Mick Foley Says Ex-WWE Star’s “Only Crime Was Getting Older”
Mick Foley believes a former WWE Superstar does not get enough credit and that only time stopped him from gaining huge success.
Foley became a cult hero during a career that saw him entertain fans in WCW and ECW as Cactus Jack, before becoming a household name during the WWE Attitude Era.
During his time in WWE, Foley not only played himself when working as a Commissioner, but developed three alter egos, first Mankind, before bringing Cactus Jack back to life, and the debut of Dude Love.
Foley speaks fondly of his career and love of Professional Wrestling, and whilst discussing his time in WCW and ECW, has led to the former WWE Champion reflecting on one of his former colleagues.
Foley was discussing Sabu on the latest episode of Foley is Pod, and shared why he felt the former ECW World Heavyweight Champion deserves more recognition for his work.
“Sabu is another guy I’d like to see get his accolades. It’s just a shame that when the only crime — the only thing Sabu ever did was get older.
A lot of the people who were on the bandwagon see him, you know, he hasn’t gone on to be part of people’s childhoods the way that we had the opportunity to, so the wave of popularity goes from here, then there’s a big downturn and then one day when Halloween, you realize that people are dressing up like you for Halloween. You’re no longer irrelevant. You’re now part of people’s childhoods,”
“Also, he didn’t have a chance to endear himself to people. I understand why he didn’t speak. He was the nephew of The Sheik, and The Sheik, I don’t think, spoke and if he did, it was rarely. It was never more than a few words. He was sticking to that character.
Mick Foley went on to explain the importance of developing a comedic side once a WWE Superstar becomes older to prolong their career.
“[Sabu] never found that other gear to shift into, which usually involves comedy,”
“Ric [Flair] was connecting with audiences more efficiently ten years past his physical prime. DX, clearly, humor was on display as Shawn Michaels and Triple H got older. [Sabu] didn’t have that other gear. Unfortunately, as time goes by, you’re seeing the same guy do things a little bit slower.
And fans can be man, they can be pretty merciless. Yeah. They can be very forgiving, and they can be great, but they can be pretty merciless when somebody’s stumbling.”
Sabu worked three dark matches for WWE in 1993, twice against Scott Garland (the future Scotty 2 Hotty), plus a match with Owen Hart.
But it was his time in ECW that the Triple Crown Champion created a lasting legacy. Sabu returned to WWE in 2006 to battle Rey Mysterio at ECW One Last Stand.
H/t to Fightful