Wrestling veteran Rhino recently shared some personal insights into the late, legendary Sabu (Terry Brunk), including why the hardcore icon disliked his real name and the touching reason behind his famous silence on the microphone.
Speaking on an AdFreeShows platform, Rhino offered a glimpse into the man behind the “Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal” persona. Rhino recalled Sabu’s aversion to being called Terry Brunk. “Sabu hated his real name, which was crazy,” Rhino stated. “He’d always say, ‘I just want people to call me by my work name. I just don’t like my real name.””
More significantly, Rhino shed light on why Sabu, known for his intense in-ring style rather than promos, rarely spoke. The reason, Sabu told him, was a promise to his mother. “He told me that when he was a kid watching his uncle [The Sheik wrestle]… his mother looked at him… and she goes, ‘If you ever wrestle when you get older, I hope you don’t do that [yelling and screaming on promos] because you’ll embarrass me,'” Rhino explained. “So he said the only reason why he never talked is he didn’t want to embarrass his mom,” Rhino continued, emphasizing it as the “honest-to-God truth.”
Sabu reportedly clarified to Rhino: “‘It’s not that I can’t talk or I don’t want to talk… I don’t want to embarrass my mom.’ That’s what he said.” These anecdotes paint a more personal picture of the enigmatic Sabu.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
