Sabu
Terrance Michael Brunk (December 12, 1964 – May 2025) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He was known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1993 to 2000.
He was a three-time World Heavyweight Champion having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.
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| Sabu | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Terrance Michael Brunk |
| Born | December 12, 1964 Staten Island, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 2025 (aged 60) |
| Spouse |
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 height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Billed from |
|
| Trained by | The Sheik |
| Debut | 1985 |
| Retired | 2025 |
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.
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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 as part of their new third brand, a rebooted version of ECW. Sabu would wrestle for WWE until he was released in 2007. He also became a regular wrestler in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling since the creation of the promotion in 2002.
Personal life
Sabu’s father was of Irish and German descent, while his mother was Lebanese. He was married to a Japanese woman named Hitomi, on June 22, 1997, in Michigan, and had a separate Japanese ceremony on December 12, 1998, in Tokyo while in Japan for the ECW/FMW Supershow.
They later separated and divorced at an unknown date. In Forever Hardcore, Brunk reveals he took his name “Sabu” from Indian-American actor Sabu, of whom his uncle Ed Farhat was a fan.
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In July 2016, Brunk was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred “long term neurological injuries” and that the company “routinely failed to care” for them and “fraudulently misrepresented and concealed” the nature and extent of those injuries.
The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant in September 2018.
In the mid-2010s, Brunk began dating Melissa Coates, who also began working as his wrestling valet until her death on June 23, 2021, due to COVID-19 complications. She died in her sleep, aged 52.
Death
In May 2025, Sabu died at the age of 60.
Other media
He appeared in the video game ECW Hardcore Revolution, Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, Backyard Wrestling: Don’t Try This At Home, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008.
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Sabu’s likeness also appears, albeit unofficially, in several games within the Fire Pro Wrestling franchise including Fire Pro Wrestling, Fire Pro Wrestling 2, and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.
On September 8, 2016, Brunk guest starred on an episode of the Viceland television program, Traveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Watch ‘Ancient Aliens’: Alien Devastation with his former tag team partner, Rob Van Dam and then manager The Super Genie.
Professional wrestling style and persona
Sabu was nicknamed “The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal, Death–Defying Maniac” due to his mixed style of high-flying and hardcore wrestling.
Some of his moves included using a steel chair, like the Air Sabu (a heel kick to a cornered opponent, with the assistance of a steel chair), the Arabian Facebuster (Jumping, diving or a somersault leg drop, driving a steel chair into the face of the opponent) or the Arabian Skullcrusher (jumping, diving or a somersault leg drop, driving a steel chair into the back of the opponent’s head, usually through a table).
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Being trained by his uncle, The Original Sheik, he also used his Arabian Clutch (a Camel clutch) as a move. His character rarely spoke; however while working for WWE he had to do the most talking he ever did.
Sabu was credited as a revolutionary due to his work in ECW.
Championships and accomplishments
- Billtown Championship Wrestling
- BCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural)
- BCW Heavyweight Title Tournament (2016)
- Border City Wrestling
- BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Eastern Championship Wrestling/Extreme Championship Wrestling
- ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- FTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- ECW World Television Championship (1 time)
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Taz (1) and Rob Van Dam (2)
- King of the Hill (1996)
- Second ECW Triple Crown Champion
- European Wrestling Association
- EWA European Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
- WWA Martial-Arts Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Horace Boulder
- Hardcore Hall of Fame
- Class of 2009
- Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2024
- International Wrestling Cartel
- IWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Eric Xtasy and JT Rodgers
- Insane Wrestling Federation
- IWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Juggalo Championship Wrestling
- JCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Main Event Championship Wrestling
- MECW APW Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- NWA Florida
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Independent World Championship (1 time)
- National Wrestling Conference
- NWC Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling All-Stars Of Detroit
- PWASD Cruiser Core Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Holland
- Pro Wrestling Holland Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995
- Ranked No. 86 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
- Professional Championship Wrestling
- PCW Television Championship (1 time)
- New Evolution Wrestling
- Newfoundland Heritage Championship (1 time)
- Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling
- 3PW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- TNA Year End Award (1 time)
- Match of the Year (2005) vs. Abyss, Barbed Wire Massacre on December 11
- TNA Year End Award (1 time)
- UPW Pro Wrestling
- UPW American Championship (2 times)
- USA Pro Wrestling
- USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Wawan Wrestling Championship
- WWC Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- Wrestling Alliance Revolution
- WAR World Extreme Championship (2 times)
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC Hardcore Championship (1 time, final)
- WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Bruiser Brody Memorial Cup (2005)
- World Wrestling League
- WWL Extreme Championship (1 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Readers’ Favorite Wrestler (1994)
- Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling
- XICW Xtreme Championship (1 time)
- Xtreme Latin American Wrestling
- X-LAW International Championship (1 time)
- Xtreme Pro Wrestling
- XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
