccer field or something. You know, like, I don't want my kid yelling at the umps. That's the last thing I want to teach him to do. But there comes a point where you know, you got to call balls that strikes correctly, not for nothing, not for anything. It's exactly correct. Real think Taz talks shit about youth sports referees. Give me God, I cost you the game.

Can you imagine after the game, like he's out having like he invites some of the parents over, you know, some of the families over to have like a you know, a little cookout. After some of the games, he is

Be careful or Tas might join the board.

Okay. Can you imagine just imagine imagine Taz like on on any kind of of of you know, youth athletic boards.

Oh, recite him on the agenda? Are the minutes? Are there any any suggestions before we finalize some minutes.

Also just also picture him. Okay again, he's wearing a vest with a with a with a with a closed collared shirt with no neck. All right, his head goes directly to shirt and then vest. Okay, it's like a fucking it's like a uh, we love it. It's like it's like, what do you call you know, some kind of god. I can't I can't think of what you call the thing. I don't know what you're talking about, Like some kind of like a a platform you rest

What tas show were they talking about? They talked about him being on the Youth Sports Board. Oh yeah, SAB Tribute Part two.

So you know, he he comes in he you know, whenever he had whenever he has a meeting, he like he like brings a bunch of fucking sandwiches, you know, cold cut sandwiches to everybody. You know, brings a whole fucking platter from some some Italian deli.

Because that's the thing. You know, he's kind of a nice guy, right, exactly what I mean. It's there, It's definitely there. He don't fuck with him. But he's very happy to be a bad guy. But like he's kind of a nice guy. He's almost he doesn't like that he's a nice guy. It makes him uncomfortable, but he can't help himself. But he but he knows, he knows, he knows that he needs to hide as much as he can. He's resting background. Okay, so if that means

Just imagine, you know, like you know, like in in No Mercy, how you lock in the TAS mission and U and one of the arms is like flailing. Let's imagine you know, a youth a youth sports league referee just getting TAS missions.

Hey, Blue, bad call Blue.

Speaking of Blue, Let's go to Eastern Championship Wrestling from October fifth, nineteen ninety three. You have that link there, boss uh, I probably will here in a moment the chat as the kids say, there we go. So this is going to be a Milaune of the different video sources. Unfortunately, everything can't just be in one convenient place, So this one's available on YouTube if you'd like to check it out, refer to here in the the YouTube titling is Sabo

I'm next d CW. Saboo screaming, Oh he has a fucking hannibal.

He doesn't a handle left. Look your mask.

There's tasmaniac looking like friend Minstone. Look he really is, look at look at that? Look at the stands he has like this the space between his legs. Taz is backing up the ring announcer. Okay, they just unchained Saboo and he's hit the ring and he it's a spinning heel kick to the back of Kazi. You know that could have been a little more impactful after coming in like that. I mean he like Bailey barely tapped him on the back of the head outside him with the

If you're keeping score at home, we have self sacrifice here. From commercial break, here we go in the crowd. He talked on that that Conrad show about how he remembers this so much because they just had no no, no, no restrictions and they just started using the whole building and everything they'd get their hands on.

I can't see him.

They weren't quite said a camera shoot perspective to follow these guys.

It's not for everyone.

It's not even.

It's not for everyone. It's not for the camera men.

Say that again, Paul. Wow, they're battling back to ringside with tables in their hands. Sabo jumps in the ring. Taz follows after him that hair is inappropriate, Huntaz, Yeah, oh yeah, that was quite a look for him. Then it's supposed to be some like jungle creature, you know, and like the road warrior animal face painting there spinning heelkick puts Tas on the floor. Saboo goes to suicide dives, but tas Maniac ducks out of the way, so Sabu follows up with the slingshot somersalt.

Jesus, he covered ground. Oh Jesus, look at look at look at all the ship on the floor. Taz his bare feet on the floor. Oh, glass metal just south phillies, refuse, We've been there. What he knows that you know that smell like you know, the smell of beer, soda and other sugar, Huggies beverages, Oh, and Huggies. Taz is stored chair after chair on a Sablue's head.

What what what? I never understood what the tasmaniac gimmick like?

Where? Obviously I assume it came from the Tasmanian devil, that's right, But I don't understand why.

Oh ship with an Arabian press to the floor almost came up short see.

See it's that it's that kind of stuff like there was no there was no thought beforehand, which I I I want to appreciate in some level. But at the same time, you could kill like you're gonna kill yourself. Obviously he didn't. But you know, that's the thing that's Sablu story. You're gonna kill yourself And then he never did, right, I know, And there so there's something to be said

I do think tomorrow I watch of him back in the ring high German holy almost style.

Yeah.

Yeah, when I watched off Sabo, the more I think he was actually good at making it look like he was out of control more than he was in terms of flying. Yeah, Elta belly overhead by the Tasmania float over lateral prescotts too. It is still superlexing. Film composer Hans Zimmer is your referee tonight.

That's John Finnegan.

I believe.

He was the inhuman suplex machine back then.

Oh, I see.

Driving from the tough streets of Red Hook, those bright, those bright red scars still on Sabo's arm on the fm W days as we talked about last time back up in the Irish Whip.

Now Tasmaniac shoots off Sabo, Taz bring me that stout offense. This is stout dude.

As we talk about the event, he later on would actually bust Saboo's jaw with one of those clothes lines to the height of their feud.

Yeah, he is a little teapot that Taz short and Stout down on the concrete writhing. Now is Saboo.

So clutching that ankle from the wave impress to the floor that came up a bit short. The shin bone appeared to be smacked across the top of Taz's head. Now Taz is loading a table into the ring. I can't forget the contact. Sabo was the only guy in the business using tables this way at the time. That's that came to see this. It's funny to b c W. This is before every match was no DQ. They keep talking about how there's been a decision to make this

Yet, honestly, I would imagine that that's kind of what we're looking at here in a way, because it's you know, because uh Sab was in the company from such an early before you.

Taz pops sella Delli overhead and they fall down on the crumpled table. Has just going off trying to take the table apart. That's what you gotta do, man, when something doesn't go right.

Yeah. Yeah, the drop taz Is thighs are just.

Unbelievable, the outside and the lakedrop and landed on the bust of tables moving out of the way. The short, massive thighs of Taz. You know, he's like a king of squats. Look at the feet, Look at his feet, his feeling they're dirty. Yeah, I have no problem with it. Sure, Psycho, Taz is biting, sapping now back flips and clips him in the corner with a hard clothesline. I don't know what.

Back then, still in red, white and blue ropes, and e c W by the way, Yeah, it's sounds like he hit like a bunch of plastic bins. Seated on the top of his Taz saboo up after room for the superhero Kinana another move that he was, oh, didn't want to launch.

He don't know what to think about that.

He's acting like he countered it.

Maybe Sabo was just supposed to Yeah, crash and burn was supposed to stay seated, Taz back up top doing this forward roll splash.

Nobody home the way Taz is like when he has his his feet like his knees bent and his like legs are spread wide open.

It's just it's very uncomfortable.

Yeah, he's he's quite a he's quite a sight when he splayed out like that.

Yeah, he's. It's it's very weird. Knee on the face cover to win.

Wow, again, that's the sab that's the moon saw the Terry Funk's watching. Yeah, that's like he fucking would he stern championship like before the Well, I guess it wasn't him. The last n was r VD last time, but he he landed with his knee on the face that looked like yeah, so this was the debut. Listen to how Polly, I'm gonna rewind on your hair. You can stop your sounds.

A new force.

He stern Championship, Rusty, we have met the most animalistic wrestler in the history.

Of this sport.

We have met.

That's Polly and full salesman right there.

He sounds weird too. Everyone sounds weird?

Is it me?

Yeah?

An the probably oh yes. And then after the match he gets the table in the ring, no opponent and just moon salts through it.

Wow, idiot.

Speech. I cannot believe this chat pool was.

I wonder if he started if he did that because the table spot failed, because later he would just do that all the time. But if this is his e c W debut, maybe it's just he did that because in the first match the table spot didn't work out. And so I'll make this my signature the case, I put myself to a table after my match because you used to do that all the time. That plays intending a psychopath.

Do it again? The table he said he was climbing again with people pleading with him about an idiot to your point, Yeah, it's just not necessary, pal, And he goes, here's noise to Listen to his noise at the end. Listen, Well, uh, Doc, it'll it'll surprise you to learn that the broken leg did not come from something I did to my opponent. You see, after my matches are done, what I tend to do his throw myself with no opponent onto furniture.

Is that okay with you?

But he did?

You know, you've got a crowd there that still doesn't know what ECW is. You've got people watching on tape, and you know, if they were able to find this on syndicated television and the limited RECCW had in nineteen ninety three, mostly in Sports Channel Philadelphia, that didn't really know what ECW is going to become. And this guy is like he's he's there's nwe NWAECW and then there's Sabu. It's not like Sabu has come to represent what the company is yet you know, right, it's not what Sabu

Uh?

Innovative?

Sabo was nothing if not a patent lawyer. Certainly did a lot of patented things. So true, that is true, But so yeah, it's almost like Saboo is like this part of the show where this crazy shit happens, and the rest of the show was like fucking you know, Jimmy Snooker and Don Morocco and fucking road Warrior Hawk and all these randos.

I know that was the weird, right, I remember, it was like this weird, this this weird concoction of of old timers and newbies.

Absolutely, one of the big breakthrough matches for Saboo was when he teamed it was with it was him and Terry Funk versus Arn Anderson and Bobby Eden. When Arn and Bobby were coming through very quickly in the early days of that ECW WCW cooperation that brought Terry Funk to w CW in nineteen ninety four to a team

Was that?

Oh?

Really yeah?

That Tabo's very first TCW match came came at the at the hands of the Taz Maniac. Tasmaniac and Sabo would go on to be ECW Tag Team champions and one of the bigger star attractions on on on the on the show between that that tag team, as well

You know, I can't be.

I can't be this absolute forced to be reckoned with. So what ends up happening is there's a match where flash Funk the Future flash Funk Kka two Cold Scorpio is having his his final match. If you can pull up Boss via Pecock okay, and you at home can do this as well. The nineteen ninety six ECW November to remember, So this is a year after Saboo returned to the company after having that her fluffle with Paul In over choosing FMW in a bigger payday and a

What's the show again?

This is the November to Remember nineteen ninety six, which I believe in peacock language makes it season three as goofy as that is November to Remember, And we're about to watch the conclusion of a match between two Cold Scorpio and Louis Paccoli, who was somebody that Sabu shared a tour tour swith in Japan, and there was some deal where Taboo did something wrong and Louis Piccoli took the blame for it and got fired, and Sabu felt so bad for him that he made sure to get

Fifty seven.

So for those who don't know this show, it might seem a bit odd that on a Saboo tribute talking about the Taz feud that we would que up a two cold Scorpio versus Louis Piccoli match, but you'll see quite soon why it not only makes sense but actually leads to essentially one of the most iconic moments ever

That's fascinating.

Yeah, it worked beautifully, absolutely beautifully, And if you're ready to breastplay I am I am ready all right, folks, three two one play? Well, yeah, So both guys are leaving the company. I was making an ECW all. The fans knew someone was leaving, so they just leaned into it and made it the story.

You know, they didn't.

Guys who get booed and they chant you sold out at guys, oh big clothesline. They've probably learned that from Paul Haymen screaming about Saboo, you know, not choosing you. It's not like the head of the company I discouraged that kind of a ogie band thinking approp clothesline by Scorpio, who also had some great matches with Saboo and ECW as well. You can imagine how the aerial styles complimented each other.

Now correct me if I'm wrong. Is that referee Dana Ashbrook who played uh Bobby Briggs and Twin Peaks. That's him? Yeah, pretty good, eye perfect, excellent. Yeah.

Spacola the death valley driver, innovator it Spacoli driver, it was called later after he died, and he hits.

It on Scorpio and pins him.

Wow.

Scorpio does the honors for Spacoli. On his way out, he flashed.

Forward Piccoli looking like porky pig, and here goes that you sold out. Shit. Wow, Oh they're chanting on a nauh. Yeah, the fuck out?

Well, you know, come to find out they're working so closely together at this point, Yeah, get the fuck out exactly. They almost don't mind making a production out of a guy leaving to w w F, but they would never do that if a guy.

Was leaving for w c W.

If they would just disappear, someone can run me off. I'm fucking staying. And we know two colds are bad, motherfucker. So who's gonna Who's gonna make too cold leave the ECW arena Because, of course, the bastardized peacock version of Kisses or Machine Taz's signature ECW entrance, which is a great song for him, just perfect. How belle Fonso came in ECW is the one referee that insisted on calling it by the rules, even when he's w want to throw out the rule book.

I love it.

So he became kind of like the coach ref that would officiate matters on behalf of Taz who wanted to go by the book as well in terms of straight wrestling. When he had the towel over his head looking all menacing, looking like that shooter off of nothing on paths shoot.

