8 hours ago 1

The D'Amore Drop: WWE, AEW look the way they do in 2025 because of Sabu

The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D’Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D’Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.

On Saturday night I went from the dizzying heights that you can only reach when months of hard work pay off, to the pits of depression that you can only find yourself in when someone you love suddenly dies.

I’ll get to the amazing Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling event in Toronto, but first let me tell you about my friend, the legendary Sabu.

None of the tributes to Sabu have come close to summing up Sabu, and I won’t either. He is a mythical figure in an industry that creates and packages mythology. He was a force of nature, a swirling tornado of contradictions.

Sabu was a man so tough-minded that he chased down the assailant who just shot him in the face and beat him half to death with the same gun. Sabu was also so kind-hearted he’d quietly pay for lunch for broke young wrestlers who were struggling to stay in the business.

To me, Sabu was a teacher and dear friend.

I first saw Sabu the same way many fans in their 30s to 50s did — on a VHS tape I’d anxiously awaited in the mail. On that grainy, sputtering roll of red, purple and orange footage, I saw a performer unlike any the industry had ever seen — a man performing mind-blowing spots through an unholy combination of psychopathic bravery and inhuman toughness.

A few years later, a friend of mine — Mad Max Anthony — said he was driving to Lansing, Michigan, to train with Sabu. I jumped in the car, excited but also kind of terrified about how this would go.

The gym was in a three-story unit at the edge of town that had — as you could smell — spent much of its life as a car repair shop.

Sabu arrived, larger than life. He announced he’d forgotten his keys (we suspected he’d actually forgotten the rent), and before we could say a word, he began scaling the building until he reached an open window on the third floor. Again, I was astonished that this task was accomplished with sheer toughness and insanity, rather than any cat-like athleticism.

Within an hour of warming up, Sabu pointed at me, a petrified kid who’d barely found the stones to say hi thus far, and told me to do a top rope Frankensteiner. I’d never even tried a Frankensteiner before, much less one off the top rope, but I was more intimidated by Sabu than the thought of landing on my skull.

I did it — or something very like it — and Sabu said: “Good job, Steve.”

“Thank you,” I managed to squeak, “but my ... my name’s Scott.”

Sabu fixed his eyes on mine and said: “Eff you! You don’t deserve your own name!”

For the next year, I answered to “Steve.” But along the way, Sabu would show his appreciation of my hard work in other ways. When he figured out I was broke, he began buying my lunch every day.

Then one day Sabu said something like, “Hey, Scott.” No ceremony, no apology, no fanfare at all — I’d somehow crossed an invisible border and entered a place where I had Sabu’s respect.

I’ve cried this week because I lost the first person in this business who ever believed in me.

Sabu fought for me when no one else would. He got me bookings in places where I had no business being on the card, and he insisted on working with me. I wrestled Sabu — a living legend — perhaps 100 times. And every single one of them was like going through a bar fight.

Sabu pushed me, challenged me, and yeah, sometimes berated me — but he made me better. In one match — I forget exactly where we were — he kept telling me to hit him harder. I did. He said, 'No, not like that — harder!' And I lumped him so hard, it busted his mouth open. Backstage, I apologized. I was horrified I’d torn his lip up.

Sabu literally laughed at me for saying sorry.

That was Sabu.

Sabu looks on while in the ring during ECW at the HP Pavilion on February 27, 2007 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)

He wasn’t afraid to tell you to get lost, but he wasn’t afraid to have your back either. I saw it firsthand. One night at a TNN taping, I found out Sabu and Paul Heyman were arguing. Paul wanted us to go four minutes. Sabu told him we were going 20. Paul said no one knew who I was.

Sabu’s reply? “After he goes 20 with me, they will.”

That match has never seen the light of day — it wasn’t what Paul wanted. But Sabu didn’t care. He loved this business too much. He fought for what he believed in, even when it hurt him.

I was honored to bring him to TNA Wrestling, first at the Nashville Fairgrounds, later in Orlando. It was my small way of giving him something back. I don’t know if he ever got the flowers or the money he deserved, but I do know this — every high flyer, every daredevil, every hardcore legend owes something to Sabu.

