Sabu vs. Terry Funk

[5.0] "Though gruesome and sometimes hard to watch, the match has a real drama and authenticity that's often missing in ECW. However, it is somewhat one-dimensional and lacks intensity, getting a bit messy after RVD gets involved, but it's still a very compelling spectacle overall."

[9.0] "Holy fuck. Jesus Christ. The tension at the beginning is very high, neither man wanting to go near the barbed wire. Sabu gets the honor of getting launched into the wire first and he's instantly bleeding. The barbed wire just shreds through everything. Both guys end up bloody messes. Sabu taping his arm up after his bicep is ripped open from the barbed wire is something I'll never forget. Terry kicks the shit outta Bill Alfonso. The end of this match is fucked up and looks like hell. What a match, rest in peace both these legends."

[10.0] "Arguably the best no rope barbed wire match in history. There are some crazy ass spots with Sabu wrapping himself in barbed wire and getting himself and Funk stuck in it and Sabu legit tearing his bicep open when he missed an Air Sabu into the barbed wire."

[2.0] "When I was younger, like many, I romanticized the original ECW. But after rewatching some of the shows from that era, I realize it wasn't nearly as good as I remember, and it's no wonder the promotion went bankrupt. Many of the matches from that era tried to hook viewers with the novelty factor and gratuitous violence. This match lasted over 20 minutes, both wrestlers were seriously injured by the barbed wire, and at one point it all turned into chaos with RVD, Dreamer, and Alfonso interfering. In 2025, it looks slow, sloppy, and archaic, unfortunately. There was almost no wrestling in the classic sense, just gratuitous violence *1/4"

[9.0] "Both guys at their finest. First part was centred around incredible spots and even if the second one was rapidly slower, brutality was the dominant factor. RIP to the legends of hardcore."

[6.0] "RIP Sabu. We never needed to do another one of these matches again, though. We spent way too little time building to the barbed wire spots and the fact they weren't gimmicked is too much for me to enjoy. You could've made this safer but ECW fans want what they want."

[9.0] "This was brutal, although I have always thought that Violence in ECW was quite measured so that I am not happening, this is no case. The only weakness is the end, it feels so bad, but clearly they cannot end as if it were a normal match. Important data: They almost ended up naked."

[8.0] "Awesome match. The final stretch in which both men literally cover themselves with barbed wire is absolutely unreal. Have never seen a visual like that before."

[10.0] "Sabu has to be on the mount rushmore of the toughest humans to ever step in a wrestling ring. Taping your tricep while getting a neckbreaker done to you is some absolutely maniacal shit. Awesome fight, I'd probably say this is my favorite death match. RIP TERRY FUNK *****"

[7.0] "Good and gruesome hardcore match all around, but it starts to dull out as the barbed wire gets more and more usage, barring some shining moments. By the end you don't really have a show, only a spectacle, as Terry Funk and Sabu are so deeply entrenched in the barbed wire that any and all action slows to molasses and all you can think of is how the hell they'll even get out of that mess once the bell rings. The beginning of the match is really good though, really liked how both Sabu and Funk played into the whole "barbed wire as ropes" stipulation during the opening stages."

[10.0] "This match was definitely one of the best career matches of Terry Funk and Sabu One of the best matches could have been Funk, his title to lose Both wrestlers were able to create incredibly beautiful sequences related to the barbed wire match And best of all, when the momentum of the match changed, the two wrestlers would do their best to kill their opponent in the ring. And they inflicted the worst blows on the opponent"

[10.0] "There are a lot of modern "death matches" that feature guys getting 500 lighttubes broken over their heads, bumping into nails, even getting stabbed with scissors or other such things, and a lot of them don't connect well with me simply because the brutal spots are treated as commonplace by the wrestlers who are used to taking them. Nothing could be farther from the truth in this Barbed Wire Match, where the ring ropes are replaced with barbed wire. Though you could hardly find two tougher men than Sabu and Funk, they still treat the match with utmost caution in the early going, carefully avoiding the wire as much as possible and trying to maximize damage to their opponent without carving themselves up in the process. It's a great piece of psychology and they work the first part of the match beautifully around it. However inevitably the damage starts to accumulate, and along with some beautiful selling it also forwards the mindset of the match as both men become more desperate and reckless to do damage. The blood is soon flowing freely from both men, in a memorable moment Sabu gets a big gash on his arm and ends up doggedly wrapping tape around his arm to staunch the bleeding, even while Funk continues his attack. Interference from Sabu's partner RVD puts him on the defensive, but in time Funk's protégé Tommy Dreamer comes out and plants RVD with a great DDT before hauling him to the back. The finishing stretch is epically painful, Funk is tangled up in the wires which have broken free from the posts and Sabu dives on him through a table, becoming deeply entangled in the wire as well. They manage to scrabble back to the ring but are so tangled it feels like they can barely move. In the mass of wire, Sabu forces Funk's shoulders down to become the new ECW champion. Absolutely insane match, one of ECW's best in my view."