Puck low drop grip hips rip hop the hips low rip pop rip hips over the top.

Man.

Back then, if you had if someone had to get some business done, you know, some dirty work, it was Taz for the company. His Taz with a tap out singlet. This is the height of his powers right here. Face to face, he goes with Scorpio.

I don't settle my soul with you, not the way I see it. You got two choices, brother.

You can't get you good, he said, Fuck yeah, I get your fuck you see you got that big shirt to show up in New York.

You're going the right.

I need to go do that.

Let me tell you something, task, I'm going two bigger houses.

Yeah, they get the money side.

You all.

They can go palace really think welfare office, Welfare office and called ECW.

So Tash, let me tell you something, Yeah, bigger passes.

Yes, someone screams, bigger assholes. Yeah, big money now for you though, scorp Yeah right, Alfonso talking.

Ship look at him, know they already know there He goes two cold. Scorpio, exiting n c W Ring for the last time, has left alone holding the.

Sticks he'd show up. He showed up at S series a matter of weeks. Get the fuck out of these they love that ship, man w fans, just I love that ship.

Now all some more important things.

Oh god, i've never seen tas so skinny. I want that shot up right now, Start up, motherfucker right now. That would beats Saboo once again. He's calling bo, let's get you on enough can just for a year prigging?

That's cool too. He reminds people to spend.

He gets the sands out here, Come on, Saboo, help me Sa boo, sa boo, sa boom.

I ain't Oh my god, Billa Fonzo with that fucking whistle.

I ain't leaving until he gets his ass out here.

Wait a minute, Bob.

They're announswer Bob Artis Bob, you got somebody say.

Had to move the show along task to a very dangerous area.

I know you for three and a half years.

I have some sort of respect for.

You, so you need to know what you're about to get into.

So what you're about to say, I'll talk.

We have another match we have to start. You're telling me to get out of the ring. That's okay, Bob.

They're good Bob shoved him on his ass. Wown to fucking move.

Take my hostage, bossage.

And shut some mouth.

This's just getting out of an bob.

I'm telling him a muscle.

Wait, be comes Todd Gordon. You see you, Founder Todd Gordon. Oh it's getting real serious here, bubbare Dudley's out as well. Apparently some of the boys are ready to help get Taz out of this ring. But fred Otman, Yeah, it looked like her.

You know the time to go, but this is the time Commissioner Gordon.

Commissioner Gordon. That's funny.

Oh Bell Alfonzo clips it Todd Gordon in the back of the head. Todd goes for Belle. Look at that. Look at the crimp in the night I look look at the grip. Mark's able to escape, but Taz puts the commission to sleep.

We got a tongue out when the goofball.

Alfonso puts the mic and Gordon's face like he's gonna say anything. Yeah, he's none coming.

He is a man of his words, is a man of his ward.

This man I didn't know they edited out all the f bones. Yeah, I didn't know either.

I don't think they did in the network.

I don't know why they would carry on Peacock.

Right, there's plenty of movies with f BOMs all over.

There wearing what is he wearing? Some of the early E c W gear. Look at that the jet black hair.

Oh yeah, Paul now bringing rose dyed hair, Paul bringing.

Bubba Ray Dudley into the ring. Joey Styles talking about the history between Paul Hayman and.

He's never gonna let it happen.

I've heard him say it in the studio.

Joey's tast saying, Paul Haymen said in the studio He's never going to let Saboo versus Tas happens. Let go, Oh PAULI grabs off by the neck, and then Taz sneaks up behind him, and.

As goes for the ride.

Three bone test plex on home. Oh god, no one had attacked Paul before Taz with the test mission on him.

Way, oh, my undertaker, Undertaker, where's.

The gong ready?

Here's the pop?

Yeah? Wow, that's so legendary. Tas rubbing his hands together like that. I still remember that cutaway. There's the legacy.

And they circle.

Look at this.

Savoo points to the ceiling steps forward to the lights go out again. Wow, just as they're about to lock up and touch for the first time, light stay out, He's gone, he'll be gone. You're the lighting lighters trying to see you have no phone cameras now, bullshit, they wanted it so bad for you right there, God, and the ring is empty. And that's that. Wow, what a piece of business that was back then. Man, That's that's it. That's that's pretty wild. Honestly, that's it. That's I I

Oh, that was just an ECW trick that they would pull sometimes.

I don't know.

I guess you're supposed to think that Sabu found a way to have the lights killed. Yeah, they did it all the time.

Then, but then why do it?

Like? But again, then I ask who did it? When they were about to attack each other. I get the idea that you are trying to hold off or you're trying to build suspense and and to make everyone want that even more. But I just it's like, well, I don't know what happened, right, there's a big boss man there too, like lifting up the belt or whatever, lifting up the briefcase and the king of the ring is is he turning off the lights for everybody too? Well?

That was one of the things I don't know when Saba was on the outs with Paul over the Japan thing that he went out in the sheets talking about, like, you know, ECW doesn't treat this thing like a sport, Like everything's an angle, Like there's no match that's about a winter loser. Every match is just an angle to get to the next thing. And you know, and they wouldn't bother with those logic holes, you know, And it's fine,

I get. I'm not even talking about the the the athletic part of it as much as it just I don't know, lights going out. To me, it doesn't work unless you're unless you're, you know, undertaker. Yeah, well that's that's another thing. He gets away with it. But yeah, he's super natural, right exactly.

Yeah, now, man, he's If you watch enough, you'll you'll disabuse yourself quickly of that. Ideo logical. No, I mean, they would just they would do shit that didn't make sense all the time, just if it created an epic moment.

You know.

Sure they would backdoor into stuff and force things in a way.

But yeah, that was that was it.

The first time they were in the ring together since Taz started calling him out. And you can just tell that's money. You can just feel it.

You can tell God you built that up. And so that's gonna be the first ECW pay per view main event.

Now.

One of the things that Sabo has talked about, including the aforementioned conversation he had with Conrad and Taz about the beaver Le legal program, was that while those lights were out, Sabo was making a bee line for the ring and ran into the post in the darkness, knocking the turbine he used to wear off his head and creating a situation where he almost missed the queue by a second, where he wouldn't even have been on the ring when the lights went on, he almost he basically

We all remember.

I mean, I'm trying to remember for you. Did you watch this one as it happened where you like trying to.

Understand isn't isn't this the one too where.

The Road Warriors came back, came back, they returned on the show. Yes, they did that. I remember.

I don't remember much of the ECW stuff, but I do remember the Road Warriors coming back and being fucking thrilled me too.

Yep, I remember that too. I remember being really into the ECW thing because I was really just becoming familiar with what they were about and really being intrigued to see them. So this was a show where I watched excited to see and there's T shirts and ECW hats all over the place, and also Ken Shamrock shows up for the first time. Oh yeah, that's right, audience, that's right, building too. What would be his role as guest ref

I'm ready.

Paul e is in full black leather on on your WWF television s get out of here, and he's, you know, basically worked out a deal for what what amount to free advertising slash angle to promote barely legal on WWF television at a time when WWF is absolutely on its back foot trying to counter the nWo. That's the key thing here. You've got to remember Vince's willing to try anything, yep to stop the momentum of what WCW had with the nWo, including these copycat angles which ECWKND was.

I forget now. Was was there an intention to actually have them do like a full on invasion or was it just these kind of this little like one off thing.

We'll get to it. But yes, it was supposed to build to much more. It's more than it was, and the reason it didn't happen is so symptomatic of why Sabu, no matter what, would never have been able to fit into one of the Big two for very long at any given time. It's not Sabou's fault in particular, but it's the mentality that these ECW guys had to have to be ECW guys that just would not allow them to play ball in the way WWF did business in

Going to get our first pay per view here. And then it took a pause.

You didn't hear from them through the end of ninety six CCW and then come February, all of a sudden, Jerry Lawler's cutting a promo and extremely crappy wrestling and we're doing this all over again.

Yes, so here it is. This is Sabo.

We talked about it, trying to jump off the r on the Raw logo in the isleway and there goes the There goes the plan to get Taz Sabo over to the Monday night Raw audience.

There has this so sucked without a c one. Paul right now, New York.

Wow, I don't remember this at all. I don't, I don't. There's the original task song. This this version on YouTube retain the original audio.

There he is.

I remember him coming out of Romby Like this feels different. So what are these guys allowed in here for you know what I mean, it's dangerous.

I feel like I feel like I might have missed most of this show for some reason, and I only caught the very end left to do this one day. See the big ad right there?

Ye?

Did they even do these graphics?

Like? Yeah? They put those on ya?

Wow.

Yeah, Paul had a lot of leverage to negotiate little touches like that. I mean, the fact that they're at the fucking Manhattan Center is beautiful.

It is Monday night, wall and.

Put on Cherry Lawler. He was the one that invited them. Remember, Yeah, they're on their best behavior tonight.

Huh.

I passed with it. Hey, all sudden the snap there on Blakey rip Wreck Drop Down.

Championship roughly right here? Huh, this is what you're gonna try to sell out a pay per view. This is exactly what we're gonna sell on.

Hey, maybe you'd like to get in the ring.

I'd show him your fine amateur credentials.

So slow he probably buys an ant farm for a second round.

Let me tell you, some colleague guy that he does have some amateur credentials, but it's not necessarily with wrestling.

That is the most her is that right? That go, That is exactly right. The most ridiculous thing I've.

Ever I mean, was the thing they fit the raw logo there, like the raw stand up thing is so stupid.

Why don't you send some of the bands on fire.

Rich Erry Law with the fans on fire with.

A bet repped in barbed wire, because we rather do that enter operage my task, Ima, you don't have called that.

He calls him, mister McMahon. He calls him, mister McMahon. You can come on my TV show if you want, but you have to call me mister McMahon. That's the only he worries about. Only deal point he cares about. Exactly light the building on fire. Here we go, Tiger released task plas, fuck my life. Look at you folded him Undertaker. Let's bring in the fucking oh they really believe the d c W guys right holding the right attention. We do have to push our own storylines and programming,

Was Undertaker fuk was the main event of the show.

Mister, can you please take as much time as you need.

Thank you very much for joining us.

Thank you very much for joining us on Taker.

Mister.

Here we go.

Everyone's standing, they see Saboo is looking around like, what the hell is going on?

We have seen a lot.

Remember they head to have wrestlers hold the R in place. Look there he is watching. Oh my god, tree down and you can't.

Suicidal?

What an embarrassment and can't even over the top. And I'll tell you fucking.

That's some uh.

What do you call it? Some goosebumps there, some uh some national TV uh uh.

Nervousness.

Jesus.

Okay, well, can you explained to me what kind of maneuver that is? Thank you? Provide me with a dictionary of the E c W maneuvers.

Fantastic. It's carrying a cocky.

Cheeriter Mickey, Sorry, beg your party read on your death.

Oh that guy, Oh my god, that guy. You're in the world direction.

I beg dad, take an accept.

It says you need to watch the tape Scruce Ptria, I got a bottle.

Going to be a prize.

I got socks hatter than coming up next arise huge.

That was the legend of doom. Yeah wow, task bounces.

Having thoroughly underwhelmed on a national television That was a disaster.

What a what a?

I mean the moment, like everything was going great until Sabu fucked up and then it's just a disaster.

Hits the nightmare straight down.

And you know, there were a lot of things like when he'd get to raw even in six, like he fuck up like dives and I don't know, I don't.

I remember that for that, I remember that.

Yeah, I don't. I don't. Yeah, I don't know.

It's it was.

It's weird.

I feel like it seems like I don't or note, but it seems like having that much of an audience got to his head. Yeah, and he wasn't able to do what he like, he just couldn't. He couldn't get past it, like his nerves, his nerves took over and he couldn't handle it.

Well.

Something we'll talk about later even is like he was very quick to say I can do it like Sight Unseen without actually gaming it out like he was just so eager to please in a way like that if they came up with the dives, he totally can reach that, I can make that. And then when he gets there, he realizes it's not as easy as he told himself because he was so comfortable being able to deliver on

My you know, to take my.

I mean, but but but but Taz fucks that up.

He yes, the suplex fails to launch my key onto Sabu. But here is a Sabou in his book. I was booked for a run in during the Taz versus Mikey Ripbreck match where I fucking fell. People still bust my balls about that slip as being a major botch to this very day. During the match, I prepared for my aerial jump off the r and the raw logo, three painted wooden letters positioned above the entry away. The plan

I didn't know what the hell was going on. I was like, who are these clowns? I mean, are they supposed to be there. I didn't know that that Taz had cronies. Things didn't go quite as planned. Sabou writes.

What happened was before the show, I checked out the letters by eyeballing where they were positioned. I told the production crew that I would just need a ladder behind the letter R and everything would be just fine. So when that time of the night came for the spot, the ladder was right there waiting for me. Little did I know that it was a cheaply made piece of shit. As I test climbed up the ladder behind the R a little early, I rested my hands on the prop

Yeah, I don't know.

