View source for Rob Van Dam and Sabu

{{short description|Professional wrestling tag team}}
{{Infobox Wrestling team
|article_name=Rob Van Dam and Sabu
|type=T
|image=Rob Van Dam in ECW.jpg
|caption=Rob Van Dam and Sabu in 1998
|members=[[Rob Van Dam]]<br>[[Sabu (wrestler)|Sabu]]
|former_members=[[Bill Alfonso]] (manager)
|names=Rob Van Dam and Sabu<br>[[ECW Originals]]
|heights=Rob Van Dam:<br />{{height|ft=6}}<br>Sabu:<br /> {{height|ft=6}}
|weights=Rob Van Dam: {{convert|235|lb|kg|abbr=on}}<br />Total: {{convert|455|lb|kg|abbr=on}}<br>Sabu: {{convert|220|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
|hometown=
|trainer=[[Ed Farhat|The Sheik]]
|debut=1996
|disbanded=2019
|years_active=1996–1999<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=28&nr=77 |title=RVD and Sabu facts |website=CageMatch.net |access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref><br>2005–2007<br>2010–2019<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=271&page=4&s=100 |title=Sabu  |date= |last=|first= |work=Cagematch.net |access-date=May 11, 2025 }}</ref> 
}}
'''[[Rob Van Dam]]''' and '''[[Sabu (wrestler)|Sabu]]''' were a [[professional wrestling]] [[tag team]] who competed in [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW) and [[WWE]]'s [[ECW (WWE brand)|ECW]] [[WWE brand extension|brand]]. While teaming in the original ECW, the duo was managed by [[Bill Alfonso]].

==History==

===Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997–1999)===
[[Rob Van Dam]] and [[Sabu (wrestler)|Sabu]] first met in December 1989 and became close friends. The pair started out as enemies in [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW), when Rob Van Dam debuted in 1996. Both men were trained by Sabu's uncle, [[Ed Farhat|The Sheik]], and fans wanted to see them face each other since they both utilized high-flying, daredevil techniques.

In 1996, they eventually became a tag team as they went for the [[ECW World Tag Team Championship]]. At [[ECW Barely Legal]], [[Bill Alfonso]] betrayed [[Tazz|Taz]] and joined Van Dam and Sabu. Four months later, Van Dam helped Sabu beat [[Terry Funk]] in a barbed wire match to capture the [[ECW World Heavyweight Championship]]. After Sabu lost the belt in a three-way dance with Terry Funk and [[Shane Douglas]] at [[ECW Hardcore Heaven]], Sabu and Van Dam joined [[Jerry Lawler]] in his crusade to "kill" ECW. When the crusade ultimately failed, Sabu eventually set his sights on [[Bam Bam Bigelow]]'s [[ECW World Television Championship]]. So Bill Alfonso helped schedule a match between Bigelow and Van Dam, so that the latter could "soften" Bigelow before Sabu would face him at Wrestlepalooza 1998. When Sabu interfered in the match, however, he "accidentally" helped Van Dam win the title, so the two then faced each other at [[ECW Wrestlepalooza|Wrestlepalooza]]. The match ended in a 30-minute draw, preventing title from changing hands. A month later, the two captured the ECW World Tag Team Championship when they defeated [[Chris Candido]] and [[Lance Storm]]. As champions, Sabu and Van Dam took on all challengers including [[Jinsei Shinzaki]] and [[Eiji Ezaki|Hayabusa]] at [[Heat Wave 1998]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. They lost the titles to [[The Dudley Boyz]] in October 1998; however, yet they went on to win them back from the Dudleyz in December at [[ECW/FMW Supershow]].

After they lost the titles again to The Dudley Boyz, [[Impact Players (professional wrestling)|The Impact Players]] formed and started to attack Sabu and Van Dam. When Sabu broke his jaw, the Impact Players had him eventually banned because of his injury and because he was too "dangerous" or "violent." Sabu returned, and after his loss to [[Justin Credible]] at Anarchy Rulz 1999, Sabu started to attack Van Dam because he was still jealous that Van Dam was the ECW World Television Champion, and they would face each other at Guilty as Charged 2000. Sabu proclaimed before the match that if he could not win the belt, he would leave ECW. That night, Van Dam defeated Sabu with the [[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Frog splash|Five Star Frog Splash]], forcing Sabu to leave the company.

