Mick Foley wants a former ECW Champion to receive more recognition.
After leaving WCW following a feud with Vader in 1994, Foley worked for several independent companies and wound up in Extreme Championship Wrestling.
During his time in ECW, Foley saw the talent on show as the likes of Rob Van Damn, Tommy Dreamer, and Taz gained cult followings. But despite the nostalgic fondness of the ECW roster, Foley feels one of their main Stars has not been given the recognition he deserves.
Sabu was the second wrestler to be a Triple Crown Champion in ECW, after becoming a Two-Time World Heavyweight Champion, former TV Champion, and Three-Time Tag Team Champion.
Unlike his former Tag Team Championship partners Taz and Rob Van Dam, it took The Great Sabu a little while to land in WWE following the demise of ECW.
Sabu would compete in WWE’s 2006 One Night Stand ECW event, stepping into the ring with Rey Mysterio, and stayed with the company until May the following year. But Foley feels that by not gaining regular mainstream exposure, the 2009 Hardcore Hall of Famer’s accolades are not viewed as highly as they could.
Discussing Sabu on the latest episode of Foley Is Pod, the hardcore legend explained how Sabu getting older was his “only crime”.
“Sabu is another guy I’d like to see get his accolades. It’s just a shame that when the only crime — the only thing Sabu ever did was get older.
A lot of the people who were on the bandwagon see him, you know, he hasn’t gone on to be part of people’s childhoods the way that we had the opportunity to, so the wave of popularity goes from here, then there’s a big downturn and then one day when Halloween, you realize that people are dressing up like you for Halloween.
You’re no longer irrelevant. You’re now part of people’s childhoods,” said Mick Foley. “Also, he didn’t have a chance to endear himself to people. I understand why he didn’t speak.
He was the nephew of The Sheik, and The Sheik, I don’t think, spoke and if he did, it was rarely. It was never more than a few words. He was sticking to that character.”
Comedy Key For Ageing Superstars According To Mick Foley
Mick Foley would go on to discuss the importance of character development and how adding comedy enabled fellow Hall of Famers into prolonging their careers.
The three-time WWE Champion highlighted how Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels began to connect differently during the final years of their in-ring WWE Career, compared to Sabu, who remained a similar character.
“[Sabu] never found that other gear to shift into, which usually involves comedy,
Ric [Flair] was connecting with audiences more efficiently ten years past his physical prime. DX, clearly, humor was on display as Shawn Michaels and Triple H got older. [Sabu] didn’t have that other gear.
Unfortunately, as time goes by, you’re seeing the same guy do things a little bit slower. And fans can be man, they can be pretty merciless. They can be very forgiving, and they can be great, but they can be pretty merciless when somebody’s stumbling.”
Sabu was recently hospitalised after a serious medical emergency and took to social media to thank fans for their support during his recovery.
H/t to Fightful