I don't doubt the wind was knocked out of him, but it didn't stop him from It's like he laid in the aisle way.

Right useless, right he didn't. I mean, yeah, he he dove and it looked awful, but he got right up and moved to position like I don't know what. I don't know what else he could have wanted.

So it's so tough about these wrestling books and such a rich thing for Rich Vaine, for us doing the show the way we do it is it's like, fifty percent of the time you read this the way they characterized things, you go watch the tape and it's like, no fucking way, no way, is that what happened?

Think about I mean, you know, Steve Austin is the fucking worst culport of them all, totally, you know, absolutely it's weird, Yes, but I couldn't even breathe, he says. I jogged to jump into the ring, but I was all blowing up and it was a big mess. Taz thought it was the funniest shit in the world. It was shitty, I know, but I tried. So that's that.

So, uh, we get to barely legal now. Of course, having done this already in the archives, what we're gonna do is just look at a highlight portion because it is such a big match in tass career and sure, it does get you know it is about Taz. Yeah, that's true to Uh did I say tax his career?

Sorry?

Fine, But what we'll do is, in addition to watching just a quick highlight of their match to get reacquainted with how it actually played out, We're going to resurface in the form of relapsed, our Barely Legal and our Born to Be Wired coverage as part of the saboot tribute bring it to the top of the feet because we did the especially Barely Legal. We did that show

Yea.

And for whatever reason, Google is not always our friend in terms of like, if you just google Lapsed fan Barely Legal, you won't always get the right episode.

It won't always come up. It's very true, very true.

Someone will post on x like, hey, you guys should do the show. We've already done it. I'm like, oh shit, I'll just find it.

Takes forever when someone when someone tried it's funny because someone said to do the Born to Be Wired and I said, okay, right, and so I went to go Google I said, well, I want to give them the links so they know that we did it and they can go listen to it. And it's like I went Born to be White and and it doesn't come up right well, part two comes up, and I'm like, well, what a part I do? I do laps fan Born to be Wired? You see, To'll be Born be Wired?

Yeah, I don't get it. I don't get white. So even you know, it didn't used to be. Google used to be a lot better about it.

But now so we'll do that. And you know what, and I don't have even necessarily blame Google because I I eventually said, okay, well I'll just go to Spreaker and I'll do the same thing.

It would not come up right away.

I had to go. I had to go and sift through oh you mean surging. Searching within speaker was no better, very bizarre. We have just done too many episodes, you know.

Well, that's that's true.

So this is available on YouTube again, you know, listen, it's our fault. I understand we we were just not good enough. This is what happens when you're a college podcast and you're not a professional one.

The spirit of TLFX let me let me yeah, full disclosure. We understand that everything we've ever, we ever have and ever will complain about is our fault. Okay, we absolutely and we move forward from there. And that's and we begin pointing fingers just like every other person walking the face of the earth, those about saying it's our fault. Okay, yes, yes, anyway, so we're gonna watch a quick compendium of the matches.

Here.

Did you get the link? I have a two one play? What what the hell are you doing?

This is?

I don't know. It says nothing to do.

With the match, It's it's like, wow, wow, there it is the big face off Taz in Saboo mid ring, barely legal.

This is in highlight. Film is aired on the future, I think towards the end of the day before I turned sixteen.

Really yeah, They stand there till the crowd reaches the fever. Pitch yep, Taz, motionless, Saboo pacing, Wow, slap across the face of Saboo. The fires back with the right Taz barely budgets smacks him right and here we go like underneath Taz runs, I'm over the close. Did say that fucked him up? Said he was out in his feet for a little while or a little match. Taz would throw that clothes line with.

Little regard.

Sadly with the dropkick kicks out the leg that a work springboard lake Larry had in a seated Taz. What's his arms all taped up?

What's up with that?

I don't know. I don't know.

It's covering some of the old F MW scars, but I don't think it's Wow. Whoa I supposed kick what's Tazz out of.

The front row? Fucking dump dumped them over the great like it was a fucking royal rumble.

Yeah, you can see the bloody nose where sadly got fucked up from that clothesline, sadly.

Not feeding a chair under the ring. Tas is still in the front row. Mister idio, is your idiot? Look at them?

Yep. Just imagine if he slipped.

Lash for he's gonna do it again this during the match triple jump, I think he missed hit the hit the rail. A great job catching that one and then Taz sup like this is him another the front row belly to belly overhead, so much better lit than they did the pay.

Per view from here.

Yep oh, no table was bridged between the apron and the rail. Saboo tried to spin DDT Taz off the apron, throw it, Taz hold on. I remember that spot for some reason. I remember that spot. Yeah, Taz goes crack. Saboo goes crashing through the table, having failed to pull down Taz with him. Well, fonzo, what I level with? Saboo cut up, flash forwards, Taz on the top super her conorando by Sabo snaps him off cover hope see I was going for those covers.

Many legs stream.

They was so novel to see the arena lit like this, Yes, wow, ring with that guiotine like over half the ring.

That's unbelievable. When the head and arm Taz plex dump Sabo on his fucking.

Head, Jesus God Almighty.

Saba tries to stand and collapses. Flash forward, Sabo throws a t bone soup lex Sabage trying to mock the arms folded and didn't wow. Taz is right behind him. They were just that clothesline ducked.

There we go. Now Taz breaks free bell at the bat. Oh nice, Jesus got those.

Guys, man, they did so much for Taz, taking those bumps on their head like that. They made him look like such a killer.

Yep, yep.

Can we just throw that out.

Head t bone score Jesus God, what a mess up? Who is looking at the tagger taste scarred right, a scarred, brutalized man. It has been habited and now.

The limp carcass of Saboo and trapped in the tas mission afraid eye level.

He did possible.

Arm drops once, arm drops twice, had a third time. That's it, that's it. WOS wins in the long awaited Showdown e c w's first pay per view, can.

Home King King kid Hang wow, look at that. Let he know Saboo a schnas on Terry brunk correct.

Nottical personnel hits the ring some one of the ones that came to his knocked out ass when RVD hit him with that split leg, and then after the match, respect rest has his hand.

I'm like unlike r VD.

Right, that's the way it should be, and an embrace barely legally was such a perfect name for this show. Yeah, Proud doesn't like the hug, though they're booing it every day. It's the ringing to Tek Taz from sab In Vandam's face for doing that. Taz holds open van dam but look at that Sabo pops Taz instead.

Eben, Vandam and Sabu form an alliance to stomp Tazz's ass in. The crowd loves that shit. They're like UFC crowds. They don't want the beef to be squashed. You know, he's too good when they hated each other. And damn, look at the cheesus jump down his leg drops. I'm feeling his fucking hips.

He just launched a mister Monday Night character like teasing ECW fans, and he's gonna be the next guy to jump.

And there was negotiations.

Part of the reason he wasn't a more important part of the first pay per view for ECWS because they thought he was leaving.

My god, waunches himself through a table, the Taz on it on the floor.

What the fuck?

Hal fonzas in their face trying to fight him. Oh my god, look at him, takes off his shirt to reveal the Sabo T shirt and Bill Alfonso turned on taz At Barely Legal and joined up with Sabo and now I'll do it for that and now uh Sabu has a mouthpiece finally, finally something yeah to talk for him now that he's sent to the turned heel on sab pardon me on ye. That was a big show, big occasion for them.

Now.

Sure coming off of that, we saw flash Funk, didn't we We saw, yes, the guy who was about to go over to New York to become flash Funk. Little did he know that he wasn't leaving ECW behind by due to an interest in continuing this whole thing through potentially Summer Slam In nineteen ninety seven, the ECW guys would return to Raw just around the time. This is

Of course, you know they're going to we got a segment, Pal, we're glad to help. But we're glad.

I'm glad and give you a little bit of airtime, no doubt about it. But we can't just have your take over you knowing, what does that do for our talent? You know here, I'm doing you a favor, but what are you doing for me exactly?

You know what, Pal, You're not gonna get anything. And that's eventually what this would come to. So this is like the second bite at this Apple where instead of it being another ECW takeover Raw, they didn't angle where like Lawler went face to face with Sanman. I remember they did like a debate and they had like a big WWF podium in the ring, and Paul Hayman and Jerry Lawler had a debate.

What do we do a debate? Right? What do we have a debate?

Gimmick? Just what we're missing a debate?

I think we have two men in the middle of the ring, and they can they can, they can bring forth facts and things of that nature, and I believe that would be that would suffice and allow the different sides of the of the argument to allow uh, you know, a a a determining situation.

Determining situation, right, not a predetermining situation that would be very against character. But now instead of you know, a takeover raw, they get one segment on raw. And you can bet that there's a ton of negotiation about who these ECW guys are going to wrestle, and God forbid if their ECW guys are going to be allowed to go over WWF talent. This is now starting to become difficult, and uh Saboo found himself caught in all this.

I so remember this.

I remember thinking that Saba was Actually, I don't.

I just don't think that, you know, in in the realm of the w WEE, I just don't think that we can put somebody over Flash Funk.

At this time.

He's too important to the company. Power, he's you know, we're he's he's on his way. You know, we're we're talking a big push megapus. Flash in the Pan here world, no, no, no, no, Flash in the Funk Pan, all right. You know we're talking mainstream, all right. You know, I believe that we have a future world champion. We're talking about, you know, uh, Flash Funk versus Brett Hart WRESTLINGNY of Fourteen's you.

Said Flash in the Funk Pan, right, I think that should be a shirt.

That should be a shirt because because he was a Flash in the Pan, he was a Flash in the Funk Pan.

I was so excited. This was summer of ninety seven, June twenty third. I was so excited thinking that, like the ECW guys are going to be on raw like every week, because it's only gotten more desperate as it regards trying to counter WCW. By this point in the summer of ninety seven, they were on their ass.

Oh my god, I was. I was already. It's funny, any I was certainly all about an invasion. I wanted them to have something, but by this point it was the Heart Foundation was already there, and I was all set. I didn't need any ECW bullshit. I was ready for that. I was ready for Steve Austin. I was.

I was.

I couldn't have cared less about ECW.

It's it's interesting because you know, you weren't watching. You weren't reading anything on the internet about wrestling at the.

Time, were you.

No, No, I just had magazines. I didn't I didn't read, I didn't understand. I don't think in I you know, in in the summer of I didn't have email. I didn't have done yeah yet a lot of people didn't. I just had gotten in ninety six. So the reason I ask is because, you know, it's fascinating to me people watching this legendary nineteen ninety seven WWF stuff without the context of them trying desperately to find something that would show signs of life vs. V Nitro's ratings dominance.

Uh.

The Brett Hart thing was in full gear. Steve Austin was was just the greatest thing I'd seen absolutely in wrestling for such a long time. Things were unpredictable that I I've said it before. In my mind, WWE had was now back on top already. I would did no fucking ideas of your personal interest. Yeah, and terms my interest, I was not afraid anymore of WCW of it.

I was, and I and so in my mind the.

Earliest right there, you you saw the sign, you saw the raw material of what would turn the company around. I was just as I was just as entertained by this television as you were. But with this constant overhang of they just can't do anything to put a dent in ww's ratings because I was reading about it every

The you know, the it just everything everything felt so fresh for the first time in in we that you know, between between the fall of ninety six and this point summer of ninety seven, everything just felt so fresh and in a weird way for me, even fresher than the and wo thing like it just everything just felt and maybe because it might have been because I wanted WWW to become like this, to become so much more, you know, to have moments where you know, for example, like what

That would never have happened, but it happened. That's exciting.

Then to have to not have the Royal Rumble winner be in the main event at WrestleManias for the first time, that was exciting. It was like, wait a minute, like things are just I mean, obviously I know now that it was chaos behind the scenes, but it just felt like there was an unpredictability that was driving things and it was it was it was wild and so it was I was yeah, I again, I had no idea about ratings. I had no idea about the numbers or whatever.

Fascinating, and so they must have. So they must be winning the ratings.

If they're if they're better, if they have better television and television that I'm enjoying, they must be winning the ratings.

Yeah, yeah, and it would be it's there.

The pieces are there, they just didn't click yet until Vince got in the ring, you know, yeah, like, oh my god. But fitting squarely into this chaos you just talked about was some of these ECW guys that were invited to Raw this year is June twenty third, nineteen ninety seven. And the guy we just saw exit States left in the ECW arena in November is now in the ring with Saboo on Raw. My god, can't shake these guys.

No.

Three two one play.

So this is called poly dangerously the most suicidal, the most hommic title athlete.

Not just on I don't know if it's a good thing.

Championship, say the Lord of the Hardcore and self taboo.

The Lord of the Hardcore.

All right, Vin says, you will do move Sabo, look at this walk in the Raw ramp. That's I don't

Half hour tops of Raw. So Paul came bearing clips. He's gonna highlight package of doing aerial assaults. Yeah, there it is.

