"(The fans) can be pretty merciless" - Mick Foley says former champion never "had the chance to endear himself"

Mick Foley recently stated that Sabu never had the chance to endear himself towards the later part of his career.

Sabu was known as one of the most extreme wrestlers in ECW. The former ECW World Champion would waste no opportunity to put his body on the line. While this was the ECW way and their fans loved it, as the brand died and wrestling evolved, Sabu's remained a mere afterthought in the modern wrestling fans' mind.

Foley spoke about the ECW legend on his Foley is POD podcast where he said that he hopes Sabu gets his recognition for being a dynamic figure in the industry. Mick Foley also mentioned that Sabu never had the chance to endear himself.

"Sabu is another guy I’d like to see get his accolades. It’s just a shame that when the only crime — the only thing Sabu ever did was get older. A lot of the people who were on the bandwagon see him, you know, he hasn’t gone on to be part of people’s childhoods the way that we had the opportunity to, so the wave of popularity goes from here, then there’s a big downturn and then one day when Halloween, you realize that people are dressing up like you for Halloween. You’re no longer irrelevant. You’re now part of people’s childhoods. Also, he didn’t have a chance to endear himself to people."

He continued:

"[Sabu] never found that other gear to shift into, which usually involves comedy. Ric [Flair] was connecting with audiences more efficiently ten years past his physical prime. DX, clearly, humor was on display as Shawn Michaels and Triple H got older. [Sabu] didn’t have that other gear. Unfortunately, as time goes by, you’re seeing the same guy do things a little bit slower. And fans can be man, they can be pretty merciless. Yeah. They can be very forgiving, and they can be great, but they can be pretty merciless when somebody’s stumbling." [H/T Fightful]

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Mick Foley regrets not being able to face Hulk Hogan

Mick Foley has wrestled all the top stars in the industry during his prime. However, the Hardcore Legend has never squared off against Hulk Hogan. During a recent episode of his Foley is POD podcast, Foley revealed that he could've had a match with the Hulkster had he stayed longer in TNA.

"I got to cut, I think, two promos, and it's pretty awe-inspiring to be standing face to face with him, and I think if I'd stayed, we could've had a good [match]. Emotionally I would've been so up for that match, partially to win Hulk's approval. I was the anti-Hogan working in my head," he added.

It would've been a dream come true for wrestling fans around the world to watch Foley and Hogan square off against each other.

What do you make of Mick Foley's comments about Sabu? Sound off in the comments section.