[2.0] "* / I was hoping I'd enjoy an early ECW hardcore match but it fell super flat for me. They were rolling around for most of it and while Sabu did have a cool spot of bandaging his wound, it only slowed the match. Each person's punches didn't look good and the pacing was off from the first bell it just felt like it was in slow motion. I'm not saying I want them to be flying around bouncing off the barbed wire and killing themselves I'm glad it was as safe as it could be but it could have been done with some more pep in its step. More wrestling would've been a lot better as a start rather than just using the wires."

[10.0] "My god this is incredible. Fairly simple stuff sure, irish whips into the barbed wire, table spots and whatnot, BUT the brutality of it all is top shelf stuff. Sabu destroys his bicep with the barbed wire about halfway in and tapes it up mid match, him and Funk get dropped and thrown into the barbed wire in some of the most cringe inducing ways and to top it off Van Dam and Alfonso wrap funk in the barbed wire and put him onto the table to get put through it by Sabu, and THEN Sabu wraps himself in barbed wire to do it again. The finish is wonderful and violent in all the best ways. Truly a spectacle of a match."

[10.0] "Sweet merciful Christ almighty. This is easily the most violent and disturbing match Ive ever seen, and yet it was fucking awesome. Sabu and Funk are two of the best in ECW history and you just know these two will slaughter eachother when the ropes are barbed wire. There is so much blood and seriously nasty spots. The raking of their faces, the sprints into the wire, the whipping, its so hard to watch. For Terry to be doing this at his age is unreal. Its almost too much, but Im kind of a sadistic bastard who loves this kind of stuff so I love it. And of course who could forget Sabu just ripping his bicep open and you can full on see it just hanging out of the gash. Nothing but immense respect to Sabu for just taping it up like a fucking beast and finishing the match. Speaking of finishes, this match definitely had an ending it wasnt supposed to have, but I actually think its genius. A sick ass leg drop through the table as both guys are wrapped in the wire and they get so tangled that they can barely even get into the ring. Sabu definitely pins Terry for real just to end the match, but it feels so real (because it is) and I love when it feels real. Probably one of my new all time favorite matches, but definitely not one Ill recommend to people. Ever."

[8.0] "This was a great match, but more than that, it was a spectacle. Terry Funk had the feel good story of the aging veteran getting one last world title run earlier that year. Here, he would go hardcore again, this time in a barbed wire match against Sabu. Sabu had a penchant for tearing up his body in these kind of hardcore matches, not being afraid to hurt himself in order to hurt his opponent. The was a violent war, with Funk attacking Bill Alfonso, and later both Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer getting involved. Early on, Sabu cut up his bicep pretty bad and he had to wrap it up outside the ring. The finish was insane, with Terry Funk literally wrapped in barbed wire, and Sabu had some wrapped around his legs and he did a leg drop to the outside on Funk and through a table. Now I don't think the match was supposed to end here, but the wire on both men tangled into each other and they couldn't move. Sabu had to forcefully pin Funk in order to win the match and just end it. By the end, Funk looked like he was in anguish and Sabu just wanted the get the barbed wire off of him. These guys destroyed themselves in this match, and whatever you think about the match, these men should be respected for what they put themselves through. ****"

[8.0] "This match goes off the rails, it gets sloppy and messy, and is mostly well known for Sabu's awful injury on his bicep. Despite that, I really enjoyed watching this match just for the spectacle of it. It's bloody, gruesome, brutal, and honestly just incredible this even exists. No wonder Paul Heyman didn't want to book another one after this. I recommend it, but you'll never see me watching this ever again."

