"I can't live like that" - 2-time world champion says he disliked Vince McMahon giving him demands in WWE
Sabu did not enjoy Vince McMahon’s style of management during his short run in WWE.
The 57-year-old worked for WWE between April 2006 and May 2007, during which time he mostly performed on the ECW brand. Known as one of wrestling’s best high-flyers, Sabu was not afforded the same freedom in WWE that he previously had in the original ECW.
Speaking in a “Title Match Wrestling” video, the legendary wrestler recalled how Vince McMahon tried to micromanage his matches.
“I go, ‘I don’t know what I’m gonna do exactly,’” Sabu said. “He goes, ‘You gotta.’ I go, ‘No, I don’t. Some of my best stuff is spontaneous.’ ‘But not here, you can’t be that way. It’s gotta be programmed and approved.’ I said, ‘Argh, I can’t live like that. I can’t have to get approval for everything I do.’” [0:25-0:43]
Shortly after joining WWE, Sabu lost matches against John Cena at Vengeance and The Big Show at SummerSlam in 2006. He mostly featured in multi-man matches in the first half of 2007 before he received his release.
Sabu particularly disliked Vince McMahon’s WrestleMania approach
Such An Awesome Photo Of ECW Originals 11 Years Ago Today At #WrestleMania 23 https://t.co/rWeHpFF13T
The majority of WWE match ideas are presented to superstars on the day of the show. For example, the company stated that Naomi and Sasha Banks were given eight hours to prepare for the infamous six-pack challenge match that never was.
Sabu confirmed that he also had several hours’ notice to plan matches with his opponents. However, before WrestleMania 23, Vince McMahon wanted him to discuss his eight-man tag team match earlier in the week.
“WrestleMania, we had to go over a match three days in advance,” Sabu continued. “Monday Night RAW, you’ve gotta go over your match from probably noon to I go out to the ring, which is too much for me also. But three days before a match is really ridiculous, super ridiculous.” [1:50-2:05]
The two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion added that his in-ring style often changed depending on his mood. For that reason, he found it difficult to plan his matches so far in advance.
Please credit “Title Match Wrestling” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.