Sabu: Scars, Silence, & Superglue

by Terry Brunk, Kenny Casanova (Co-Author)

SABU: Scars, Silence, & Superglue gives you a no-holds-barred autobiographical look about one of the most innovative & extreme pioneers in wrestling. This book will cover his wrestling roots/history, his wrestling career, & everything Sabu…

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2019

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabu: Scars, Silence, & Superglue is the biography of professional wrestler Sabu.

Even before I ever saw him wrestle on TV, I was a Sabu fan. The maniacal daredevil captured my imagination in articles in the Apter wrestling mags. Hell, one of my first wrestling shirts was a Sabu shirt that I eventually wore to death. Anyway, my wife bought this for me a while back and I wolfed it down in two evenings while waiting for my son to fall asleep.

It's cliche to say a wrestling book pulls no punches but Sabu lays it all out there from the very beginning, from getting shot in the face as a teenager while hanging with the wrong crowd, to wetting the bed until he was 13, to not getting laid until he was 20. After the shooting, Sabu starts training the old school way with his uncle, The Sheik!

Sabu talks about his uncle working him like a dog with manual labor to try to get him to quit before taking him on the road, a road that would take him to Japan, ECW, WCW, the WWE, TNA, and various points between. Sabu's tone is pretty humble but he also isn't afraid to call people out on shitty behavior, like Ric Flair, Jim Ross, and Test, to name a few. He also puts over the people who treated him good, like Bret Hart and Terry Funk.

Unlike a lot of wrestling books, this books has tons of great road stories in it, like getting pulled over in his Winnebago with a bunch of Japanese wrestlers on the way to a show or pissing off the yakuza in Japan. Sabu also goes into depth about the backstage stuff everywhere he worked and gut churning details about his various injuries. He's honest about mistakes he made and things he should have done differently. He also doesn't go out of the way to put himself over, even though he was one of the most influential wrestlers of the 1990s. People are still stealing his stuff today.

For my money, Sabu: Scars, Silence, & Superglue is the epitome of what a wrestling book should be. Five out of five scars.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the funniest books that I've read in a long time. Who would have expected the silent, "Homicidal, suicidal, genocidal" madman to have such a dry sense of humor.

The book is so rife with spelling and grammatical errors that it was tough going at times, but worth it. Recommended to anyone who ever saw Sabu in action and wondered "How the hell did he DO that???"

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You don’t take Hogan’s bandana. You don’t steal Austin’s bear. You don’t cut Hacksaw’s 2x4 or kill Jake’s snake. And no matter what you do, you absolutely don’t steal Sabu’s motherf*cking turban.”

This is the story of a man who made wrestling history. One of the the - if not the - most influential innovators of hardcore wrestling.

Sabu: Scars, Silence, & Superglue. The title is a fair summary of the book as a whole. The scars are what he is known for. A direct result from his “homicidal, suicidal, genocidal, death–defying” in-ring style, a style that captivated wrestling crowds all around the world. The silence is what makes him so intriguing. Now that he breaks his silence and then some, it makes this book worth reading for any wrestling fan. The superglue … we all know how crazy he can get in the ring, now the curtain drops and it is revealed just how crazy Sabu’s life story really is.

The book starts with a foreword of RVD and Tazz. Other wrestlers like Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Al Snow and more got a chance to pen down some words about the hardcore legend and their cherished words are sprinkled gracefully throughout the book. What makes Sabu so likeable as the storyteller here - in my opinion - is that he doesn’t try to steal the spotlight from other wrestlers. The opportunity he gives to his fellow wrestlers to shine and the kind words they in turn have to offer, is just a prime example of that.

Speaking of sharing the spotlight, the early pages of this book mostly focus on the person who was there for him from the very beginning and molded him into the wrestler we know today. That person was his uncle, the Sheik. Sabu’s uncle was undeniably a person he always looked up to. Following in his footsteps was something that seemed only natural. However, the story about when the Sheik actually agreed to train him, was one that made my jaw drop. I won’t reveal anymore, it is just the beginning of a wild ride but it is a crucial part of Sabu’s life and one of many crazy stories that make this book worth reading.

