ECW legend Sabu recently recalled how Paul Heyman once advised him not to compete in a WWE Royal Rumble match.
In 1993, Sabu impressed WWE’s higher-ups during three untelevised matches for the company. The buzzworthy competitor received an offer from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, but he decided to work for Paul Heyman’s ECW instead.
Speaking in a Title Match Wrestling video, Sabu explained why he later rejected the opportunity to be a Royal Rumble participant.
“They [WWE] called me back later on to say they wanted me in the Royal Rumble," said Sabu. "I asked Paul if I could do it. He said no. They were gonna give me, at the time, the biggest money I ever made. Paul said, ‘Don’t do it.’ So I didn’t do it, but he don’t remember that s***."
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Sabu went on to become one of ECW’s top stars between 1993 and 2000. The two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion joined WWE in 2006 but only spent a year with the company.
Sabu took Paul Heyman’s advice and missed out on $5,000
Though WWE would have paid Sabu $5,000 to compete in the Royal Rumble, he listened to Paul Heyman’s advice and turned down the offer.
The recently retired star added that WWE wanted him to pull out a table as soon as he entered the match.
“It was five grand to do the Royal Rumble, and I would’ve pulled a table out from underneath the ring," Sabu continued. "I disagreed with pulling the table out from under the ring. I wanted the table already set up."
Sabu disliked the suggestion because he believes table spots only make sense when they're spontaneous. WWE wanted the former ECW star to get the table himself, and he thought this aspect of the spot would have ruined the moment.
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Please credit Title Match Wrestling and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.