[4.0] "Sabu is just insane, he taping up his injury and went on with the match, which was the main highlight. But overall, the structure was pretty ambiguous. Such hardcore matches looked pretty new for those years, It was a fairly brutal brawl with almost no wrestling moves but with a lot of barbed wire spots. But pretty quickly this mess with a lot of pointless brutality got boring, the match lasted a full 20 minutes and left mixed impressions."

[7.0] "huh, just learned subu s real name is Terry Bruno and hes facing Terry Funk. idk thought it was funny. but for the actual match, it still holds up. pretty slow but they hit the expected spots good and are pretty creative. I do think they are idiots for doing the spot at the end of the match with Funk covered in barbed wire. if you're going to risk being tangled up, do it inside of the damn ring so the finish can be cleaner. it just ended up being unnecessary panic and made it seem like they had to end the match early"

[5.0] "Very boring match Im really disappointing I thought this is gonna be so good. , its too long and they just dont do a lot of things or an interesting thing at least , even the ending is so bad Its just not good 20 minute match.? This is too long For the ideas in that match , and it was so slow like it. Just very boring. I dont recommend it."

[6.0] "It would probably be higher rated if I wasnt viewing this match after the creation of GCW and other death match promotions, it was extremely entertaining however not very good wrestling. The punch spots looked weak, and that was about all the wrestling there was. Very entertaining though."

"This was freakin brutal! Sabu vs Funk is a Match with not much Wrestling, but Entertainment in nearly every Second. This Match feels really like war, this is what the letters ECW stand for, something really Special, in its very brutal and strange way, but different, in a good way. The Spots were spectacular and in the ending sequence, both Wrestlers looked more like a Monster out of a Carpenter Movie, than two Wrestlers linked to another. A really Special Match and a Match which you should have seen, and if its only for the old vibes of ECW"

[5.0] "A violent match, but with almost no wrestling moves. Irish whip here, irish whip there, a few punches and a few Sabu leg drops. Nothing extraordinary besides being wrapped around a barbed wire"

[7.0] "An actual ultraviolent match. Accidentally increasingly gruesome due to both getting tangled in the barb wire. A must see for deathmatch fans and a curiosity for non-deathmatch fans."

[8.0] "This might just be the most famous ECW match and it's one of the most harrowing matches ever put on by an American promotion up to this point. This felt like an FMW deathmatch that just happened to be taken place in the ECW Arena. Funk kicks out of a Sabu hurricanrana and the momentum sends Sabu into the wire. Sabu ends up getting his pants shredded after Funk drops him crotch-first onto the barbed wire! This lets the fans know that this barbed wire was the real deal. Sabu takes most of the first few bumps into the wire, but Terry soon tastes the wire as Sabu grinds his face into the wire! Sabu getting his bicep shredded in the barbed wire is a disgusting sight and Sabu taping up his injury to carry on with the match shows his determination. The match starts to fall apart in the second half, with spots becoming way too contrived. Funk and Sabu end up getting tied together with the barbed wire and Funk's harrowing screams will stick with me for a long time. Sabu and Funk clearly know how to make this stipulation work and create a memorable match, but this could have been so much better if they were able to end this before it got too silly."

[5.0] "This gets an average rating mostly because I'm not sure how to rate it... It was crazy, over the top violence, but it was also slow with nothing resembling actual wrestling. It's the most brutal match I can remember from the US up to this point, but FMW and others in Japan had already done worse. It was two guys pushing themselves to the limit in some ways, but it was also meaningless brutality for entertainment - Sabu supposedly needed a hundred stitches afterwards. Whatever else it was, it was an unforgettable spectacle, although some might want to forget it."

[10.0] "It's Sabu. And Terry Funk. With barbed wire ring ropes. There is no way this was going to disappoint. The match that formed my love of deathmatches."

[8.0] "They got a lot right with the aesthetic in this match with the torn clothing, taped fists and blood. This match still holds up as quite a spectacle to me. I could probably do without the whole RVD run-in and maybe add a little more wrestling and drama before the first use of the barbed wire, but I think it's still a pretty good one. It's probably not the kind of deathmatch which will convert anybody who hates deathmatches but it's decent fun for everyone else. The ending is equal parts anti-climactic and poetic, which kind of makes it perfect. They were consumed by the match and wrapped up in their hatred of each other to such a degree that they were completely immobilised. Sabu and Funk dragged each other to hell, never stopping to consider their own descent. Okay. Enough pretentiousness. I like this match."

