What started out as a bitter feud for respect derived from both men being trained by The Sheik and conceived one of the most extreme and creative tag teams of all time. The pairing of Rob Van Dam and Sabu was fused together by manager Bill Alfonso in 1997. They were quite the dynamic duo considering they found a plethora of success while always trying to top one another. Their first run as tag team champions came at the expense of the Triple Threat contingent of Lance Storm and Chris Candido. Despite their inner turmoil at times, they took on all challengers and they presented an air of dominance with every match. What is considered to be one of the greatest matches in ECW history took place at Heatwave 1998 when Van Dam and Sabu defended the titles against Jinsei Shinzaki and Hayabusa. This was a dream match for hardcore fans as they had visions of highspots dancing in their heads. Rob Van Dam and Sabu defeated The Dudley Boyz in Japan to win their second and final tag team championship. Three months later, they would return the favor in a unique situation as Van Dam lost the tag titles in a singles match to D-Von since Sabu wasnt available. Rob Van Dam and Sabu were a team that took on all challengers and often had great matches for the tag team titles. There was an energy about them. Ultimately, what ended their relationship was Sabus jealously of the fact that Rob Van Dam was also the Television champion during their run as a team.
Atlee Greene is a freelance writer for various sites, including ForcesOfGeek.com, Gerweck.net, CamelClutchBlog.com, and WhatCulture.com. He is also a former independent professional wrestler and promotes shows in the Massachusetts area.