The Sheik opened the door for Sabu but it was Sabu himself who got the ball rolling. We get to experience the hardcore revolution from the man who lived it. His whole career is chronicled and he leaves nothing from the pages. Training with RVD, the crazy matches in FMW, the rocky road he travelled in ECW, touring with NJPW, briefly appearing in WCW, making it to WWE, his experiences in TNA, backstage stories that will make you cringe or laugh out loud and so much more. He doesn’t shy away from telling us all the details about his addictions either and where he strayed from the path. While he does give explanations, he gives no excuses. Sabu owns up to it and bares his sins like he does his scars.

I love the way this book was written, you can basically hear Sabu’s voice leaping from the pages. It is written as it was told and that is what makes this book so much fun to read. There is one point of criticism that should be addressed though. Typos. The book could have used some more editing before publishing. Sloppy spelling aside, you will barely notice a few typos in a sea of wild stories that will make you scream from excitement.

This books honestly hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves in my opinion. Just like Sabu himself in wrestling unfortunately, this book deserves a lot more credit than it has gotten so far. The stories in here are pure gems for anyone. From wrestling fans to casual viewers, you will absolutely love this. You get a chance to read wrestling history, words from the legend himself who made it.

[Stewart Sternberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

We won't focus on the skill of craft of writing but instead the personality that comes through this memoir. Sabu, nephew to the Sheik, and a fellow Michigander, was and is a bad ass. This book has a ton of fun anecdotes and offers insight to a world of wrestling most don't see.

To Melissa Coates, R.I.P.

[Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts strong but then just, eh. Interesting stories but not one of the top-tier wrestler memoirs I've read.

[Jay Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I was worried we would never get a legible biography, but this is the best book by a wrestler I've read since Backlund's autobiography. Besides detailing his career in ECW including the infamous Barb wire match with Terry Funk, it focuses a lot on his early career and FMW. Casanova has to be commended for being able to organize and edit this book.

[Tayyab Khalil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is, of course, a far cry from being a literary masterpiece but that is not what it should be judged on. While a few readers have suggested that Sabu should’ve hired a ghostwriter to avoid grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, the content absolutely suits his wrestling character. He holds back no punches while bashing Jim Ross, Test, Koji Kanemoto and so many others. Aside from his career highlights in ECW, WWE, NJPW, TNA etc, the book is immensely hilarious. That’s something you can never expect from the suicidal, homicidal, genocidal, death-defying maniac.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very torn over this book. The stories are fascinating, getting an insight into this amazing wrestler was a real pleasure. However, it's one of the most badly written, unedited things I've ever seen. This isn't on Sabu, he's not a writer. That's what a ghostwriter is for. This clearly never had an editor look at it. The writing is a shambles. I'll give it three stars because the stories were great, but damn the writing was a mess.

[Sam Judge · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid, wrestling was biggest thing in my life at the weekend. Saturday & Sunday mornings were spent religiously sat in front of the TV watching WWF shows on Sky TV. We would stay up super late to watch PPV's, we'd trade VHS tapes with friends, literally everybody at school was nuts on wrestling at the time. Around 1999/2000 I recorded what I thought was a WWF show on TNN, when I watched the tape I realised it wasn't the big star studded 'Attitude' era of the worlds biggest wrestling promotion that I'd caught, it was in fact an episode of ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling). For the uninitiated, ECW had none of the gloss or the granduer of the WWF. It was edgy, violent, in your face and seemed to have a roster of wrestlers who would happily do insanely painful looking spots during matches.