[7.0] "For its time, this was revolutionary in American wrestling. As fun of a match as it was, it was not without its downsides. Besides the fact that Funk was well past his prime and how limited I find Sabu, this was difficult to watch and enjoy, namely because of the sheer brutality these two went through. We all know the story with Sabu's biceps, and you have to consider Funk's age and health. On the positive side as previously mentioned, it was a fun match and a spectacle for the live crowd."

[1.0] "If every match tells a story or teaches a lesson, this match tells a viewer that professional wrestling is a sad, miserable business where you have to make sure that you got the way out of it, otherwise, you find yourself in "matches" like these."

[4.0] "While looking back at a legend's prime years can create a newfound respect, one of the downsides I find happens when watching them during their decline and feeling a sense of discontent. This is how I feel about "Living Legend" Terry Funk during his ECW years. I've seen this match a handful of times before, but it wasn't until I had seen Funk quick on his feet and eager for a brawl back in the 70's and 80's that I started to feel this way on rewatch. Here, Funk is old and hardly mobile from the start. He's still crazy enough to work the match in the first place, but it's Sabu who has to keep the match from growing tiresome. He doesn't. The selling is solid and while I don't want to come off as crediting a legitimate injury, Sabu getting his bicep sliced open was gnarly. It's entertaining enough and works as a spectacle (while there were more violent matches elsewhere, it was a first to be broadcasted to an American audience), though I can't say I enjoyed it much at all. The most fun came from RVD and Tommy Dreamer interfering towards the end. **"

[6.0] "Funk made it acceptable. His selling was dramatic and believable. Sabu did some nice spots but he was inconsistent, i almost laughed at one point when he started wrapping himself with bandages instead of selling and kept doing it while taking a neckbreaker onto a chair. The match fell apart at one point and kinda lost its pace."

[7.0] "I'll be honest here: at the time I had seen gorier and especially far more disturbing hardcore matches from IWA Japan and FMW featuring the likes of Mr Pogo, Atsushi Onita, Mick Foley and Terry Funk himself. Compared to those authentic bloodbaths, this was mild. But... at the time Internet was in its infancy and those of us who traded tapes or had satellite TV were a minority even among nerds. When Paul Heyman decided to do this in front of a US audience and to put it up (in edited form) on TV, he was making history. Hardcore matches were already well established and gory "blade jobs" had given wrestling fans their dose of blood for decades, but nobody had attempted doing something like this before. Nowadays, after seeing the likes of Zandig and Ryuji Itoh slicing and dicing themselves in increasingly more disturbing stunts, this match seems tame if not downright boring by comparison, but its historical significance cannot be denied nor forgotten."

[5.0] "The barbed wire is sufficiently gross, but the wrestling is almost non-existant. Both men show off their high-tolerance for pain, but when it's over neither seems like they should be a promotion's world champion."

[8.0] "Perhaps the most disturbing match in the history of hardcore wrestling. When they were wrapped in the barbed wire at the end and Terry Funk was panicking and cursing I literally thought he was gonna die if they didn't finish the match soon and get him out. They were so tangled in the stuff that they were immobile, and couldn't even do any more moves, it was f'ing insane. This is **** just for the sheer spectacle of it quite frankly... a match you just don't ever forget."

[9.0] "This match is clearly not for everyone, as you can tell by some of the overly dramatic reviews. No, it's not a wrestling classic, but as garbage-style matches go, especially one where the lack of ropes removes 85% of Sabu's offence, this was a compelling if graphically violent contest."

[0.0] "0. Hated this. Hated to see Terry do this. This match has absolutely no value in the way of entertainment, nor in the way of enjoyment. Terry did this stuff because he was absolutely out of his mind. The same could be said for Sabu. This is an important piece of ECW history, but it is awful. I saw this, and god willing i will never see this again."

[0.0] "As far as a wrestling match/entertainment goes, I don't rank this very high on the scale at all. Probably around a 3/10. There just isn't any substance whatsoever, and the points I assign it are based solely on the merit that these performers (not wrestlers) have balls big enough to do this at all. But I'd rather watch almost any other match ever. This one is not good (aside from that annoying, despicable toad Bill Alfonso getting raked by barbed wire). It even somehow features not one, but two (! ), pointless run-ins from outside wrestlers! Philosophically, though, this match is an absolute zero. Barely anything remotely related to a wrestling match occurs. This is the equivalent of taking cell phone footage of a train wreck and passing it off as an art film. It's baseless garbage that only satisfies prurient interests. Awful, awful shit. Worst match I've ever seen. 0/10."

