"He starts off nicely and then gets vicious" - Ex-WWE star on working with Vince McMahon
Sabu recently recalled how Vince McMahon started off “nice” and then became “vicious” when they had a backstage conversation about promos at a WWE event.
The two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion rarely spoke on the microphone before joining WWE in 2006. As a big name on the company's revamped ECW brand, McMahon told Sabu he needed to open up by cutting more babyface promos.
Speaking to WSI’s James Romero, the 57-year-old disclosed details about one particular interaction he had with the WWE Chairman:
“He starts off nicely and then gets vicious,” Sabu said. “He politely said, ‘I want you to be a likeable babyface.’ I go, ‘Yeah, right.’ ‘No, I want you to talk. I want you to talk now. We’re gonna go in the dressing room and talk.’ I’d hide for a while, thinking he’d forget about it, but he wouldn’t forget about it.” [1:04-1:23]
Sabu performed on the WWE ECW brand between April 2006 and May 2007. He disliked his short run with the company because he felt that WWE’s ECW reboot was “watered down” compared to the original Extreme Championship Wrestling product.
Why Sabu purposely made mistakes in front of Vince McMahon
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The majority of WWE Superstars like to make a good impression when they speak to Vince McMahon behind the scenes. Sabu, however, had a different mindset when he was asked to deliver a pre-taped promo in McMahon’s presence.
The wrestling legend intentionally cut bad promos in the hope that his boss would stop booking his character to speak. The plan backfired, though, as McMahon ordered him to record the same promo multiple times.
“I had two sessions with just Vince and a cameraman trying to cut this promo,” Sabu added. “I was cutting it badly on purpose, thinking he would say, ‘Okay, no promo,’ but he didn’t. He kept making me do it.” [1:25-1:36]
Sabu’s final WWE match ended in defeat against Rob Van Dam in a Fatal 4-Way encounter on the May 1, 2007 episode of ECW. He retired from wrestling in November 2021 due to a back injury.
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