One of these wrestlers was Sabu. Looking back at wrestling now, 25 years after it was the biggest thing in my young life I find myself much more interested in what went on behind the curtains than what went on under the arena lights. Wrestling is a crazy industry which is still very much deep in its carny/wild west days once you get past the top promotions in the land. Hearing through the grapevine that the hardcore legend that is Sabu had penned a book about his time in the industry made me start revisting some of the old videos on Youtube and the like.

I'm fairly sure any readers of this book will no doubt have history with watching Sabu, ECW, WWF and possibly even some of the Japanese promotions (they absolutely love a death match) so there's definitely something in it for wrestling fans. Sabu genuinely seems like one of the 'good guys' in the industry, he writes lovingly about being trained by his uncle, The Sheik (who was a legend in his own right), the difficulties of having to learn how things are done in the industry, the absolutely brutal toll that hardcore wrestling has on the body and of course the snakes, villians and crazy people he encountered along the way.

There's an undercurrent in the book about respecting the people that came before you, those who are passing knowledge on and trying to keep an industry alive that they've devoted their bodies and lives to. You have to commend the performers within the industry for their commitement to really risk their health by putting on the best show they can for a fee paying crowd. Sabu's aerobatic wrestling style ultimately renwed interest in what was a bit of a 'slog fest' era of the sport. Reading about what went on at ECW won't open too many peoples eye's if they know a bit about the company, yes it was ramshackle at best but it had a tonne of heart and spirit. I think Sabu did a good job in this book of capturing the in's and outs of the times.

[Dale Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sabu is a legend…this book is anything but legendary

I really, really, really love Sabu’s work and even had the pleasure to meet him at a show. He was nothing short of nice and everything I had hoped he’d be.

When I saw he had a book, I was all for it. Little did I know that he’d have an almost unreadable autobiography.

The entire book is riddled with typos, grammatical errors and just overall awkward wording. And this disappoints me to no end.

I’m the type of fan who’ll still endure it. Much like a bad match, I’ll sit through it just in hopes of some redemption. But there’s nothing redeeming in this book.

For the impact Sabu made in pro wrestling and pop culture, this book was a great disservice to his legacy. Whoever edited this book needs to quit, refund the money spent on them and find another job in a different industry.

Now, there’s a reason I didn’t go with a one star rating. The stories are still there and the candid insights are what I truly appreciated most. You can tell Sabu genuinely wanted to provide the fans with a tell-all that’d bring to light so many things about his contributions in the wrestling business.

I implore the publishers to take this garbage manuscript off the market and release a second edition with a DEEP edit and not just a quick glance through.

Sabu’s legacy deserves so much better than this. It pains me to give his book such a low rating, but I’m doing it in hopes the publisher will make things right.

Till then, I’m a disappointed fan who still appreciates and loves the work Sabu did for the world of pro wrestling. I just dislike this poorly written book.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have seen Sabu's work, then you're going in expecting some crazy stories. This book certainly doesn't disappoint on that front. I don't know if I've read a wrestling book with such a collection of wild tales. There's violence, there's drugs, no subject is really off limits for Sabu. And he doesn't always try to make himself sound like the hero, especially on the drug front. He also doesn't want to brag about how insane his matches were or how innovative his stuff was, so the book interjects in little blurbs from other wrestlers to help establish that side.

Ghost writer Kenny Casanova and his research assistants did a great job of creating a cohesive narrative that I could still read through Sabu's voice. There weren't a ton of lines that I thought he'd never say and there were definitely a lot that seemed like direct quotes from what I know of him. Sabu has a lot of scores to settle in this book. He mercilessly goes after people who he thought slighted him during his career, including deceased wrestlers like Test.

Sabu doesn't have a good reputation on Twitter these days for his dismissals of political correctness. He touches on this in the book and claims it's all an act to generate attention. I'm not sure that Sabu isn't a jerk. But he's lived one of the craziest lives of anyone in the wrestling business. His stories about FMW, ECW and XPW are worth the book price alone.

Ultimately if you buy this book you probably know what it's going to be and what it's not going to be, and I doubt many will leave feeling short changed.