He just called out the first magic in stays and stand corrected Jesus insulting of the crowd, crowds people watching Raw back then, Like what the fuck is this guy? You know what is this ship?

Oh God, that was awful that.

His body's so scarred. This man has paid a price, paid the price. Wow brows channing for Saboo. Yeah, Flash Funk, Flash funk, flash funks partner.

Question watch them like Lariot springboard off a mitter rope from Sabo, spin wheel Kick puts Funk on the floor. These two have worked together extensively, so it's good parents any spot slide kicks Funk in the face.

Yeah, before.

I know, there's the summers dive to the floor.

Wow, it's so funny now knowing that he had done that on a raw dark match already Againstcott Tyler.

Yeah.

The grabbing a table. Here we go table into the ring.

What's going on here? I don't understand tables? Public enemy. It's okay to up in the public are now because there.

W W.

And on.

Table personally guarantee you sab.

From E c W.

Here we are live.

Although in Michigan no less rotating top up splash by Funk.

Thanks Bombay Michigan's Yeah.

Right later on the Undertaker teaming up with the man they called great.

Let's square off again the new Nation of Domination.

Oh a great deal more coming out right now?

See right there, Undertaker Invader teaming up.

Yeah, what's that? No, I don't remember that?

Top up?

Who are a Superana? By Sabo? That was a good one. How's with it?

Man cover by Sabo gets too. He was ready, but they weren't ready for him, No, never, because they had to earn shape like a segment of the show around him and gonna. Neither company was willing.

To do that with a man that he knows will take it to the extreme.

Here's another look at it.

You know Bill Alfano was to referee for you.

For a long time.

We adopted him. Oh yes, that's hilarious. Sab missus a spring board and gets super kicked.

He's very proud of it. Don't you didn't want to drop you?

All right?

Do your do your thing there, flash.

Saboo is the original six nephew man.

Look at that, tries to climb, Saboo tries to climb with him, gets crouched on the top and clothes lined off.

Wow.

Almost like a doomsday device using the ropes. Yeah, sad.

He recovers on the apron Funk ready and Alonso and spring backflip kick, flash funk and martial arts kick and then the Pascado channing c W and Flash Funk doesn't move.

Turn it off.

You want to turn it up, And you're saying, man.

To the extreme.

You're skiing tonight, backing up fellow funds always Flash.

Funk competitor, and you're welcome bringing a fire. Wow, tonight, that was a.

Drop kick right to the knee, right to the by a Saboo.

Good move.

I'll say so far, it's a It's definitely a better performance by Saboo. He's fitting in better than you'd expect.

Yes to the style that slam Funk's gonna do that that backflip leg drop I was God, yeah, just a straight moon Salt starcross the wrist.

Oh my god, look at it. He's like he hit. You can see he's like shaking his wrists to count. Look at Saboo. He got he got hurt over the world. We're bringing out a whole news platform for you tonight.

Do you understand what the world kid for you?

Wow?

Good they are. Make sure you're telling them what you can do for sitting right wh nice. Look at that sab with the sling shot rona. This is this is It's too bad he didn't perform this clean on the fucking the Manhattan Center Show. I know things. Gott the ham with ther W Performers Defense All Entertainment. Saba is on the apron. Here we go, there we go, Simon Salt, what doesn't break? Call for the bell and then he doesn't break? Oh my god, he's gonna do it again.

Oh Ship, he says, I'm gonna do it again. I can kill you.

We don't have pre cut tables like elsewhere, and just climb the brokeret like drop wearing his fucking face the table. I still remember that one in his fucking face.

We're too extreme for Monday nights, I heard us.

But he's gotta go nuts because the table didn't break. So he's in the crowd throwing ship. Vince's pissed. All right, Well now let's let's move on.

Let's move on.

We had other things to worry about here. I don't know I agree to this. I don't agree with this format of entertainment. We will have a more proper entertaining facility within the next five minutes.

Agree with this format of entertainment, so to the book. After the ECW Invasion show in February on Raw, a number of w B stars made appearances in ECW shows. The biggest storyline there became Hayman versus Lawler, but didn't last. Ego clashed about who would win and lose, and backstage agendas didn't drive. In the end, the arrangement between the two companies started to fall apart. Before the w W E ECW relationship dwindled altogether, Jerry Lawler decided to invade.

Oh Cornett, I see Cornett made an appearance.

So it was like a two way invasion that was going on. It wasn't just you know, Saboo and RVD showing up on Raw, but it was Jerry Lawler and Jim Cornette showing up in ECW two. He said, ECW store for extremely crappy wrestling and basically discardcore wrestling, right at their home base. Fans never expected him to show up there, and they practically rioted. They didn't riot, they

Of course they needed that they needed and listen, listen, ECW fans needed to feel relevant.

You know who we saw that with most they needed to feel seen telling Lee was Sid. Remember when we did Sid's ECW run. Yes, Yes, it was like wow. They that was like the prototypical guy they hated in the Big two And when he came to e CW man, they went fucking nuts for him and let him. They went nuts for him, squashing all their guys too, like not even giving anybody a lick of credibility along the way. Fans never expect them to show up there, and they

If that would have been fair, that probably would have gotten my attention totally. That's clearly what they're building here.

Think about that.

Think about the show where you know Brett Wressel's Taker where Austin Wressell's Owen. If they had an ECW verus WWF match the card, yep. The talk was that TMECW would be Tommy Dreamer and Sandman taking on WWF, Jerry Lawler aligning himself with the ECW turncoat Rob Van dam So in this whole thing. Boss Rob van Dam was to literally become mister Monday Night. He was to become a WWF guy Wow. In return, ECW would get plugs

I remember that.

I remember trying to watch it on my computer with real video player and nineteen seven dial up internet.

Wow, I don't remember this at all.

Dog shit was terrible. You could not, at least my internet speed was nowhere close to being able to watch anything more than the frame would change every like seventeen seconds. Okay, one still image and then you'd hear audio, very tiny, distant audio, and then it would change like once.

It was fucking terrible. Yeah, but they were trying.

We were pretty much off of WWF programming, but Paul was still finishing up some of the initial storylines from the invasion angle. It was RVD, myself and Jerry Lawler versus Tommy Dreamer Sandman and Rick Rudn a steel cage.

No, it absolutely was not.

I don't know what the fuck Rick Rudnes steel cage really maybe? I don't think so, though, I'd be a weird thing to put in the book if it didn't happen, because a lot of this is Katy Casanova just adding stuff that the wrestler doesn't even remember. I remember that, but it turned. I got turned onto it. I was like into it, probably because I was because, like I said,

You know how that goes yep, oh, that's dangerous.

So it did under deliver in that regard, even though they went all out and tried to do as many crazy things as they could think of in the match. It doesn't really go down as his matches with Sabo aren't really remembered as particularly legendary because the promise didn't quite meet the moment. They never had a match that was like, you know, beautifully built up with a crescendo.

What were your initial parts of the Saboo when you first started wrestling on the first saw me He's w I.

Still think he's one of the best talents in the business. Yeah, I think he's very misunderstood by people. I think he's a I think he's got a great heart. He's got a heart that again is there's a guy with compassion, great and for for the boys that he's you know that he's into business with uh for the business itself and and he's misunderstood because they think, oh, well, he's a he's a weirdo.

He's this, he's that, He's an innovator.

Yeah, you know, yeah, so.

Much was innovated by Saba.

You know, we never saw this stuff before.

I'm not sure the Mexicans ever saw it. I don't think anybody saw the stuff that he was doing in the ring to start out with. You know, yeah, do you really loved wrestling him too? Yeah, loved to get in the ring with Saba.

Yeah.

One of the favorite people that I like to wrestle with. Really, one of your favorite opponents, yeah, yeah, uh human cactus.

Yeah uh.

They have no concern for They just have concern for the match, not their bodies.

You know, I don't know how smart that is.

You know, every match is if it's their last match. Every match is different too, Yeah, every match is.

I mean, if I got officials every one, last one, that's okay, But yeah, I have a good one next.

One, you know.

Yeah.

So came to have a great degree of respect for Sabo, and you know, would be one of his key advocates in terms of getting the ear of some of the

Yeah, and that was.

Look when I when I brought that tape of November to Remember ninety seven in my friend's house, it was Sabo versus Sandman on that show that I thought, okay, would would make them understand why wrestling what's exciting? Nope, And here's Sandman on the Busted Open radio show talking about the loss of Saboo and just another person saying how much you meant to his career.

You guys know how it is.

It's like you can be friends with somebody in the locker room, but once you start having a program with them, then things change a little bit, and they should change. Either it's gonna go bad. Most of the time it goes really really good. So the more you work with somebody to me, especially, you know, we're not doing like rest and stuff like that. Dude, we're doing Triple Joe mod salts your tables and stuff. You're doing shit that you can get really hurt out there.

Doing sam to me, when when I know I could try to do with.

Anything that we're doing out there that will obviously make me gravitate towards your soul. And I knew that Saboo cared about like he's doing like this this crazy stuff that nobody else is doing, but he certainly knew what he was doing every second out there. The dude never hurt me ever except the first bunchet in any match, I was just a call or nobody was dictating to me. But with me and Saboo, we never had to go

What I mean.

It didn't have to be tackle, dropped down, hip toss, you know what I'm saying. Just go out there and your flow and you feel it. I've only had the same other thing with a Cactus was the only other guy that I felt like that.

I just went to the ring with it.

It was just poetry that it was. It could be that great and that easy. It could be that great and just that freaking easy.

It's it's so much different of going to the ring and knowing that whatever happens, nothing can turn out bad of it. Besides the injuries, you're not getting lost nobody's gonna end up looking stupid. Hey, you guys might know you screwed up, but nobody in that damn morning it's just gonna know you screwed up, and that just gives you more. You're just so confident when you go out there with somebody, Sabo, you just do. I used to tell him all the time, I'm like, dude, let's go

And it's stupid, you know what I mean? But I wanted to say.

Goodbye on text him on his phone because I believe there's an after life after this guys. I really believed they were all going to see each other again in a big steel cage match in the freaking.

Sky, you know, thought Staboo.

I love you, dude, I had so much fun to ring with you.

Thank you for being my friend.

November to remember ninety seven, it is let's revisit the match I thought would make people respect my wrestling fandom.

And did he opposite a lot of November remembers Man, that was a key event for sa.

That was that was the big show, wasn't that I remember? I feel like I remember November, remember Stember whatever the fuck was?

Yeah, it was, it was big.

It ended up being, you know, the day Sabu came back after the fuck Saboo thing. It was the a year later, the night that the lights went out when they came back on. Sabo and Tazz are in the ring, and here it's the night that he has one of his signature matches against the Sandman. Now part of the reason that Sandman might remember, uh and just when you pull it up, boss, it's one thirty forty five on

Laughs it off.

Doesn't deny that he was high all the time during matches, but or at least often enough during matches that it could be any number of ones. But the lizard thing is he told this to James from Niro recently on the Wrestling Shot Interviews YouTube channel. The lizard thing is not him thinking he sees a lizard. Although that's a

You're to go.

It's time for some real violence here three two one play, So come Sandman to the dubbed over Peacock music. Rob Van Dam was already in the ring talking shit. He looks like he's tripping a little bit. Yeah, And Stevie Richards and Saboo in the ring as well with RVD. That was a cool said Man shirt, kind of like a Budweiser. Yeah right, Yeah, he looks like he's seeing things. He looks like he's hallucinating that.

I don't know. I don't think he knows where he is. I think he's a little confused.

One of the guy in the history of the business who's been celebrated for being fucked up while performing. Yeah, because they always said he was. If he wasn't drunk, he just wasn't as good in the ring. That's insane.

I remember that.

Line from Joey Styles. It's encouraged. It's ladder use isn't banned, It's encouraged. The most violent matchup in the history of professional wrestling. Joey Styles just promised.

Visa. Yeah, he's fucked up. Yeah, he doesn't listen. I agree, he's he's wondering what he's doing right now breathing. His breathing is like labored, you know, yes, yes, I think he's about to fall asleep almost, Yes, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, already busted open from the beer cannons. Did you ever hear about this guy back in the day.

The name.

I definitely heard the name. I didn't know much about him. There he's taking his hand, I imagine because of magazines. Again, I was still I wasn't I wasn't buying after mags or even WW magazines, but I was reading them in news stands.

Yeah, I say this every time he watch NCW showing Peacock his entrance just hits totally different if it's not playing METALLICUS ent or Sandman, because everything he's doing is to the rhythms of this song.

He's not doing much, but he's like waiting. He's standing around waiting for the song. He hit an exit light. Whoa, He climbed the ladder at ringside, lifted a beer. Sabo came flying with a suicide dive, knocking him off the ladder, and we're underway. Saba wearing his finest saran wrap. Seriously, you'd think you'd think, though, you know, they would know that enough to like say, all right, let's fucking pay for the music. Yeah, seriously, I mean, I know it's

He tried to load him into the ring. Yeah, sam Man hit his face in the bottom rope.

