On a recent episode of his “1 Of A Kind” podcast, Rob Van Dam and fellow ECW legend Taz shared heartfelt memories and sought to correct public misinformation following the recent passing of wrestling icon Sabu. The discussion covered inaccuracies regarding Sabu’s personal details, his cause of death, and reflections on his monumental career and persona.
Rob Van Dam took the lead in addressing several factual errors that have been widely circulated. He began by clarifying Sabu’s actual first name and the common misconception about his own middle name. “First off, his name wasn’t Terrance,” RVD stated. “I liken that to the fact that half of the wrestling world believes they know my middle name. They always regurgitate my middle name as Alexander, which it’s not. Wikipedia put it there and I never corrected it. I just didn’t care. Why would I? Now it’s in every article I read, Robert Alexander Szatkowski. Not only that, it’s in some contracts.”
Elaborating on Sabu’s biographical details, RVD continued, “First off, Sabu’s name is Terry. He wasn’t born in New York. He was born in Michigan, just like everybody believed him to be. They said Staten Island, New York, I believe. I hadn’t even realized that I didn’t know everything about it until I talked to his sister.” Van Dam also corrected the record on Sabu’s age and birthdate: “Everybody knows that Sabu died at age 60, right? No, he made it to 61. Every report says he was born December 12, 1964. I don’t know who started that, and everybody regurgitates the same information, when in fact, Sabu’s birthday was December 12, 1963.”
Taz, who recently paid tribute to Sabu on AEW Dynamite, spoke about the unexpected wave of emotion he experienced during the televised segment. “I did it on worldwide TV yesterday. We did a tribute and on camera,” Taz shared. “My game plan was to be hard as nails, tough guy and all this sh*t, and then I just, I don’t know, man. It just happened, and I just got emotional and I was embarrassed. Everyone’s like, ‘No, it’s fine. It’s real’, but still, you want to keep that tough exterior, but I couldn’t.”
Addressing speculation surrounding Sabu’s passing, RVD provided an important clarification regarding the cause of death. “I talked to Paulina (Sabu’s sister) several times a day. I talked to the coroner investigator yesterday,” he explained. “They are not, and have not released the cause of death yet.” This counters some unofficial reports that had cited cardiac arrest.
Both RVD and Taz were unequivocal about Sabu’s place in wrestling history. When asked if Sabu should be in the Hall of Fame, Taz emphatically stated, “I don’t give a sh*t what Hall of Fame it is, any professional wrestling Hall of Fame, that man belongs in it.”
RVD also touched upon Sabu’s past personal struggles and the support system around him, particularly his ex-wife. “I’ve always been in her corner because she was the most patient, and she tried so many times to get Sabu to not go down this destructive partying path that he was on,” RVD revealed. He also recounted a period involving substance use: “I’ll tell you me, Sabu and Louie were all on this kick where we loved those muscle relaxers so much. Louie Spicolli passed away. I was naive to that possibility. I didn’t know that could actually fu**ing happen. I stopped taking them. Sabu did not and that was like ’97 or ’98.”
Reflecting on their time in ECW, Taz offered a candid look at his own past behavior in the locker room, contrasting it with the universal respect RVD and Sabu commanded. “Back then, I handled myself incorrectly in the locker room. I was immature. I took myself too seriously, and I didn’t even think about it,” Taz admitted. “I just felt as I got older, I realized what I did wrong. You and Sabu, you guys walked in the locker room and everyone loved you guys, like everybody. Everybody loved you, like no one ever talked sh*t about you. Everybody loved and respected you guys, and then I came in, and it was like a dark cloud of fu**ing rain, like miserable.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit 1 of a Kind with Rob Van Dam with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
