Sabu could’ve been a top star in WWE—but according to Tommy Dreamer, one promo derailed the whole thing, and Vince McMahon forgot he was the one who asked for it.
On a recent tribute episode of Talk is Jericho, Dreamer shared how Vince McMahon was ready to go all-in on Sabu after his explosive performance against John Cena at WWE’s ECW relaunch in 2006. The match featured Sabu’s signature triple-jump moonsault through a table, and the crowd went wild. Even Vince was sold.
“Yeah, this is in 2006, when, you know, they’re relaunching ECW. Somehow they do a PLE with Sabu and John Cena. And this is where Sabu does the triple-jump moonsault, puts John Cena through a table. And Vince fell in love with him. And it was just like, ‘We’re going to put the rocket on this guy.’”
WWE was ready to push Sabu hard—even letting him win matches by DQ, which wasn’t standard at the time. Dreamer said everyone backstage knew this was Sabu’s last real shot at a major payday.
“To his credit, Sabu was a very, very good worker and an easy worker when he was in a good mood. He also knew this was his last chance to make big money. They loved him. They wanted him to start winning matches, even by DQ—which they weren’t doing with anybody else.”
But everything changed when someone in creative decided Sabu needed to cut a promo.
“Then literally that Tuesday, it’s like—‘Sabu’s going to speak.’ And even I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ I had a little bit of influence still. And Paul [Heyman] was like, ‘Absolutely not. You have to talk to Vince.’ Paul was saying, ‘He doesn’t need to talk. He’s not a good talker. He’s got the aura—like The Sheik. I’ll manage him. Don’t make him talk.’”
Vince McMahon wasn’t hearing it and insisted that promos were essential to success in WWE.
“But Vince was like, ‘No, no. You’ve got to learn how to talk to make it in this business.’”
Then came the moment that killed Sabu’s push. They filmed the promo. Vince watched it from the gorilla position—and immediately forgot who made the call.
“I watched it from Gorilla. They filmed the promo. Vince was sitting there with his little half-glasses on. He watched it and goes, ‘Who told him to talk?’”
“And I’m like—‘You did.’”
Sabu’s momentum stalled after that, and the big push never came. It was the latest in a long line of “what could’ve been” stories in WWE history.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
Do you think Vince Mc Mahon should’ve let Sabu stay silent and let the mystique speak for itself? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.