Whether it is WWE, AEW, Maple Leaf, TNA, or the local indie that sells tickets to family and friends — pro wrestling in 2025 looks the way it does because of Sabu.

And now, every time I point that finger to the sky, it’s not just for Sabu, but for Super Genie too. I hope they’re up there, together, pain-free, finally at peace.

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena makes his entrance during WWE Backlash at Enterprise Center on May 10, 2025 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images)

The levels of character complexity John Cena is giving us this year is something to behold.

Now he’s added even more layers — regret for turning on the fans and for the way he’s cheated to beat both Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton at WWE Backlash last weekend.

This final year of Cena’s career will be remembered for decades to come. We are watching a master at work.

I saw a few takes on Gunther vs. Pat McAfee that said, “What was the point?”

Well, Gunther got to beat a big name, was booked like a monster, and was kept red-hot for his World Title rematch vs. Jey Uso at WWE Money In The Back.

Meanwhile, Pat (and Michael Cole, to a degree) were also put over as babyfaces. Pat was the tough guy who took a beating and, like Rocky in the first movie, went in and fought without any realistic chance of actually winning because he’s a proud man.

Not every match should be 50/50. Some can be 80/20, like Gunther vs. Pat, and still accomplish so much.

AEW continues to know the magic recipe for sprinkling in guest appearances from past stars.

From Rhino blowing the roof off the Masonic Temple with his surprise appearance to Zach Gowen having a very entertaining performance against Ricochet this week. Both guys — with the help of great placement by AEW — turned back the hands of time and looked great.

Shout out to Ricochet for coming out of nowhere and being a tremendous heel.

He is at his all-time best right now and I am loving his work.

Before I got the news about Sabu, I was riding high on the success of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s best event yet — a 2,500-person sellout at Maple Leaf Gardens for Northern Rising.

I tried not to, but from the second we went on sale, I had a Ticketmaster browser open day and night, and kept refreshing over and over to see how many tickets — if any — had been sold in the previous few minutes. It is torture.

But, we did sell out, and the pay-per-view did well on FITE too.

More than that, we took a major step in reestablishing Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling as once again a major player in the sport.

It was magical to bring wrestling back to the Mecca of Canadian wrestling, the Maple Leaf Gardens. It might be the Mattamy Athletic Center now, and have a grocery store on the ground floor and a gym and basketball court on the second floor … but when you get out on the third floor, that magnificent white domed roof looks exactly the same as it did when Andre The Giant, Harley Race and Ric Flair tangled ... you can feel the echoes of The Greats, just like when you visit Madison Square Garden in New York.

But a packed house means nothing if the show doesn’t deliver. And brother, did we deliver.

We honored our past, with an alumni section so big we had to split it into two — over 70 legends and families. We honored the Tunneys, with a video package by the legendary Kevin Sullivan (the branding genius, not the Taskmaster). Jackie Tunney accepted on behalf of her family. It was emotional. It was right.

And the matches? Outstanding!

We had it all — Josh Alexander, Speedball Bailey, Sheldon Jean—standing shoulder to shoulder with stars from AEW, New Japan, NWA and TNA. Zack Sabre Jr. and Jonathan Gresham delivered a clinic. Serena Deeb and Miyu Yamashita tore the house down.

Then the Gauntlet for the Gold. Twenty men. Royal Rumble style. Came down to the villain, Matt Cardona, against our Canadian hero, Josh Alexander. And as it should be, Josh hit the C4 Spike, won the match, and hoisted the Canadian Championship. A Canadian hero, hand in hand with the legendary Angelo Mosca Jr. and that original NWA Canadian title belt.

That’s history.

And we ain’t done. July 5th, Laval, QC — we’re back for Maple Leaf Pro: Resurrection. Dan Maff made his statement, torching PCO, with Jimmy Jacobs by his side. Might be time for PCO to bring Destro to even the odds…

So yeah, I’m proud. I’m tired. But I’m fired up. This was a special night.