5 Wrestlers Who Were LEGITIMATELY Fired On The Air

3. Sabu

Vince McMahon Ultimate Warrior
WWE.com

Sabu faced a difficult decision in 1995: appear for New Japan Pro Wrestling for considerably more money, or honour his commitment to work a major ECW show, months in the making, of which he was a crucial component.

With the best of intentions but the birdiest of brains, Sabu initially thought he could simply work both shows, although the 10-hour plane journey rather put paid to that idea. Leaving Heyman hanging until the week of the show, Sabu - despite "swearing to God" that he could and would make it - left an answering machine message indicating he was bound for the east, which Tod Gordon received with an understandable fury. He relayed this message to Paul Heyman, who mounted an astute charm offensive.

He elected to tell the truth - that Sabu, the best guy he had, refused to perform at the show - and offered the fans in attendance refunds. Few if any took Heyman up on the offer, for, by the close of the promo, he had repeated his most effective trick: cultivating a fervent atmosphere of defiance. The fans stood with the messianic Heyman and revolted at the sell-out, whom Chris Benoit labelled a "p*ssy" later in the night.

That was the genius of Heyman; he rendered his biggest babyface his biggest heel with one promo.

Sabu should have conferred with Hulk Hogan over this time travel snafu, given that the Real American was apparently capable of wrestling 400 bouts per year due to the time difference between Japan and the States.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!