Yeah.

If all the things that are harmed by losing the licensed music, he CW shows are the number one trouble Trump Moon salt Oh establishing the land on.

Something landed on his knee. He landed on on Sandman's knee.

That's something Test said. And the clip he played he would sell someone else's offenses. He sell his own offense, his impact on himself, Yeah, as hard as he would

Sandman lands an elbow.

Sandman is a He's just like errantly throwing ladders around without any anames while stepping up to Sabo, throwing him out of the ring because they covered the fucking concrete floor this time. Oh used to be covered in brown paper bag.

But I'll take it.

This little tiny ladder he's got. Oh watch this, I remember this.

Ah.

Jesus Christ.

Salmon, with a running start in the ring, leaps over the ropes and launches the ladder like he's spiking a football in the end zone. Almost ends up in the front row, getting Sabo right in the back of the head. Sabo is not even facing him to anticipate them the impact. There are a couple of times, man, like one time in the arena, Sandman cane Saboo so hard across the face it was like it wasn't even on the top of the head, you know what I mean. It's like

I've seen a lot of people like that on the streets at like two in the morning. Well, especially when we went to Philly Romania. Oh god. Yeah. Well the only difference is that normally they would have a steak and cheese in their hand. Yeah, that's one thing. They never went hungry out there. Tables and play. There's one bridge across the apron in the rail one down your Saboo's carcass. It's some of the Arena faithful from the Howard Stern lookalike guy yep, super fan Chris whatever his

Us on the floor by the sand Man. I was gonna sup plex this table. I remember this down onto Sabo's carcass.

Oh my god, he's insane.

Oh table supplex, Yeah, that's what it is.

It's so funny.

Table supplex. Yeah.

I watched this one over and over and over again. It's coming back to me as I watch it. I know what's gonna happen.

Oh don't you love those matches?

Yeah, you forget how much of it, you remember, yep, But I taped the ship out of this one.

Man.

I was so psyched to be able to order an ECW pay per view.

This is a war between two extreme athletes who exemplify ECW.

Okay, Joey, the audio is not really When Samon hit those back elbows, yeah on that table, oh well, Jesus, so that was strange. Sandman put Sabo on a bridge table across the guard grail in Apron, slammed the back of his head on the table so hard the table gave right after Hayman was on ros saying we don't pre cut our tables.

Yeah right, I mean it. That is a clean fucking break.

There, fu fuck him up, Sandman him there's another one that's good. On the bridge table at Sandman is put Sabo on top of I know he's gonna do this front flip from the top.

Oh my god, oh drop, Oh my god. He didn't even fucking I mean he didn't even the table gave no give whatsoever. It might not have even been there, you know, like he just fell right there, tail bone hitting the fucking floor. Jesus Christ, idiot.

And Sabo was draped so far towards the rail that he barely touched his head. He's put himself at the table and he's back up, leaning the busted table against the guardbrail. Somebody brought a bull's eye revert Sandman head over heels into the table.

Who gets thrown upside down into the table.

In the steel, calling over to Phonsie, who's of course accompanying Savou to side. And the show is in Pittsburgh. The main event was Bigelow and uh Shane Douglas. Oh my god, set the fuck down.

It's the chat.

Let's not have good uh slope seating in the building. Also, now the bridge table. Sandman's on top of this one. Look at that table, Hang on for dear life. It is bent like nothing. This is going to be a triple jump splash. I think share fed to Saboo the nineteen ninety seven brown chair.

Oh double jump, leg drop to the table, Oh and hard and with the leg drop.

E c W.

E c W got it all right, fucking Alfonso, stop it. Good luck with that.

Oh e c W.

May not be big enough for both the Sandman and Saboo.

It may not be. My god, it's like, oh my god, he's he is like getting me home. He's so fucked up, I gotta go home. What a mess, I know, what a sloppy mess. Sandman is.

Back in the ring now, brawling style, brawling style injury, especially to his rip.

Listen, he's all about the ribs. I can guarantee you that it would appear that way. Oh my god, he's done.

Stand up.

Saboo tried to Irish whip Sandman in the ropes and he just flailed about.

Up.

What's this thing? Is not fucked up? He's a complete mess, and he's a complete ship show stand up correctly.

He never takes any time off.

Takes the buckle, Saboo to kick the way he fell, he just he fell with no control whatsoever, like you fell out of a building. Yea over by Sabo. Oh, this Sandman was goa left the shoulder still. I bet Sabo was like yelling in his ear, lift your fucking shoulder. Yeah, sad Man's fucking yeah. He looks like someone just took like oxycon. Yeah, he's leaning, he's leaning. Just he's slow, you know, lethargic almost ye. Now, Sabo walks across a

Missed, hung upside down on the ropes and then just fell on the floor. Now its Sabbo is another table set up on the outside in the aisleway. Basically Sandman's on top of it. Sabo's getting in the ring. He's grabbing the ladder and he's gonna what's he gonna do with this thing? Leaned against the ropes on the floor, He's climbing the top. I don't remember this at all.

What does he do?

Oh my god?

What the fuck that was?

So that's him trying to figure out what to do. Well, the plane is in the air, you know what I mean? Yep, he climbed over the ropes, just jumped and pushed the ladder down onto Sandman's Body's just a fucking idiot ride.

Before they certainly, yeah, I'll look at him.

Honestly, he's like more like, put my head in the sand man. Yeah, adding the sandman. That's what he fucking seems like.

You know.

Saboo is being put on top of the table. Look at the legs under that table. So dangerous.

Send that front flips where the industry and why at this point, he has no idea what the he just did.

He's just like.

Perfect, he has no idea what the fuck he just did. It's so true. He's on the ground, like, how did I end up here?

Yeah? Exactly. It's like, you know, he thinks he's at home.

Only they go there, rolled back into the ring, the lifeless corpse Sandman trying to figure out how to work with this fucking dead man, this fucking I mean lawn orner.

I never thought I'd ever feel bad for Sabage.

Triple John Moon saw crush the Sandman on the ladder triple jump Moon so covered by Sabo. Just kidd why dude, just don't kick out? I know, christ, Yeah, this is the match I thought about when Sandman said on the interview that you know, even when we messed up, you didn't know it. It's like, oh, I don't know, man, match job. Look at san Man, look at him. Try to passive breathalyz. Listen.

That is so fucking legit.

Like Sandman takes out one of the lights of Saboo.

A nice of security to set up another table there ringsay, oh no, there's.

A ladder on the mat. It's gonna super fox him onto it. See this is oh fuck my life, idiot, idiot, all of them hang his elbow. I think.

I believe boss it's the TLF tribute to Sabu Or Am I mistaken?

Yeah no, you're not mistaken.

But man, oh, this matchup may wind up being simply a war of attrition, right.

Might it might? I think it is there pal the Joey Joseph Well.

Sandman started the match in a less than conscious state. Yeah, now he's about the jumble ladder in the ring. I remember this one too, Bridge table. Sand Man's trying to figure out what to do with this huge ladder. Turns around, Sabbath throws a mini ladder.

Took the smaller one right in the face.

I should get the styles does radio style commentary, So I'm like going out of my way to describe what's happening, and that's exactly how he used to do it.

Oh no, yeah, oh no, oh no oh no oh no.

Oh no. I don't know what that was supposed to be. My life. I can't even describe that. I can't. Sandman was supposed to do something. He just he just fell like he just kind of toppled over like a child to the bridge ladder that Sad was supposed to use like a seesaw. Look at the cotton Sandman's hand too, That right hand is bleeding, big cover. Sandman is a fucking mess. Okay, he's a mess, just a completely can't even stand up like just a just an idiotic child.

Oh Jesus christis my god?

Why why? Oh?

Sadman grabs Sabo throws him. He can't stand. Oh my god, I can't emphasize enough how limited Sandman's time on his feet is. Oh when he throws a ladder to the floor in a Sabo's head again, Oh my god, get out of the way. People, Get out of the way.

This guy.

You guys need to get out of there for your own safety. He's putting a ladder in the crowd. This guy, this guy will kill you and he won't even know. Okay, put the ladder leaning against the rail in the crowd. Sabu's standing in front of it. He doesn't know what Sandman's gonna do with this thing. Salman runs lap.

Oh my god, what a idiot, What a fucking idiot. Oh, he's like, what happened?

What happened?

I don't know?

You tell me you did it? Crowd's kind. He leaped over the ropes. It tried to gag the ladder down so it would flip over the rail and hit in the head, but it traveled snail's pace. No idea, what a ship show. Absolutely, he's bleeding from the head to he busts his head everywhere.

I mean, he's just a.

I mean, look at him, like how he's gonna go up again? The ladder's on Sabo's stomach. Oh, he just fucking I mean, I guess that was a Swan tong bomb, but it looks like he passed out and he just fell. And you didn't take that Pittsburgh Pirates fan that's got paralyzed falling out of the seats exactly.

Look at him.

Oh he's how was he the one alive? And Sabo's dad, I know, because he lost all that weight outside in ladder is a tire body way Oh my god, on that ladder. He's just one spot at a time, trying to get through this thing, you know, just sitting there thinking about what am I do next? He does it, and then he sits there and what am I next? He's like, I gotta think about what's next. Hold on, I gotta think about the next spot. He's fucked up already.

Yeah, yeah, Bently standing in the corner.

And what what is this? The verse whip?

Sandman hits a buckle, here's their saboo landing on his shoulder and turned into an electric chair drop.

Whatever the fuck that was? I really want to know, Like what Hayman was thinking during this? She just thought that someone tell Sandman to go home.

What's he doing now? With the blood in his shirt and the hip there of his shirt? That table is gonna give buddy, Oh my.

God, look at it.

It's folded like a prinkle. It looks like a brindle. What's he doing? Why is he doing this? This is gonna be bad. He's climbing the mini Ladder's bad. He doesn't know where he is. Oh my god, he's an idiot. He thinks he's in bed right now. He's going to be in the hospital. Bed pretty soon. So he climbed this mini ladder front, flipped off, barely cleared the ropes, banged his head on the Ape Britain on the way down, and put Sabo through the table.

He's so fucking do good do good boo.

Give me the eggy boot, give me the eggy if you're okay, you would. We're providing the soundtrack The Sadman, by the way, I got it, I got it. Ponzi's on the part of the Kendow Stick.

Alfonso has got the Sandman Singapore King.

Yeah great, it's before w W named it, renamed it the Kendow Stick. That's right, it was Singapore game. Remember that American canna.

Say yeah the kid fire throws fire. Wow, nod to his uncle. Didn't hit anybody though. Phonsie in the ring tries to hit Samman with a cane. Sandman cuts him off, grabs him by the hair. Hey you wanted Fonzie to get his There you go, Yeah, there we go. That's fine.

Sab is on top missile drop kick. Did you see that.

Face after hitting the drops not like a real I mean, you know that was a real kick. I think the way is his head jerked to the right when he when he got hit, Oh Man.

Now Sandman's on a bridged table and Sabo's climbing the ropes with the small ladder. Is he gonna do the Arabian face?

Bust Ah.

Just rains down with the ladder, pushing it down on the Sandman through the table. These guys are just throwing themselves at objects.

At this point, the Sandman and Saboo.

This is Sabo without an opponent who can do athletic things, you know, like rob the damn or flash fun or tast some degree.

He's gotta just it's just gonna be destruction.

Essentially Sandman's chest. How many more times are you gonna get up from this position of barely conscious?

I mean, they're not only trying to win this mad Joe, They're trying to one up each other.

They're trying to say who can pull out the craziest stunt.

Yeah, stunt is right.

That sounds like wrestling in nineteen ninety seven to me. All right, Now Sandman's back in the rain, essentially motionless on the canvas. Sabo's climbing with the mini ladder a different.

One this time.

Yeah, this is where he does the Arabian facebuster with the ladder where he tucks it behind his legs.

Yeah.

See, oh.

Cover like Arabian faithbufter with the ladder.

That's it.

What a fucking shit show.

Oh let Lanning hang say.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

It is the tribute to Savo.

It is Oh my god, what a fucking nightmare.

Please so.

Done.

I've never seen someone so high be so low. It's a tribute, bitch.

Look at hell.

He's like, I can finally rest.

It looks like it looks like you got ejected from a car crash. He's laying on this side. It's like you get ejected from a club.

Get some replaceable, Yeah, we'll get some replaced Yeah, get what's what we want for?

To look so much?

Last thing I want to do is replay this ship. Let's do the next one. I just sent it to you.

If you got that, this is a little bit more, but that one's legendary, I think for the Acid Trip and how how fucking crazy that some of that ship ended up being because of how disjointed Sandman was. This is really the one between Saboo and Sandman. This is

After what, oh my god, after that was he high as fuck?

Again?

We're gonna have to pay our closest attention because I've seen people suggest that he was high in either one of these. So whatever Acid Trip match it is, I think it was that one because with this Sandman, having watched a ton of his matches, I've never seen him that lethargic and out to lunch like that.

