“He changed everything”- ECW veteran reflects on the impact made by the late great Sabu

Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu passed away recently at the age of 60, sending shockwaves throughout the wrestling world. He was an original member of the ECW roster and formed a long-lasting equation with many of his colleagues.

The Human Highlight Reel defined the essence of being an extreme worker and often put the 'extreme' in Extreme Championship Wrestling into the spotlight. Sabu defined the promotion's essence and became a fan favorite for that very reason.

ECW owner Tod Gordon spoke about how the veteran became a pioneer for extreme spots during an exclusive chat with Bill Apter on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge. Gordon talked about how Sabu never got the credit for his influence on the sport.

"He never got the credit he deserved for the influence he had on the industry. Now there are only so many people you can say that about—that they changed the business. Now, when you talk about how ECW changed the business, well, Sabu changed ECW. He changed everything," Gordon said. [7:34-7:50]

Sabu's impact on wrestling

Gordon went on to explain how Sabu introduced table spots in pro wrestling. He credited the former ECW star for introducing the now-famous spot in which a wrestler puts his opponent through a table.

''First time he went out there, the match was over. We're waiting for him to come back. He takes a table from the front of the ring and throws it in the ring. There's nobody else out there. We're going, 'What's he doing?' He sets the table up, goes up to the top rope turnbuckle, and does a flip through the table. Now, nobody had broken tables at this point, let alone alone. What the hell was that? And then, there it evolved into him putting people through the table, but the very first time he put himself through the table, and nobody had ever done a table spot before that, right? I mean, now everybody does something," Gordon said. [From 7:50 onwards]

Table spots have now become a common occurrence in pro wrestling, highlighting the legacy of The Human Highlight Reel. He left a lasting impact on the industry, and every time anyone sees a table spot now, they point their fingers to the sky and pay their tribute to the ECW icon.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Yash Mittal