[8.0] "I tend to not be too fond of a lot of purely hardcore matches, but when its done right like this then its certainly one that demands acknowledgement. Terry Funk hadn't lost his touch in the department of getting a crowd involved, and he and Sabu were crazy and smart enough to try things that weren't thought of prior to this bout. The moment Sabu ripped his bicep open is one of the hardest things to watch as far as wrestling is concerned, but the guy persisted and wrapped tape around it mid match. This wasn't a wrestling match, this was a violent fight and the two guys bringing that fight brought an extra set of nuts that day. The finishing spot is as frightening as the moment Mankind fell off the cell. **** 1/2"

[6.0] "Some spots are really horrifying, but this is good for this type of matches I guess. Surely a historic match, but could have been much better if shorter and without interferences. Much respect for the guys and the injuries suffered here, but the whole "trying to hurt the other with the barbed wire" thing wasn't so believable."

[0.0] "If you're a fan of hardcore wrestling then you will love this. Unfortunately for me, once you get past that first spot of 'who is going to go into the barbed wire' first, the rest of the spots with the barbed wire become boring as fuck, as was the rest of the match from there on. Respect for the brutality, but this is not something I enjoy at all. DUD"

[4.0] "This match shows why hardcore wrestling is so bad: cheap shocks and no substance. Cheap shocks can sometimes make for a good match, but without a solid wrestling foundation it makes all the flaws of hardcore matches visible. This was your typical “wow blood and pain! ” type of match. Both men get torn up by the barbed wire, which I will admit was occasionally pretty fun because of how graphic it was, but the majority of the match was just a lot of very slow brawling without any real impact. Even the majority of the moments where both men were getting cut on the barbed wire were rather boring because there would be barely any energy from them or they would use the barbed wire ineffectively and strip it of its intimidation . If you’re going to try be ‘hardcore’ at least put some effort into it. Funk was 53 and he looked terrible in the ring, as his offence was incredibly weak. Sabu was marginally better, but since there was barely any actual wrestling from him that isn’t saying much. The ‘big’ spots were pretty boring, which is definitely not something I imagined from a high profile ECW match. The match was also overbooked with all the stupid interferences that added nothing to the match. Both men being totally entangled in barbed wire was a really cool visual, but it led to an incredibly awkward and anti-climactic finish. This was a poor match which I don’t believe deserves the acclaim it currently receives. Props for all the torture both men went through, at least. **1/4""

[6.0] "I gave this match *** stars out of 5. These men literally left their flesh in the ring to entertain us. That being said, they didn't really do much. At least not much more than brawling and wrapping themselves up in barbed wire. I wouldn't recommend this match."

[10.0] "Five star match for me. A personal all time favorite of mine. I loved Terry beating the shit out of Bill Alfonso, cause that guy annoyed me for years. And keep in mind when watching it that the main thing to focus on his the sheer brutality of what's happening in the ring; Sabu's muscle pops out. And bear in mind that Funker was fairly aged by this point. ***** stars for sure."

[7.0] "Brutal, insane, sick and just incredible to watch. If you like hardcore wrestling then this is definitely a must see match, I like hardcore wrestling but not a massive fan hence why I haven't given it a 10 like others. Sabu having to tape up his torn bicep just shows dedication to the business and ECW, plus wrapping himself in barbed wire to leg drop Funk through a table was great. A good match, my rating is ***1/2, would have been higher if i was a bigger fan of hardcore wrestling I'm sure, still good."

[10.0] "This was the match that crossed the line for Paul Heyman - The one that had such a level of violence and brutality that he said it was "So gruesome, I never ever dared to schedule another one like it after it. " When you consider this fact, you'll know that it must have been pretty extreme. I would consider this match to be on par with some of the good barbed wire matches that FMW had, as it wasn't a match that focused entirely on the weapons or barbed wire spots, but presented storytelling in it as well. While numerous indie federations have likely done more extreme stuff since this match, this one remains a major pillar in ECW's history."