Physically, it's just a complete like he's a He's just a gargantuan goof. It's like a lost soul, you know, looking for some tethering.

We've totally lost, is exactly it.

It is out there if you can find its Sabuber Sandman Stairway to Hell three to one play.

Okay, I'm ready now.

This apparently was on an ECW home video release because they have Joey Stowers doing stand ups in front of the green screen. Three two one play one of the most.

Violent wars we have ever had here an extreme Chippion Chip wrestling was that, pitting the peer swilling, cigarette smoking, cane swinging san man against the suicidal, homicidal geni sidyl Depth divine maniac Saboo. The problem was coming up with a match up violent enough to satisfy both of these men.

They had used everything to destroy one enough ye ladders still wasn't enough.

But then we devised the stairway to him, a ladder in the center of the ring led to a barbed wire.

Oh my god.

Why so they put hardcore red letters on the apron.

I remember that.

He looks a little better already, a little bit better. Yeah, Like you can actually see like he's not seeing gas. It looks like he's not in like a metal tube, big asked ladder in the middle of the ring. Yeah, that's a big fucking I. The thing is, you know, that's not a WE ladder. It's like a real ladder. Absolutely, there's a big difference.

Yeah, I got it. Yeah.

The world bell sounds stars, the battles Sunman wielding the cane.

He wears them like a bag of bottom.

Yeah, we're in the arena now, not this uh a Pittsburgh a venue man.

Yeah, couldn't agree more.

I think it was Harry Slash is the name of the guy who did a lot of these doub music, including that one, and I think when Saba passed he tweeted some of the effect of it.

I think I've already mentioned this.

Cringing at the thought of all these like highlight packages that are going to be done with the bastardized version of my song. I'm thinking, Yeah, you don't know nothing about the a cappella version, Harry, Yeah, exactly. Welcome tolf experience, welcome both grabbing the latter of kicks out the legs of some men.

Oh and immediately Crowns. See already these guys have it together. They're already striking with more you know, precision.

Yeah, yeah, they Sabo.

Picks up the ladder and throws it in Sandman's faces, wearing it across his back.

And again, Jesus Christ.

He's too made it clear at hardcore at ninety seven, they're out to match up, They're out to eliminade one another.

From the support of professional wrestling. That may just happen tonight.

We may just be witnessing the end of the crib one of these great eastsh up your start.

God willing that aren its side.

A finds a holding a chair. Oh over sand Man's head, saboo of the apron climbs the ropes. No no, no, no, sandwich in Sandman between the ladder and with the legoard. Oh no, I didn go put the ladder on Sandman's face. Climbing the ropes with a chair, sabs gonna do the Rabian facebuster onto the the ladder.

So much deal clanging together, right, there's some that's kind of it, like that's that's the sound of c W.

Right clang yep, and like chipped elbow bones, you know. Oh, like they have like particulate matter floating around in their arms on the hop now to the floor. Sandman kicking on the front row. They got the ol snow heads, they havennekin heads see him everywhere. Yep, yep, got at that game that can already come out. Triple jump saboo chair top rope, front row. Motherfucker, he's dub They're all swinging the heads.

Yeah, both been very swell to.

Get up because wonder the.

Sand Man is even canting.

Yeah, I agree, e c fn W.

Black shirt tucked into jeans, black sneakers and a sweatshirt tied.

Around your waist.

Just a classy look. Ninety seven if I've ever seen it. Ninety eight.

Nineties, Just nineties.

Nineties, there's late nineties. Look at this cluckly fucking freaks.

Oh my god, pumping their fists at their bodies, gonna be ec dove at the guys. Yeah, they're like, there's such a hunger, the hunger in the asleway now and over the rail again to get another tour of the arena the risers. Surprise, those risers never collapsed. That would be such a see. It doesn't look anything like this now.

It's all like the walls are so like finished, this floor shiny like yep, there's comfortable.

Seating, completely renovated. You know, it looks like.

Wall Definitely something I didn't know I wished i'd have done at the time that now I realized I wish I had done. At the time, I had no desire, never thought about it, because when you look at the building, it looks like the last place in the world you want to go to on purpose. Imagine with no air conditioning in August.

Oh, come on, I'm probably miserable. Saba jumping off the stage the bird's nest thing. Just imagine, because like, it's not just the heat, it's not just the heat, it's the smell of a few hundred sweaty men.

Oh all right, and they don't, you know, they're they're young enough that they don't have the hygiene locked in yet, the bo they're not actually not totally on top of it yet, right, Sadman was just put through a table. Saboo jumping off the staging area at the arena with a leg drop. This style match works better than the arena too, because they have a lot more settings to work with, you know. Yeah, yeah, this is definitely not.

The match where he's tripping. No way, he's got his feet under it. Yeah, no question.

Sendan comes back, slam Saboo on the stage, drops an elbow, send.

Me and dragging table around by its hair, sends a pace first and they're still doing rab.

All the heads.

Wow, that thing was a phenomenon for for a little while. Yep, I had one.

There was one of my house. Yeah, I grabbed that I wrote, helped me backwards across the forehead.

Yeah here, I'm here.

You kidding me?

You don't think I've been humbling that to myself. Ever since we decided to do the Saba tribute. All I do is walking around humming that song. It's just like I hummed the TNA held Cogan song in DNA and funk I hummed the w sew thing.

Oh now yep, oh taboo.

Yeah, caught on the arms Sandman as much if he did, it was on the apron the ladder, so fucking bizarre down on a Saboo.

Oh no, now he's got the teeter totter, he's got.

The Oh that time it right in the face. That's what he was trying to do it November to remember. Yeah right, It's just too high to pull it off.

Yeah, yes, Well, because the problem was Sabu wasn't in the audience with the ladder under his face. He was on the other side of the rail, so Sandman had to topple the ladder over and above salmon Sabu's head.

It wasn't under his chin. That's because he was all fucked.

Up the position. He's all fucked up my suplex Sandman, What the fuck is he doing?

The sad man mustling sable the steel guardrail shop places along those turbles.

Here he comes. Oh what a fucking terrible in the concrete. Oh my god, I fucking can't.

I fine, so keeping a safe pistan from the Sandman. Sandman now bridging the guard rail in the ring.

With that table.

Another table bridge. Sabu catching up the Sandman with some right hands. Say, man, Sabu fucked his arm up when that ladder got thrown from the ring into the crowd onto him.

Where are the eyes at.

Just think about it, Think about like your hand, your arm when you hate a funny bone, you know, and you go n and just think about it if there's a crack in your elbow bone because it lands on metal or metal.

Lands on it. Okay, now he's got a bridge with the ladder.

Yeah, this is before people went through ladders, by the way, right before they found a way to make the ladder something you fell through too. Sos across the ladder bridge. Here comes sand Man.

Oh Jesus fucking Christy.

Slingshot leg drop down on a sabo in the ladder. Thing did not budge, No not at all.

This matchup has become a paddle of attrition.

Got much like the last one.

Huh?

I believe the coming back new.

Remains conscious will win the match up.

Well, this one's a little more fair in that regard.

What if you came into it unconscious?

Back in the ring at long last, Sabo have been taking that vicious crushing blow on top of the ladder. Sandman's now brought the jumbo ladder into the ring.

That thing is tall. Think about how many Think about how many cigarettes? Yes, Sandman smokes every time he has a greasy steak. I saw he was hitting the vape vape pen and that busted open thing.

Yeah, oh yeah. The barber is hanging from the ceiling. Pull that down live why why?

Why?

Why?

Oh?

Oh my god, that's the spot I remember, I've never seen that before. The guy's on the ladder, he gets shoved off the ladder, front flips all the.

Way to the floor through tables. I couldn't believe my eyes when that happened. Sandman goes for the ride. Because the industry is about trying to kill yourself. I mean, you tell me who's suicidal, that's correct. Yeah, that's one thing about the Saboo Sandman series. Sandman was the one who took the crazy risks.

Oh grabbed me because because he's so fucking fat, you know, right, Yeah, the they just fucking threw barbed wire into the crowd.

They did, okay, and they were kind enough to hand it back. Jesus.

It's like a roll of barbed wire, like a almost like a perverse door wreath of barbed wire. Sab you sell him the jaw big time. And I'm one of those Is he hurt or is he not? Yep? Yep?

Man?

That was that was insane. I can't believe Sandman got up. I remember that being the finish. That was a crazy bump.

That's that. That was probably one of the sickest bumps because you think he's gonna land of the ropes, you know, right right, wrote first and said he front flips all the way under the righting the tables falls like eight feet more than you expected, I mean, and even and the thing is like you don't see the tables right from the camera angle like he for all you know, he fell up on his back to the floor.

And I was lacing up wire in the corner corner. This is after the Terry funk match.

So this is like extra impass. The worst fucking elbow of ever is going to my life.

Still blutching at his chin and.

Jaw, the sad Man continue on stringing him up like Christmas lights.

Arbire in the corner. Sad was bleeding from the mouth like crazy. Oh, he already had that the story job. Plus he got shot in the face when he was a teenager. Board wore Sabo now catching up, the Sadman crowns him with a chair, that board wire. Before anyone thought about the brain drama, a brain trauma, he's raking the wire he's got on his forehead. Saman just unzipped his head for the industry scissors.

Salmon's come on, get him right, that blade at grids his forehead.

Come on, shakes book digging into Jesus has been ricked one up that wire.

That's great.

It's the wire on his neck, on his neck like a necklace, stomping away a saboo. When body slam him, Yep, tree of woe with the wire on his face.

He picked it up, but his own face of course. Chair in front. Here we go, drop kick coming up off the off another chair seat here we.

Go, Oh, fuck my life.

Why look it's it man. Oh it is Belly hanging out upside down, fucking Abyss.

And I never know when.

When Abyss was hanging up there at that random episode of TNA that I remember, And it's just Belly completely ruined the image of Abyss combat chest first into that barber I heard that had been strung up in the corner. Like, what do you think you know that that's gonna happen? Less you do when you throw yourself into it? Oh can oh, it crowns him, your barbed wire hanging off Sandman's body, off his body, his legs, his chest.

Boos pulled out on the canvas, pour out of his break.

Mess.

The Sandman is held on his feet, his elbow drops look like someone just falling off a curb.

Yeah, Oh, it's just they're just absolute disgrace.

Oh you already did fuck him up. Don't worry about that. That box is checked. The desk now finds I was taping the jaw of jaw and that is just wrapping the athletic tape. He's gonna cut his mouth off.

It was right here at the.

It was right here at the creas now.

They're yeah, playing up the taping himself midnight. She's it's kind of like how he played into the getting knocked out by every d verse wit.

Sandman goes upside down into the corner with the wire on it, just jaw bone sad. He's got tape hanging from his face. Look at him go springboard scars run on his fucking knees, on his knees, he totally missed. Look at the Sandman, Oh my god, look at his head. Look at the state of the shredded like some Romano cheese. What barbire in the neck, top rope, drop of the wires? Sick?

What a business?

Watch this guy's this is real. This guy's really fucking each.

Other up, Like what are you? What are you trying to prove?

I know.

The mutilation they are witnessing.

Now. Sabo is climbing with a chair, just like at November to remember.

Taboo, going up top with the chair.

Arabian facebuster yep across the head, ah the neck of the Serban chefs feels like they're just throwing themselves into war moves.

And look a bit of the barbire hanging off his head.

He looks like a fucking oh Christ Like.

Looks like he's from like in the movie Saw or something crowded with the cane shot. Sandman stumbles down cover Sabo one two three, and that's it, mercifully.

One first ever stir away a helmet.

I'm pretty sure this brought their few to a name with the Singapore I can't even see what the bar line in his head. Look at this guy. Look what a psychopath? Such a mass it's just a psychopath.

Where do they find this fucking guys?

I know, seriously, like what fucking dive bar do they find this clown.

Ship man?

How much hatred much these two?

Yeah, that's the question.

Get themselves to that.

We're getting Sandman's blood on their mannequin heads for.

They all want to there's somebody who has that fucking thing. Oh my god, I still got it. I still got it.

Man Saboo writhing on the canvas.

What have we witnessed here?

Take another look?

Take a look at the Oh yeah yeah, what.

A lake drop by Sabo.

Sabo, the diving off the top stage, putting the Sandman through a table, the Sandman through the d at Saboo.

And they're showing everything.

Huh a Teeter Ttter, and then what do.

You think of Sandman Verusabo Bus?

I mean, it's just grotesque, It's grotesquely violent. There is se Lucky to tell himself the concrete. They all are like, They're like, all it's gonna take is is a piece of barbed wire to slash their jugular and they're dune. It's so true, you know, I don't know if by then they figured out gimmicks wire and stairway, the helmet story, I don't think so.

No, there it is fucking hell Sandman and Sabu.