===World Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2007)===
Several years after ECW folded, Rob Van Dam and Sabu reunited at [[WWE|World Wrestling Entertainment]] (WWE) produced [[ECW One Night Stand (2005)|ECW One Night Stand]] in 2005, when Van Dam helped Sabu defeat another former ECW wrestler, [[Rhyno]]. When [[ECW (WWE brand)|ECW became the third WWE brand]] (to [[Raw (WWE brand)|Raw]] and [[SmackDown (WWE brand)|SmackDown]]), Van Dam and Sabu became a major part of the show and teamed on several occasions, including an Extreme Rules match against [[Test (wrestler)|Test]] and [[Mike Knox]] on September 5, 2006. The team also became part of [[ECW Originals]] stable in 2006 which feuded with [[The New Breed (ECW)|The New Breed]]. On March 31, 2007, Van Dam and Sabu inducted [[Ed Farhat|The Original Sheik]] into the [[WWE Hall of Fame]]. The following night, at [[WrestleMania 23]], ECW Originals defeated The New Breed but continued battling them into spring. In May 2007, Sabu was released from WWE. Van Dam's WWE contract expired in June 2007, and he chose not to renew it.

===Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling  (2010, 2019)===
On August 8, 2010, Sabu returned to [[Impact Wrestling|Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] (TNA) at [[Hardcore Justice (2010)|Hardcore Justice]], where he was defeated by Rob Van Dam in the main event of the evening.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_42979.shtml|title=Caldwell's TNA Hardcore Justice PPV results 8/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of ECW-themed PPV headlined by RVD vs. Sabu|first=James|last=Caldwell|date=2010-08-08|access-date=2010-10-29|work=Pro Wrestling Torch}}</ref> Van Dam and Sabu both then went on to join [[ECW Originals#Total Nonstop Action Wrestling|EV 2.0]], a stable consisting of former ECW wrestlers. On the October 21 episode of ''[[Impact! (TV series)|TNA Impact!]]'', Van Dam and Sabu were defeated in a tag team match by [[Beer Money, Inc.]] ([[James Storm]] and [[Bobby Roode|Robert Roode]]), after Sabu accidentally hit his own partner with a chair. After the match, Van Dam and Sabu began shoving each other, before being broken up by the rest of EV 2.0.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_44696.shtml|title=Wilkenfeld's TNA Impact report 10/21: Complete "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV's live broadcast|date=2010-10-21|access-date=2010-10-29|last=Wilkenfeld|first=Daniel|work=Pro Wrestling Torch}}</ref> In November 2010, Sabu was released from TNA, as was Van Dam in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_44998.shtml|title=TNA News: EV2 wrestler gone from TNA after this Sunday's Turning Point PPV, say sources|date=2010-11-02|access-date=2010-11-08|last=Caldwell|first=James|work=Pro Wrestling Torch}}</ref>

On February 8, 2019, it was revealed that both Rob Van Dam and Sabu would return to TNA, now named Impact Wrestling, at their following [[pay-per-view]] United We Stand. At the event on April 4, 2019, the team tagged for the first time since 2015, facing [[Lucha Brothers|Lucha Bros]] ([[Pentagón Jr.]] and [[Fénix (wrestler)|Fénix]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://impactwrestling.com/rvd-and-sabu-return-to-impact-at-united-we-stand/|title=RVD and Sabu Return to IMPACT at United We Stand|date=February 9, 2019|access-date=February 9, 2019|work=Impact Wrestling}}</ref>

==Championships and accomplishments==
*'''[[Extreme Championship Wrestling]]'''

**[[ECW World Heavyweight Championship]] ([[List of ECW World Heavyweight Champions|1 time]]) – [[Sabu (wrestler)|Sabu]]
**[[ECW World Television Championship]] ([[List of ECW World Television Champions|1 time]]) – [[Rob Van Dam]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=2|title=ECW World Television Championship|first=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database|date=April 4, 1998|access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
**[[FTW Championship|FTW Heavyweight Championship]] ([[ECW FTW Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]]) – Sabu<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=4661|title=FTW Heavyweight Championship|first=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database|date=December 19, 1998|access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
**[[ECW World Tag Team Championship]] ([[List of ECW World Tag Team Champions|2 times]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=3|title=ECW World Tag Team Championship|first=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database|date=June 27, 1998|access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{wwe superstar|rob-van-dam|Rob Van Dam}}
*{{wwe superstar|sabu|Sabu}}
*[http://www.robvandam.com RobVanDam.com (Rob Van Dam's Official Website)]
{{ECW World Tag Team Championship}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rob Van Dam And Sabu}}
[[Category:ECW Originals members]]
[[Category:ECW (WWE) teams and stables]]
[[Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling teams and stables]]
[[Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling teams and stables]]
[[Category:WWE teams and stables]]
[[Category:Independent promotions teams and stables]]
[[Category:All Japan Pro Wrestling teams and stables]]