[Andrea Picariello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parto dai pro di questo libro, cominciando da un assunto: questa è una vera autobiografia di wrestling. La verità, nient’altro che la verità. Su ciò che accade sul ring e soprattutto su ciò che accade fuori. I promoter mal-paganti, le compagnie improvvisate, i wrestler che creano gruppo e famiglia e quelli da cui stare alla larga. Sabu in questo libro non si nasconde, non l’ha mai fatto, e ne ha per tanti nomi grossi dell’ambiente. Da Kurt Angle a Ric Flair, da Test a Jim Ross (per loro le parole peggiori).
Non si autoincensa Sabu: emerge tutta l’umiltà che altri numerosi wrestler, presenti tra un capitolo e l’altro con personali parole di elogio e ricordi, gli attribuiscono. Piena di aneddoti e curiosità senza peli sulla lingua. Dunque, i contenuti sono promossi. La forma però meno, molto meno.

Considerato l’effettivo prestigio di Sabu - parliamo di un autentico innovatore dell’hardcore style, una figura determinante per la gloriosa storia della ECW e non solo - avrebbe meritato una qualità migliore nell’editing, che qui è ai livelli del più becero self-publishing. Qualità della carta scadente, numerosi errori ortografici come se non fosse mai avvenuta una correzione pre-pubblicazione. I ringraziamenti finali inseriti come se fossero parte dell’ultimo capitolo e non in una sezione a parte, come normalmente dovrebbe essere. Insomma, un disastro. Bellissima la copertina, ma non basta.
3/5

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an excellent and consistently hilarious book. You think it would have a strong overtone of tragedy to it, considering Sabu's well-publicized struggles with substance abuse but the entire read is surprisingly light-hearted and affable. Like, at times, it almost feels like an autobiography written by Hunter S. Thompson, if Hunter S. Thompson was a pioneering hardcore pro wrestler. Yes, there are some factual errors here and there (gotta love how the author keeps calling Sonjay Dutt "Middle Eastern") but it's a thoroughly enjoyable and unexpectedly gripping memoir from start to finish. And you know ANY book that *begins* with the main character getting shot in the face — and actually writing about it in a halfway *nostalgic* tone! — is bound to be some exciting stuff.

BONUS CONTENT!

***FIVE THINGS I LEARNED READING THIS BOOK***

001
Mike Awesome saved Sabu's life from a Yakuza attack back in the '90s.

002
Vince McMahon wanted to bring in Sabu to play the Sultan character in the WWF.

003
Of course, it was Chris Benoit who turned Sabu onto painkillers.

004
Paul Heyman literally screwed Sabu out of a $2.5 million contract with WCW.

005
The two people in the wrestling biz Sabu hated the most? Of all possible people ... Jim Ross and Test.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of typos here but despite the bad editing this is a must read for fans of the homicidal, genocidal, sucidal Sabu. If you're not a fan, or have no idea who he is, then there's no point in reading this. This is his story, told by the man himself and while there isn't a lot of dirt presented, you get how disgruntled he is by various events throughout his career. You get his experiences with WWE, ECW, other promptions, and even Ric Flair. While it may not be an inside look at his life it is a look at a career that has made him one of the most influential wrestlers of all time.

[Vince Sylvester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story about a talent who helped to change the face of the profession, and is a good companion to Brian Solomon’s ‘Blood and Fire.’ My biggest issue with the book is the same with every other book I’ve read associated with Kenny Casanova, namely the editing. It’s atrocious. ‘Sabu’ is just as poorly edited as ‘Kamala,’ which makes them very frustrating to read, as the vast majority are very simple edits which would be picked up with a read through, not just running it through a spell-checker. I really hope this is an issue which will be corrected in future printings, because it is a disservice to the subjects.

[Dkolacinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Homicidal, suicidal, genocidal, King of the Extreme. I remember seeing his uncle, the Sheikh, wrestling AWA in the late 60s and '70s and marveling at his extreme violence. His nephew reinvented professional wresting during the cartoon era of the WWE. This is an excellent overview of his personality and career. Yes, he had a ghostwriter help. Yes, it is obvious that there is professional editing. But Sabu shines throughout, as a person and as a performer, taking old school wrestling to a new level.

[Tony Farinella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much better than I expected. Sabu is hilarious, brutally honest, and tells great stories. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Sabu the wrestler, but we finally learn about Sabu the person. The book is 400 pages and I went through it in no time. As others have stated, the errors and typos are brutal. They are too many to mention. This book badly needed an editor. This is not Sabu’s fault, and it didn’t ruin my appreciation of the book. Sabu! Sabu! Sabu! Sabu! This book comes highly recommended!

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true wrestling legend. Sabu tells it exactly like it is. I am a little bummed out that I didn't get mentioned; I mean I did have one match with him and he did do a "run-in" in another one of my matches. LOL, But, just because I did work with him 1 1/2 times doesn't mean I'm biased. This book is a must read for any rasslin fan.

[hh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories but needed some editing

Like the title says, there are some absolutely great stories on here but holy hell did this need a couple more passes by a proofreader. I’m not exaggerating when I say there is at least one typo or grammatical error on each page. If you can get past that, it’s well worth a read.

[Nate Yolevich]

Excellent read

Sabu has a fascinating story and was very open throughout the book. I loved reading about his interactions with the Shiek and how he broke into the business. Great read

[John Kreis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're not a Sabu fan you probably won't like the book. If you're a stickler for accuracy and proofreading, same. If you can look past this and understand what an innovative and crazy wrestler Sabu is then you will enjoy the book.

[Rithik · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very good read you'll enjoy more if you're a Sabu fan.
After reading this my respect towards the homicidal suicidal genocidal death defying daredevil has increased even more.
4 stars for the book 1 extra star for sabu!!

[Jason Presley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Kenny knocks it out of the park. Sabu tells his story straight up, no embellishments needed. It is a miracle he is alive with all the punishment he has put his body through over the last 30 years. But I'm glad he has survived long enough to tell his story. This was a great read.

[Kenny Casanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is FRESH. Don't miss it!

[Adam Owsinski]

The hardcore legend, great book that provides glimpses into the scene of pro wrestling.
"SABU, SABU, SABU, SABU, SABU, SABU. SABU. SABU"

[Cory Daggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book about the wrestling legend Sabu told in his own words. Cool to hear about some of the behind the scenes stuff and early years being trained by The Sheik.

[Arthur Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read, packed with humor and serious stories. A fast read, Perfect for ECW fans.

[Tony C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

RIP Sabu ☝🏻

[Damion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Sabu is a straight shooter. He doesn't try to cover things up and make himself look good. That's why I decided to read my first pro wrestling biography by him because I know it would less bullshit. Saw his shot interviews on YouTube. And insights on the wrestling biz were raw and insightful just like wrestling style.

This book didn't disappoint at all. He has so many stories to tell. He been at the bottom of the wrestling biz and too the top. And knows everyone on the scene. They all know him too. Only he could have told his story like this.

Very honest and interesting. Loved the book.

[Greg Necastro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Brunk, aka Sabu, is a true innovator in professional wrestling. Nephew of the legendary Shiek, Sabu discusses his life from birth, an almost life ending teen incident, training under his uncle, and his life as "King of the Independents". A true wrestling innovator who created moves and a style of wrestling that is directly connected to the hardcore, brutal style of wrestling he is known for. The book is full of funny, scary, crazy, and just plain weird stories from Sabu's travels across the globe. The kind of stuff that only comes from professional wrestlers who worked in the days of territories.

While I loved the book, the kindle edition does have a serious problem with grammar. It was obviously not proofread as the errors are glaring and frequent. It's not hard to get around these errors, but it just breaks up the flow of reading the book.