You know, as my mom would say, if I never see that one of those again, I'm okay.

Okay, Well, Sabba wouldn't be okay. We're just beginning, I know, I know, I know we'll get a long way to go. In regards to that, it's fitting that we saw him tape his jaw in the body of the match. Sabu's selling a broken jaw or a busted jaw would be a motif for him over the course of his career. Here in his book he touches on the jaw break that we've already touched on and we're asked about. So here's the full suite of detail. When this life tanging

I actually saw the leg for a split second before it hit me, when it was only about three or four inches from my face. It was just a blur, just like a spike coming at me in the lower corner of my eye. Oh, I think my brain registered as a threat. It targeted to hit me in the eye, and somehow, in the middle of a fucking moon salt, I had enough time to jerk my face away just enough so that I didn't skewer a cornea. Both rows of my teeth slammed together hard. I had dagged an

Um.

Can you imagine taking a step and feeling your jaw move?

No?

No, it was like marbles. There were all shards of cartilage and bone pieces moving around in there.

I don't want to know what that feels like.

I almost passed out. It was broken into jigsaw pieces on one side under the skin. It hurt so much that a weird self preservation numbness kicked in, and then it didn't hurt anymore. I was not a stranger to that survival numbness. He had been a good friend to me many times in the past. I grabbed a handful of ice out of a beer cooler and took a blood shower. The swelling was down, and after I spat out as much blood as I possibly could without needing

This guy doesn'tely give a shit out how you're doing, wants to know how long you're gonna be out. Let me ask you how How long? Did they say it would be? Not that I'm counting the weeks or anything, but I just wondered, i'll be here tomorrow. You are a sick fuck, he said, smiling. That sounds good to me.

Na, You're not a sick fuck to him, You're just you're doing your job. If I had to guess, I probably severed a nerve in my jaw. Oh my god, that's just gross.

My whole chin and all my teeth are always slightly numb. Now, even today, I really don't have too much feeling anywhere in there anymore, which sucks. But this was also a good thing.

Then.

It allowed me not to feel as much pain throughout the healing process. The next time it happened, yes, a few months later, after most of my jaw had healed up on its own, my mouth came down hard on a guardrail in a match. After the show, I knew something wasn't right. I couldn't bite down. Even closing my mouth after a sip of water bothered me. I had no choice but to break my normal rules on healthcare, I had to go to the hospital to get it

Of my mouth.

Oh fuck me, it looks like there is something in there still. He said, did you remove any table parts when you were playing doctor the first time it broke? I don't think so, I said it that's stupid, Kenny casnoa dialogue. That's of course not doctor. Didn't say that.

I don't think so.

I said it was the leg, not wood. He then started prodding around to the roof of my mouth with a stick and then some kind of metal poker thing. Then we finally figured out it was not a piece of the table or anything from the match. The X rays detected bullet shard. Oh fuck mile, I still had deep embedded shrapnel in there from being shot in the face as a kid from way back in the day. With a needle and thread, he stitched all the pieces of my jaw back together.

After the oral.

Surgeon did everything he could, he grabbed a little piece of paper and read me a prescription for fight fight gon m And with that, huh, give me, give me what this is?

Seven sab in the had an elector mask going to the pharmacy. Apparently, well, look, we talked about it with the ben Wan neck break, in the subsequent warm embrace of prescription pain medicine, and now upon the jaw breaks and all the other things that Sabu was so deeply celebrated for gutting through for saying I'll be back next week for super gluing things cut. We once again have

How many milligrams one of the boys asked when I showed up back in the ECW locker room a few days later. Shoot, I don't know, I said, never being one for pills. Do you get a bulls when you take the no off pools? I asked, never hearing that before. Axel Rotten looked at the bottle and said they were pretty weak. Rest in peace Axel Rotten, By the way, he suggested I'd take two instead of one.

Yes.

That night the pain was unbearable, so I took doctor Rotten's new recommended allocation of a double dose, and it didn't help. The next day, the boys asked me in the locker room how my jaw was feeling, since two pills didn't seem to do anything.

I said, not very well.

Why don't you cry.

Two? And the health.

Axel asked that I did, and that.

Was the magic number. You wouldn't think that half a pill would matter so much. However, after I tried that particular specific dose of pills, I never stopped.

Taking them.

I started taking to the house anytime they started to wear off, and.

Pain was never an issue after that? To me, that pick thumbs up. Hell, it really was fucking magical.

However, after that, I was instantly hooked thoughts am I supposed to be surprised as a price to be paid?

Listen?

Do you think he just bounced back? Did you think he found some potion that allowed him to be this way all these years?

Do you think do you think he took the time to actually get himself put back together properly? No?

Never? What did you do instead? What do you do instead? Listen?

What what's perhaps is to be learned here? This is the wrestling business, and there's only one way to go, and that is the easy way. Okay, gotta keep working well. The easy way is the only way.

By you, boss in your peacock, to please pull up ECW Living Dangerously nineteen and ninety nine.

Living Dangerously Think ninety nine.

Circle back to the feud. We started this episode with our TLF tribute to Taz to Taboo. I'll tell you where we're going, the Taz feud.

There he goes.

After their barely legal collision, they had a series of cross ups, but as we just documented, Sabu kind of bridged off into a multi month feud with Sandman and the series of matches culminating in what we just watched, the Stairway to Hell. By the time nineteen ninety eight rolls around, Taz is already it's now kind of headed towards the championship more than anything else. He's kind of graduating to the very top of the card to be the headliner and the top guy in ECW.

What was Saboo ever the champion?

Well, he won from Shane Douglas. We watched that match last week, way back in ninety three. Everyone forgot about that run because it was kind of truncated exactly. In fact, one of the things Sandman said in the Busted Open interview was, you know, we never our work together was limited because he didn't want to lose the belt. To me, Saba didn't want to lose the belt the Sandman back in those early days. But yes, and then he won it in the Barber match against Terry Funk that was

For those of you. Eighteen twenty one.

You can follow along. Just let me know, okay, okay and play in three two.

One play.

And yes that jaw is teamed World break Out into muhammad a San song pretty sooner. Yeah right. He was the ft W.

Champion at the time of Sabbo of course has introducing that championship. Ft W was his Fuck the World clothing line. I can let you know that I owned it. Orange there we go t shirt.

That's funny. There we go and uh Concord, North Carolina. Yes, we're gonna see a clip Concord.

This is where he broke his jaws with a closed This was a legit jaw injury, unlike the one we just saw against sand Man.

Watch this breaks his jaw with this duck. Oh fuck my life, Sabo.

As a matter of fact, idiot fucking Taz. Taz even uh tours bicep. That's right, he tours on bicep. That's how hard he landed.

What a fucking bunch of morons.

They were working all around the horn. That was like a handcam house show. You could see a fucking basketball hoop in the high school gym. Wow, we're wrestling in So that's why the tape job Sabu wrote f U on the tape were unifying the ft W and world titles. Here Tony Khan would bring back the FTW title when Taz would introduce his on stable in a W That's how much of a fan he was of what Taz was doing back then, and Taz of course still works

He is the man. Yep.

Just think how hot the business was in nineteen ninety nine.

I mean, geez oh god.

I remember this is when ECW came out with or A magazine. They had the Wow World of Wrestling magazine and they had the W magazine, same publisher, same format, same staff, action figures from San Francisco, toy makers, yep, video game coming from Acclaim. All these revenue streams that would not come along fast enough for them to stay above water financially.

That's the truth.

This was the only other time Taz and Sadly met on pay per views. Time for the world title.

Who calls it right down the middle? The manager champions Bill Alfonso Wagon at two hundred and twenty pounds from Bombay Michigan.

He is the current.

That's Bombay Michigan w.

World Heavyweight Champion. He is suicidal. He is homicidal.

He is.

He is you know all these things that the police are never in the in attendance.

What what race was seeking to extinguish. What makes him genocidal as that know, it's.

Weighing at two hundred and forty eight pounds the red Hook section.

Of Brooklyn, New York, the red Hook section.

He is the human sup flex machine.

He is also the current ec W World Heavyweight Champion.

This is.

Okay, calm down.

Whenever these two are in the same ring, it gives me goose boots.

Me too.

That's an extensive amateur restling.

Back to feel that way, and a second case in tutum.

Saboo is absolutely out of his mind and will do anything to destroy Tas and to once again you the heavyweight shamdion of the world.

Has a mic Oh boy, that's gonna be all you see. Your lally waited out in the raid for three hours, three hours.

So I got an idea.

I said, okay, we make this.

Not only are you to five belt match, but an extreme death match falls down and.

The builder right, and they got to finish that requires them to do it on the floor. It's a huge building for them, so much bigger than we're used to.

Saying, yeah, you can tell remember where this was.

Alfonso telling Sabo, don't forget you're only seventy percent sabos in English, get out of.

The way, sab diving on the ankle, Yes, that was that was the key.

Iarity is just as ECW started to figure out bigger buildings, you know, doing actual decent pay per view numbers and stuff. Although they they did exceptionally well considering what could be expected from the beginning on pay per view, Yeah, it started on unravel as soon as they started to click into place the things that are supposed to make you the real money.

Of course, that's how would I expect anything less?

I'd go and talking to this book a lot about how Gunshot Paul always was about straying too far from the East Coast and how he went into you know, other markets like Florida and other states with a lot of apprehension because the costs they had that introduced.

Really what stress on the business model.

It's like these guys feel like they should be expanding, but it's like, no, the the numbers only make sense if we don't leave Philadelphia, you know. Yeah, big right hand Taz now gonna go with the cross faces and that damage jaw Oh nice block by Sabo.

Though, Wow psychology here like that.

I like that.

I appreciate that pulls over it with kind of an arm drag deal Taz with head scissors. Sabu back flips under the ropes looking for the break letter. Prescotts won Tas just said to the crowd, I'm gonna fucking shoot on him. Huh okay, Coler Nobunkas to the waistline, We go up. Okay, I see a different side of Sabo here. Yeah, they crossed faces by Taz. Come on, motherfucker, he says, yes, come on, Motherfucker's.

Nothing fancy about test.

Back up in the.

Irishis for sure, nothing fancy about Taz running boot to the side of the head, the Brooklyn boot as he used to call it.

Task.

He's like, you know, he's one of those guys who's just body is so stiff all the time.

I know.

His disposition was too unloading. There's a loaner on the road, you know he was.

He kind of lived that gimmick. There's the yeah, the slingshot like larriot by Sabou catches Tak coming out of the corner for two.

Out to the april. Now front flip leg dry out those two. Sabo was perfectly happy to land a leg drop cover him for three and get out of here. That's not gonna work. Here comes a chair, No love it.

Jesus has his head setting up the seat. Now he's gonna take off their sab.

There we go. Oh my god, it's like he delayed himself.

It was an aerialist to the floor, goes Taz. Sabu kicks him into the ring. I clipped him, loading him over the rail end of the front row.

I can only mean one thing this is. This isn't gonna be pretty.

Sab in the ring, chair set up triple jump one, two and three. Oh but Jesus Chaz lifted a chair in the audience, catching Sabo on the way down.

Okay, but okay, kid, more of me and that kid than I care to admit. Back in nineteen in the extreme, I mean every single match they brawl in the crowd. I don't know why they had to make the false cunt anywhere stip for this one. I don't remember the finish here, but it must. It must be a pin on the outside, A cameraman holding the camera way above his head, trying to catch anything he can.

Desperation.

Funny see cameraman on camera. Usually I won't see that. I remember going a handful of ECW shows when they spilled over the rail man, it was like it was fucking chaos.

Sure, sure, everything's fucking.

Everyone's pushing, all the cheers are sliding, you know, and here in a pay per view setting, they've got the Atlas security guys carving out like a a save space for him. But when I remember crawl crowd brawls that lie these de W shows, house shows that there was nothing between the.

Fans and the wrestlers.

Yeah, yeah, I still remember from an ECW show. That's when Just Incredible would come to the ring with Jazz. Remembered Jazz from WWF. Oh yes, and she was at the apron.

He was in the ring and someone was, oh, Sado came up with that chair and just cracked Has on the head with it. Uh they were I remember what they were saying. It was like disrespectful towards Jazz. It must have been like a sexor moark or something.

And she had the Singapore cane, which Just Incredible used to being to the ring back there.

Yeah yeah, And this guy was in the front row with.

His hands on the on the steel rail, like gripping the rails. She turned around and smacked his hands with the with the the Singapore cane.

Right, she'd nail it. It's like, oh my god, this she's not fucking around at all. Something pissed her off that he said.

The verse two.

They're up on the rampway, which ECWS to employ for pay per views passing Bigelow once went through the ramp one time, off the chair into the crowd, go saboo off the ramp. So they did pronounce the W. It wasn't just dub yeah, yeah, get a pitfall attempts in the crowd here in the false cut anywhere environment. All of ECW match you should have been false cut anywhere. They all allowed crowd brawling and no countouts ever said they just should have allowed pinfalls anywhere.

