Sabu and Rob Van Dam

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Rob Van Dam and Sabu using a Double leg drop against Mike Knox

Sabu & Rob Van Dam often compete as a tag team (when they weren't fighting each other) in Extreme Championship Wrestling, and WWE's revived ECW brand. While teaming in the original ECW, the team were managed by Bill Alfonso.

[edit] Career

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Sabu & Rob Van Dam first met each other in December 1989 and became close friends. The pair started out as enemies in ECW when Van Dam debuted in 1996. Both men were trained by Sabu's uncle, The Original Shiek, so fans wanted to see them fight each other since they both had pretty much the same high-flying, daredevil techniques.

In 1997, they eventually became a tag team as they went for the ECW Tag Team Titles. At ECW Barely Legal, Bill Alfonso betrayed Taz and joined Sabu & Rob Van Dam. Four months later, Van Dam helped Sabu beat Terry Funk in a barbed wire match to capture the ECW World Title. After Sabu lost the belt in a three-way dance with Terry Funk & Shane Douglas at ECW Hardcore Heaven 1997, Sabu & RVD joined Jerry "The King" Lawler in his crusade to "kill" ECW. When the crusade ultimately failed, Sabu eventually set his sights on Bam Bam Bigelow's ECW TV Title. So Bill Alfonso helped schedule a match between Bam Bam Bigelow & Rob Van Dam, so that RVD could "soften" Bigelow up for Sabu before he had to face Bigelow at ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998. But when Sabu interfered in the match, he "accidentally" helped Rob Van Dam win the title, so the two then faced each other at ECW Wrestlepalooza. The match ended in a 30-minute draw (which meant that the title did not change hands). A month later, the two captured the ECW Tag Team Titles when they defeated Chris Candido & Lance Storm. As champions, Sabu & RVD took on all challengers including Jinsei Shinzaki & Hayabusa at ECW Heatwave 1998 in Dayton, Ohio. But they lost the titles to the Dudley Boyz in October 1998, yet they went on to win the titles back from the Dudleyz in December 1998.

After they lost the titles again to the Dudleyz, The Impact Players formed and started to attack Sabu & RVD. When Sabu broke his jaw, the Impact Players had him eventually banned because of his injury and because he was too "dangerous" or "violent". But Sabu returned and after his loss to Justin Credible at ECW Anarchy Rulz 1999, Sabu started to attack Van Dam because he was still jealous that Van Dam was the TV Champion, so they faced each other at ECW Guilty as Charged 2000. Sabu said or proclaimed before the match that if he did not win the belt, he would leave ECW. That night, RVD defeated Sabu with the Five Star Frog Splash, making Sabu leave ECW.

Years after ECW folded, Sabu and Rob Van Dam would reunited at World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW One Night Stand in 2005 when Van Dam helped Sabu defeat another former ECW wrestler, Rhyno. After WWE revived ECW as a brand, RVD and Sabu became a major part of the show teaming on several occasions.