In an exclusive for WrestlingNews.co, Steve Fall interviewed ECW legend Sabu. Sabu talked about ECW, his run in WWE, WCW, and more.
Sabu on being fired from ECW:
“Yes and no. I chose New Japan over an ECW date because it was six times a day. I figured that I missed that show and I told him ahead of time, ‘I’ll miss the show, but I’ll make up for it.’ He said, ‘No. You do that, you’re fired.’ I said, ‘Okay’. So I didn’t think you’d really fired me, but he did and the way he did it, I quit. Even if he wasn’t firing me, I would quit anyways, the he said it. ECW wasn’t my lifeline. Japan was. He wanted me to choose between a minor payoff from him, from them, to a major payoff from Japan. It’s hard to say no when you’re hungry. I’m not starving food-hungry, hungry for success, hungry for more.”
If Sabu felt WCW was trying to cripple ECW by signing a lot of their talent:
“I don’t think they tried to cripple ECW on purpose, but it did. Those guys were under Konnan’s supervision or guidance, so they got them for a cut rate. Konnan got paid, but don’t tell him that (he laughs).
When asked if Konnan got a cut of their contract, Sabu responded, ‘I’m sure he did. I don’t want to talk about it. WCW got a steal when they got the Mexicans. Believe me.”
If he had any interaction with Hulk Hogan in WCW:
‘No, and when they had Sabu chants, they dialed them down on TV so they weren’t louder than Hogan’s, especially in Chicago, my last match there. The people were going nuts for me the whole night and barely for him, and they said, ‘That’s not a good thing.’ The boys told me that. I thought that would be a good thing and it wasn’t. They didn’t offer me any more money. The contract was two dates a month. It was $500 a shot, so I’d make $1,000 a month and I can’t take independent bookings. I go, ‘Well, the schedule is great, but the payoff is the sh*ts.’ Bischoff said, ‘Take it or leave it. People think we have money. We don’t.'”
On being offered a contract by WCW:
“ECW didn’t generate money. It bled money. I understood that, but, you know, you can only go on so long with that. That’s why I tried to jump to WCW that time because Kevin and J.J. called me and said, ‘Come in for a secret meeting’, and I did. I had a contract set, almost set, and I said,’ I’ll take it to my hotel room and read it.’ Kevin goes, ‘Read it? just sign it’. It was a lot of money. I said, ‘No, I want to read it’, but what I really wanted to do was tell my mother first, but when I called my mother, she had a heart attack before I could tell her over the phone. So I didn’t sign it. So I went home. From the hospital I called Kevin and said, ‘I’ll fax over that contract.’ He goes, ‘Too late. Paul E already found out about it and threatened to sue WCW, so they stopped all communication with me. I could’ve retired by now.”
Sabu on being fired from WCW:
“They wanted me to be part of that Cruiserweight division. I said, ‘I don’t want to be a Cruiserweight.’ They said, ‘That’s what you are.’ I said, ‘No, I want to be a heavyweight. ‘Who’s Hogan wrestling? ‘His opponent is picked for the next two years.’ I said, ‘Okay, Sting.’ His opponent is picked for the next two years. I said, ‘F**k it then.’ Paul Heyman and Todd came to me and said, ‘We’re losing the building’, because they set it on fire the month before. Terry Funk and Cactus Jack set it on fire the month before, so the commission was gonna kick them out unless they got me. I came in for one night, the lights out, lights on, lights up. That wasn’t a true jump. That was just an appearance. Nancy and everybody else told Kevin Sullivan and Bischoff toilet and all that sh*t o they fired me and I quit at the same time. I didn’t want to be there anyways.”
On appearing on AEW Dynamite last year and at Double or Nothing:
“Chris Jericho called me and said, ‘Hey, what are you doing Wednesday?’ I said,’Nothing.’ He goes, ‘We got a spot for you. Can you make a Sunday? I said, ‘Yes, I can.’ Then I called him back and I said, ‘I’m booked on Sunday.’ He goes, ‘Can you do both or cancel.’ I said ‘Yeah.’ I did both.”
On giving John Cena a black eye in a match:
“I gave him a black eye and he was pissed about that. I gave him a black eye by accident. Cena was upset because he couldn’t do his movie for a month.”
Sabu’s thoughts on the recent allegations about Vince McMahon:
“Vince is a scumbag. I knew that, but he made a lot of guys rich. I give him credit for that, but he’s a scumbag. So is Johnny Ace.”
If he feels he will one day be in the WWE Hall of Fame:
“Well, I think eventually, probably. A true artist isn’t recognized until he’s dead, like Rembrandt and those guys. Nobody gave a f**k about them when they were alive. I’ll probably get in there when I’m dead.”
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.
