You're An Idiot And Here's Why 5.24.07: Sabu
Posted by Rob Halden on 05.24.2007
Sabu lets pride come before business this week, and we debut a new section of the show.
Today I finally handed in my resignation to a job that has been making me thoroughly miserable for months. Yaaay! But my career beyond this point isn't exactly guaranteed. Booo! But I do get to leave in four weeks time and miss our busiest period of the year. Yaaay! Although I may well be cash-strapped for months to come. Booo! But I am ready for the weekly Idiot Report. Yaaay!
Before we begin this week reader, I'd like to introduce a new section of the show….
Viscera – Not that it matters though, he'll still inexplicably get his job back in three years time
The Highlanders - ALL Tag Teams are under serious threat since the WWE declared war on them many years ago
Super Crazy – See above and replace "Tag Teams" with "Cruiserweights"
Dave Taylor – One talented English wrestler that they don't know what to do with is quite enough, thank you
If your name appears on the above list Remember! Do not follow Stephanie McMahon into the woods alone. She wants your head.
And now, back to our regularly schedule program.
This Weeks Idiot: Sabuuuuuuuuuu! *points to sky*
The most homicidal, genocidal, su…screw it, y'know the rest. For many Sabu is the poster-boy for the extreme/hardcore/garbage style of wrestling that grew to prominence in the mid-to-late 90's. Trained by his uncle, the one and only original wild-man of wrestling The Sheik, Sabu cut his teeth in Japan's infamous FMW. Here Sabu wrestled in his first barbed-wire matches alongside his uncle, and also won tag team gold. Sabu returned to the States and eventually began working for ECW, being one of the first wrestler's to bring Japan's distinctive garbage style to the US. Sabu became legendary for putting not only his opponent's but also himself through tables, something rarely see at the time.
His storied career through ECW and Japan built his reputation as not only one of the innovators but also one of the best wrestlers of the extreme and hardcore style, he had appearances in WCW and TNA and in 2006 he was signed up by the WWE to take part in their new version of ECW.
First and foremost, Sabu has a reputation for refusing to job. It's a mentality that was apparently passed on to him from his uncle The Sheik, and a mentality that is stuck thirty years in the past, tied up with a territory system long since passed. This unwillingness to job led to WCW not offering him a contract back in 1995, and it led to several heated confrontations in the glory days of ECW. To avoid doing a job, Sabu was notorious for not turning up to shows where he was scheduled to lose, and he got away with it because he always remained a big draw and the money was always good for him in Japan. If Sabu didn't like the way Paul Heyman was booking him, he'd hop a plane to Japan where he could take numerous bookings and get paid to win. Simple.
During his recent run with the new WWE operated ECW, Sabu hasn't shown any sign of changing his ways. In July of 2006, just two months after signing up with the WWE and one month after being given the opportunity to work with WWE Champion John Cena, he was part of the infamous Extreme-ly Idiotic Car Ride with Rob Van Dam. During this ‘trip' both men were arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and prescription drugs. He'd broken the law and the WWE's Wellness Policy, getting himself fined $500 by the state and $1000 by the company.
And very recently Sabu decided to show his displeasure with his current role and position on the roster by arriving at shows without his wrestler gear! That's like me showing up for work in my boxer shorts and saying "Oh sorry, did you want me to wear a suit today? Cuz, y'know…I didn't want to." And this wasn't just one isolated incident. Previously Sabu has had to go out and perform in Daivari's gear (please, no lunges!) because he failed to bring his wrestling clothes to work. The most recent incident was the last straw and led to him being released from his WWE contract.
Clearly Sabu is a tough and proud man. We've all heard the stories of him wrestling with a broken jaw, gluing shut open wounds, continuing to perform with a broken forearm. And his unwillingness to job is another clear sign of his pride, but in the world of professional wrestling…that just Idiotic. Your job is to win or lose the scripted "contest" depending on the whim of the promoter. Back in the day the money was good for Sabu elsewhere, so he could just piss off the promoters and go somewhere else, head to Japan for another pay-day. That kind of crap might be okay when you're young, healthy and you whole career is ahead of you. But in 2004 when Sabu was not only injured but also extremely sick, he couldn't afford to pay his own medical bills. A charity event had to be held for him by his friends in the wrestling community, just to pay the costs he incurred. To come through that, to finally get a job working for the biggest wrestling company in the world, to finally get on mainstream TV at the age of 41 when you're body is a mess of injuries and scar-tissue…that is not the time to go pulling immature and unprofessional stunts just because you're sick of losing. Sabu was looking to get fired.
Marsellus Wallace said it best; "that's pride fucking with you. Fuck pride!"
You're An Idiot Because: If Your Job Is To Job Then Do The Job
