Sabu (wrestler)

For the wrestler known as Sabu the Wildman, see Cocoa Samoa.

Sabu
Sabu in 2017
Birth nameTerrance Michael Brunk
Born (1964-12-12) December 12, 1964 (age 59)
Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Hitomi Brunk
​
​
(m. 1997, divorced)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)The Great Sabu
Sabu
Sabu the Elephant Boy
Samu
Terry S.R.
Terry Snuka
Terry Brunk
Sabu of The Jungle
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1]
Billed weight235 lb (107 kg)[1]
Billed from
  • "Bombay, Michigan"[1]
  • Mumbai, India
  • Saudi Arabia
Trained byThe Sheik
Debut1985
RetiredNovember 5, 2021[2]

Terrance Michael "Terry" Brunk (born December 12, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He is known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 2000.[3] He is a three-time World Heavyweight Champion having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.

Under the tutelage of his uncle Ed "The Sheik" Farhat, Brunk began his career wrestling in the North American independent scene in 1985 under the name of Sabu, before traveling to Japan, competing in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), winning several championships, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He returned to the United States in 1995, briefly working for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), before beginning his most well-known stint in ECW, where he quickly became a fixture of the promotion. During his time in ECW, he became a two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time ECW World Television Champion. He would have both a feud and an alliance with The Tazmaniac, defeated him for the ECW FTW Championship and winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship with him. In 1997, Sabu began a tag team with Rob Van Dam, winning the ECW Tag Team Championship twice.

After leaving ECW, Sabu wrestled in several national promotions, winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 2000. In 2006, he was hired by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as part of their new third brand, a rebooted version of ECW. Sabu would wrestle for WWE until he was fired in 2007. He also became a regular wrestler in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling since the creation of the promotion in 2002.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference wwebio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Middleton, Marc (November 5, 2021). "Sabu Retiring From In-Ring Competition?". wrestlinginc. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Career « Sabu « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved March 5, 2019.