Rhino On Why His Match At ECW One Night Stand Was So Special, Recalls Wrestling Sabu

Rhino says his match against Sabu at ECW One Night Stand was special for a number of reasons, but one very personal reason in particular. Rhino battled his mentor at the WWE-produced ECW show. Sabu got the win.

Rhino spoke about the match in a new WWE Retrospective video. He noted that the match means a lot to him because his late brother was able to come out to see it. You can see highlights below:

On Facing Sabu At the Show:

“A lot of people don’t know this was my last match with WWE until I came back to NXT. I was able to wrestle with Sabu, and Sabu was my mentor in ECW. And I had never met him until ECW, but we were both Michigan guys and we just never crossed paths. He really helped pave the way, and he paid for everything. And I worked at the gym in ECW, so, ‘Sabu, I can–‘ He [said] ‘No, I paid for it, I’m making more than you, and blah-blah-blah.’ But I eventually repaid him later on.

“But Paul said, you’ll have a great match, I’ll put you with someone. And when I found out I was wrestling Sabu, I’m like, this is gonna be fun. But the vibe in the locker room, it was fun because you get to do a show in a place you’ve already done a show.”

On The Match Being Particularly Special:

“The reason why this match is more special than what you can see in the whole ECW thing is, my brother Jim came out with my cousin. My brother loved ECW, loved all the WWE stuff, but he got cancer and passed away in 2017. But just to have him in the audience and he’s like, ‘I want to be there for that one.’

“And it was really cool knowing he was out there. He loved the whole show, and he’d always go to the WWE shows too. He’d bring my mom and my other brothers would go when they were in Detroit. But he made that drive out there. He was like me, loved to drive, and he drove out with my cousin and stuff. And you now you’re a part of history on that show. So it was just a very good show.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.