From every match too.

I mean, well, I don't know.

Maybe I got back up in the ring.

Army agrees with that. Part of me thinks maybe not.

You like the requirement to get the guy back in the ring. Yeah, I mean there's something to be said for that. To have every match the falls kind of anywhere. I feel like that would lose.

Something. You're probably right.

I think I'm just commenting on how absurd the idea is that they have to add any kind of rule.

There's no rules. Yeah right, I know, I know.

Kicks the knee, the left knee of.

Tax back in the ring. Now Saboo has a table. He's making a bridge with it. That's going to come into play later in a big way. Paz catches up to Saboo on the floor before he can do anything with the table, loads him back.

In a boot right in the face of Tags, calling off with the right hand in the center of the ring of Saboo backing up the champ.

Tazus underneath belly to belly, oh ship half yikes, even killed a camera did you know where near the camera feed? But it fucking killed it.

I remember that being the sickest thing. So Taz did a belly to belly overhead release suplex over the ropes onto a bridge table. The way Saboo landed, he just totally folded in half.

Oh yeah, the legs.

The legs kind of hit the railing and like bounced backwards.

All right.

He says, yeah, let's see a replay that I forgot the whole busted out. The camera feed like that went totally black.

Him. He flair, Oh my god, shout call out w W guys. Never WWF guys though, Yeah right, because.

It's back when Shane Douglas, his whole personality was calling out Rick Flair, calling him Dick Flair and stuff. Actually, no, he's already gone over there.

This is.

No no, I take that back. He didn't go to two thousand. Al fucking Taz.

Was on his way to New York anyway, Yeah, right, fucking ship back home where he belongs.

And getting his hands on Alfonso turned on him. Alfonso is gonna throw in the towel like Arnold skolen Zach counting a falls kind of anywhere match.

I don't know that's a good question ever.

Whatever Alfonso added nine. Sabo prevented Alfonso from throwing in the towel from the ramps. Sabo on show one of the rail. Oh geez, really wide angle shot right here fighting between the rail and the ramp. Or Sabo and Taz.

Oh PHONSI just threw her chair and Taz is after it.

Oh my god, they.

Bleeped that one.

He just had fuck ten seconds ago.

I know he did.

He really did, Like I didn't.

Bother guys, Seriously, someone someone's uh, someone's not on their fucking job here, Taz.

Absolutely, he pronounced that perfectly. Back to mid ring, Saboo drops a leg across the back of Taz's head cover, gets too.

You know, it's kind of funny. Do you think about I don't know how oh Jesus fucking blood coming from under Sabo's lower let. Oh so much instability? How much money was the company?

Like?

Were they doing? Okay?

Now?

Were they sure? Was he paying?

Uh?

Is paying people their salaries?

He's signing the Yeah, he's signing them a big contract to keep them from jumping. Okay, eventually they all miss a payday, they miss a check and get pissed. But it's a cash flow issue. Vince's healthy.

I just always wonder, like, if you've got all these money issues, why are you fucking spending money putting a lettering on the fucking man?

Yeah?

Super Karna by Das gets by, Saboo gets too. Yeah, those things were like, I'm pretty cheap. They would they would always.

Oh wow.

The run attempt in the ring, Taz caught him and sat out with a big power.

Bomb that's called the Brijole bombs.

The thing about pay per view back then is you would have a budget and you would know how many buys you did, but it would take you like six months to get all the money. So it's like you're doing these things like, Okay, we did a prop fitable program, we did a profitable series of angles. This is great, but like the money wouldn't hit the books in a predictable way at all, and sometimes the numbers would change.

It's like, okay, actually that didn't work. It's too late now we already proceeded to say as if it did.

Hyena.

I just heard.

That was a big part of the deal with the the ben want Jericho going over Triple H and Steve Austin in two thousand and one. I remember that whole thing, that there was a by rate that had come in for a Austin and Triple H headline pay per view, probably the innertake of Cane one after WrestleMania. Yes, and it was preliminary, but Vin saw the number. It said,

Wow.

Big move there, table bridge in the corner of the rail. Saboo jumps from the top with a splash, putting tags through the table and gets two on the cement. Here Saboo here living dangerously. They're living, dang boss coming soon. I'm sorry what the year of Living Dangerously coming coming soon. Maybe maybe that's it. That's definitely where poly dangerously got his name from.

That's where from the movie. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, are you serious?

I am?

Wow.

If that's the case, then yes, is there a character in that movie with a brick cell phone.

Back in Saboo with an Arabian facebuster using a chair on Tessa's face covered by Saboo gets to dope.

Outside the ring.

I mean that's the one, right, Okay, Yeah, this is the one that movie is known for. Uh, a woman playing a man like legitimately Tasplex driving It's yeah, Plex gets I mean, that's a weird I guess that makes sense living dangerously and all, but that's it's a weird movie to fucking fancy about that inspire an.

E c W pay per view triple Jump Loon Salt by.

Sabo hit his head on the chair, Holy ship the triple Yump Moon Salt. What are you thinking of this one so far? Head?

Non Tasplex. Look, I'll say this is probably one of the.

The better matches overall that we've seen, not just in not just with Saboo, but in terms of v c W altogether.

Yeah, it's just different. It's it's not a it's not a match you'd replay often. But they had these kind of matches as often as they had the crazy you know weapons bests, triple jump, leg drop by Sabo with a rotation covers, task gets too, not enough, sab on cork and all kinds of aerial offense. Here the DCW title on the line. One more time, Taz and Sabu one on one and.

But you know again, idiot, you're doing this with a fucking broken jaw, dude, and he took.

It's almost like he relished when he got hurt, because that was a chance to create another legendary story about how quickly he came back or how he taped it shut or whatever the fuck he did.

The right hands.

Taz steps up release supplex, I was gonna perch Sabo and launch him from there.

Tazplex right when that one TASPLEXI. He called them all taskboxes. Yeah, metal rope had an arm overhead and the jaw Jesus holding it in place for the industry. Yeah, Caz crawls over ladder press still only gets two.

God Saboo now wrestling on instinct cladding through what must be excruciating pain, shooting through his face, prestling with a fractured jaw, my toy from his mouth.

Indeed just keeps coming. He refuses to be He's got a clucks up from the table.

Oh boy, right hands table set up in the corner, full dousand, No dragon suplex, Oh my god, fold Saboo on his head, no chance to protect his neck. Table bridge from the corner snapped in half. Whine that was a huge Taz Sabo spot. Sabu's dead, He's splayed out one two still kicks out. That's wild.

I think they had done that at the top of the year at the Arena two in it reinjured Sabu's neck when they did that. There's a more famous dragon suplex in a corner table spot that you'll see from the ECW analyst.

And now there it is. Taboo has the towel from Phonsie while Taz locks in the Taz mission. Sabo throws the table away, the sorry, the towel away. Ta's trying to sink the hooks. Sabo's trapped hands up once twice replay barely legal perhaps now this time Sabo keeps the arm up. Taz is leg entwined in the loose fabric of Sabu's pants. But it looks like Sabo's passed out with the bad jaw too, right, Yeah, hand twice, hand three times there it is.

Wow.

Sabu falls to tag in their last big one on one collision in the A C W ring.

But Taz was leaving, wasn't me?

Several months later? I think this was the spring he would leave them in September.

He lost it.

He didn't know yet then, not really. No, I'm sure the gears were somewhat in motion, but.

Sabu did not have to be choked out. Bill Alphonse, who had thrown in the towel, he could have told jimbala O, yes, go ahead, stop.

The match, but he didn't.

Yeah. If I were fucking Bill Alfons, I'll beat the ship out of Sabo for that.

U give me a.

File by life. Look at me, man, look at me. I ain't told you, m.

I didn't.

Right.

I want to shake your hand.

To his jaws broke, Alfonso says, very reminiscent of Sabou forcing himself up to shake fandamn soon after the talk out.

Shake my hand, shake my hand, Sabu.

With a fork in his hand, both men on their knees and the handshake.

Again. Crowd, you c W, crowd didn't want to see them get along, but for the moment, respect on full display.

Anyway, shame me.

Of the world.

If the human supplex machine Taz.

Can wrap it there, for Taz and Saboo, and for the reasons we outlined and that you heard and felt here between Taz and Sabu, a real landmarked feud for the heights CCW was able to reach, even just for

Yeah, the truth. That's a good point.

From WWF and then to TNA and then uh to ae W, where the same Tony Kahan who witnessed Saboo show out against Rob van Dam at the Arena as a teenager now runs the entire second biggest wrestling company in the in the world and was more than happy

Words speaking of amazing.

Earlier this week, we lost one of the most amazing professional wrestlers of his generation, Terry Brunk, known around the world as Saboo, Tenay's competitor inside the ring, A true pioneer of this sport. Saboo turned wrestling on its head, and he did everything on his own term, and in doing so, he influenced generations of professional wrestlers even yet to come, and the legacy that he leaves is never

With Saboo, none other than Taz.

I'm gonna try and do this the past yet, but uh, this guy, he was a machine, you know, he was a machine. His work ethic was off the chalks, his presence was always amazing, his energy was friggin infectious, and when I wrestled him, every time he brought the best out of me.

You know, Saboo was Aura before Aura was Aura before Aura was cool.

That's what this man was.

And behind the curtain, I promise you he was loved by his peers worldwide.

I'm gonna miss your brother, I love.

You, Taz to Sabo.

Yeah, and it wouldn't be much of a transition out of the moment we just watched at the top of nineteen ninety nine for Saboo as he tried to find his way in the the bicameral Wrestling Wars of the late nineties. The attitude era in full swing here, but it didn't find a place for the homicidal and the suicidal one. And it was all do really to the nature of the contracts that Paul Haymond was handing out at DCW, trying to lock up talent so that he

Uh.

Never even thought about his wrestling career as much as he was doing and contributing as something that you got, like, you know, a guaranteed annual income off of never saw anything like the pay structure that World Championship Wrestling in particular was bringing in the late nineteen nineties. Found found a little bit of opening with Kevin Sullivan kind of

Some of the things that PAULI did, I somewhat I can't say condemn him for it, but some of the things he did were.

I wouldn't have done.

I wouldn't have The one thing that I am talking about in particular is the Samboo thing down there, because I talked to Kevin and they had him with a wonderful contract, and then Pollie stepped in. And I'll tell Polly that for his things, tell him that Tomorrow stepped in on it and stopped it, you know.

And I don't.

Maybe feelings were bad, and it was tough in the lawsuits going back and fourth and everything, but I think PAULI should have allowed him to make that move at that.

Time, blocked by Polly.

Quite the move for someone who we heard at the very top of our TLF tribute talk about how Sabu was the one guy who never got the money out of wrestling that he was owed.

Huh, that he deserved? Yeah, and yeah he took pains.

Did Polly in that commentary to say that a lot of that limited opportunity and lack of capitalization of opportunity was due to Sabu's own making. But one wonders if Taboo really had to be prevented from signing with World Championship Wrestling in nineteen ninety nine two thousand. We closed this chapter in our TLF tribute to Sabu with the

Hack and w Steps. My mom went to wwkey.

Ripwreck got a six figure guaranteed contract. W STY you at this time and you can't find a place for Saboo. A few years later, I was called again by WCW during the Monday Night Wars. It seemed that they had changed their minds about me and they were ready to offer me a real contract. Come nineteen ninety nine, I flew up to meet with JJ Dillon and Kevin Sullivan in Atlanta. When I got to the Ramada NN near the airport, someone showed me to the room where Kevin

Wow.

Think about that in two thousand ninety nine. On top of it, that's wild, not counting pay per views and rental cars. This was a game changer, life changing money. It was finally a dream come true deal for me. I wanted to tell my mother about it first, and then fully intended to sign in the morning.

The door opened.

Did you sign it yet, a frantic Kelvin Kevin Sullivan said, entering the room. Yep, I will, I said, I just want to run up by someone first, but I'll have it to you the first thing in the morning. No, no, no, he said, just sign it, sign it now. Kevin rushed back out of the room. The reason I didn't sign it was that I really wanted to read the wording over with my mom, who was good at that. I took the paperwork with me back to my hotel. I called her. I learned she had been having some serious

Too late?

We will be sued for tampering with a contract. I can't have you sign it now, he said, Paul Hayman is threatening contract tampering. He threatened us, and TBS took the offer off the table. Oh, but he breached a contract with me, I said, not believing my ears, he wasn't paying me and broke our contract. I'm sorry, Terry, JJ said, my hands are tied out of everything in my career. My one real regret is not signing that big contract with WCW the moment they put it in

The rest know me.

I didn't know for sure, but I really think it was him. Unfortunately, I never got another contract opportunity like that again. And now, as he wrote this book, probably won't Sabu and the contributions he made through the end of the Attitude era. But it wasn't like he wouldn't get absolutely zero chances with some of the big national wrestling offices, just not at a time when they were