ECW icon Sabu, real name Terry Brunk, has sadly died at the age of 60.
The wrestling pioneer, who also made appearances for WCW, WWE, TNA Wrestling and countless other promotions over a four-decade career, had his final match took place in Las Vegas last month on April 18 for GCWduring Wrestlemania weekend, where he defeated Joel Janela.
His final public appearance is thought to have been at the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance reunion show convention, which took place just last weekend.
He was considered one of the most creative performers of his era and was a three-time World Heavyweight Champion.
PWInsider has confirmed that the icon had passed, but with little information about his cause of death.
Fans and friends of the wrestling legend have already begun to pay their respects.
Fellow ECW alumni Francine paid tribute to the star on X: ‘My heart is broken. Rest in peace to my friend Sabu. I love you always.’
His longtime friend and in-ring rival Rob Van Dam paid his respects with a simple emoji of a finger pointing up, referencing Sabu’s iconic pose in the ring.
WWE superstar Damian Priest shared the same emoji alongside a broken heart, adding: ‘Rest easy legend.’
And Brian Heffron, known to ECW and WWE fans as The Blue Meanie, wrote: ‘Rest In Peace Sabu… Thank you, I love you, I’ll miss you… I’m totally devastated.’
Sabu was taught to wrestle by his uncle Ed ‘The Sheik’ Farhat, and made his debut in 1985, first starting in the US, before making waves in Japan as part of FMW (Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling) and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
He had an initial run in ECW from 1993 to 1995, and returned later that same year for an industry-defining five year stint.
Multiple championship reigns and historic bouts followed, as Sabu helped usher in a hardcore style of wrestling which was embraced all around the world.
A couple of years after ECW went onto business and got enveloped into WWE, he would spend some time with TNA Wrestling, where he and the masked monster Abyss won match of the year in 2005 with their Barbed Wire Massacre bout.
That year, he beat Rhino at the first ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and signed with WWE in 2006 before facing Rey Mysterio in a wild match at the second iteration of the event.
This kick-started a spell on WWE’s ECW revival show on SyFy, which inclded battles with Big Show, Rob Van Dam and John Cena.
He continued to wrestle, over the next two decades, with his GCW bout last month billed as his retirement.
In an emotional video shared on X, retired wrestler Taz – who worked with Sabu in ECW, went onto have a lengthy career in WWE and now commentates for AEW – paid tribute to his friend and admitted the news ‘breaks my heart’.
‘Breaks my heart. I was literally just watching a video late last night, I was messing around on YouTube.’
He revealed: ‘We both debuted for ECW in 1993 in the ECW Arena against each other. Many know that, but what you don’t know, he was the guy getting the big push.
‘[Paul] Heyman wanted to push the heck out of him, and rightfully so. My job was to come in for one match, and wrestle him, and pit him over.
‘Sabu didn’t have to let me do anything in that match. It was about him, not me.’
He added: ‘Without him, I would not have accomplished anything. But what Sabu has accomplished in his career has been amazing.
‘This guy is amazing, and he’s a great hearted soul. I’m gonna miss him immensely. I feel horrible about this. Rest in piece, my brother Sabu. Please, rest in piece.’
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