Sabu, the high-risk, high-flying “hardcore” professional wrestling pioneer who helped bring tables, chairs, barbed wire and other instruments of brutality into the mainstream, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 60.
His death was first reported by PWInsider and later confirmed by All Elite Wrestling and TMZ. No additional details were available.
Born Terry Brunk in Staten Island, Brunk grew up in a wrestling family, and was trained by his uncle, Ed Farhat, better known as The Sheik. Farhat’s high-risk style suited his nephew, who went on to become a champion in Extreme Championship Wrestling and a fan favorite for his extreme style.
Sabu began wrestling in the 1980s, primarily in Japan, where he honed his death-defying acrobatics and hardcore punishment. Sabu later rose to prominence in the ECW, where his nickname was “The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death-Defying Maniac.”
Sabu had brief stints at the top levels of pro wrestling, including the WCW and WWE, bringing his signature daredevil brutality to mainstream fans – but some of it was just too much, and he left over creative differences. Most of his career took place in fringe tiers, like Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he pioneered moves like the “Arabian Facebuster” and “triple-jump moonsault.”
Often performing while injured, Sabu’s intense toughness and use of tables, barbed wire and other gnarly implements inspired future generations of hardcore wrestlers.
Sabu died less than two weeks after his final match on April 18 during Game Changer Wrestling’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9 in Las Vegas, where he faced Joey Janela. According to multiple reports, he left with a bloodied face.
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