CLICK HERE to go back home.
THE MESSIAH vs. SABU
- This is another one of XPW's most famous feuds ever. It pitted two hardcore maniacs against eachother. Sabu, a former-ECW World Heavyweight, Tag Team, and Television Champion, along with a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, has always been known as a "suicidal, genocidal, and homicidal," Arabian maniac, and the scars that covered his forehead and body backed that claim up. His legendary feuds with the likes of Rob Van Dam, Taz, The Sandman, Terry Funk, and others captivated ECW fans from the mid-90's until early 2000. He has competed in some of the most violent and gory matches in professional wrestling history, and the list of promotions he's worked for include (among others) FMW, ECW, BJPW, Michinoku Pro, WCW, WWF (currently WWE), AJPW, NJPW, NWA, JCW, MECW, and XPW.
Meanwhile, after graduating high school, William C. Welch enrolled in the "Slam U" wrestling training program located at the Slammers Wrestling Gym in Sun Valley, CA, where he was trained by future-WCW writer Ed Ferrera (a.k.a. "Oklahoma") and the man who would eventually become Carlito Montana in XPW, Hombre d'Oro. After wrestling on the So-Cal indy circuit as "Iron" Mike Earndhardt, Welch debuted in XPW on November 20, 1999 in Ventura, CA under the masked moniker of "The Blunatic."
Welch wrestled under the Blunatic alias for one more match before debuting the Messiah character on December 18, 1999 in Hollywood, CA. The character was a god-like gimmick, but Welch was careful that the character never crossed any lines of controversy. As a deeply-devoted Christian in real-life, he made it a point that the character didn't offend any fans or anyone else in any way. The character, though, was hyped as hailing from "The Kingdom of God" and he preached against the hardcore-style of XPW, even though he himself competed in several violent deathmatches during his XPW tenure.
The Messiah character was an instant hit with XPW fans, who immediately began hating him. Their hatred for him only increased early in his XPW career when he joined XPW Owner Rob Black's heel stable called, "The Black Army," which, throughout it's tenure in XPW, has included such big names as (in no participular order) Abdullah the Butcher, Tracy Smothers, (John) Kronus, Vic Grimes, Supreme, and, of course, The Messiah.
- Sabu, meanwhile, debuted in XPW on Wednesday, April 26, 2000, at the "XPW And Then There Was Four" show at the L.A. Sports Arena in Los Angeles, CA. The card's main event saw two big name stars go toe - to - toe when XPW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Candido defended his title against his former-ECW Triple Threat ally, Shane Douglas.
Candido had debuted at the January 29th, 2000 "Abuse of Power" show and quickly developed a rivalry against then-XPW World Champion "The Real Deal" Damien Steele. After pinning Steele in a non-title match at XPW's February 25th show, Candido again pinned the champ at XPW's inaugural King of the Deathmatch Tournament card (entitled, "My Bloody Valentine" [2/26/00; Hollywood, CA), and that time, Steele's title was on the line, so Candido was the new XPW World Heavyweight Champion.
After the match, though, was the real story, as Deep Purple's familiar "Perfect Strangers" theme hit and Shane Douglas came out to the ring, making a shocking appearance. Douglas ranted on several different subjects: ""I’m not afraid of legal battles. I’ll take millions and millions of your dollars and then come right back here to XPW, hoist the company on my back just like I did (with) ECW, and make this f*cking company a God da*mn player in the sport of professional wrestling." Shane concluded his controversial promo with, "...Alright XPW - you’ve got yourselves a deal, but more importantly, you have now got yourselves (pause) a Franchise!"
After "My Bloody Valentine," Candido successfully defended his new title twice before a very legitimate challenger was put in his path: Shane Douglas. At the first show of the "And Then There Was Four" tour (4/26/00), Candido defended his title against the former-ECW World Heavyweight Champion, and the match has always been regarded as one of the most exciting in XPW's short, yet illustrious, history.
Going into the match, internet websites and insiders of the business reported rumors that former-ECW World Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team Champion Sabu would make an appearance at the show, as he was rumored to have signed with XPW. Well, halfway through the match, former-Danzig (a rock band) bass guitarist Josh Lazie camedown to the ring and, over the mic, told Douglas that he had a surprise for him. Then, all of the rumors came true as Sabu ran down and turned the match into a three-way dance. As expected, Sabu delighted the crowd with the high-risk table spots and innovative manuevers that only he could do, but not even he could derail Candido's XPW Title reign, as the champion eventually retained his title after picking up the pinfall win.
After the match, though, Sabu got some revenge when he hit a pescada (catapult crossbody suicida) onto both of his opponents, and then brought Candido, the XPW Champion in the ring. After a short brawl for control, Sabu drilled the champ with a DDT and then put him through a table with an Arabian Facebuster (flying leg drop).
- On Friday, April 28, 2000 in Ventura, CA, Sabu, accompanied by his new and future manager, Josh Lazie (who had introduced him during his debut), pinned another former-ECW superstar, that being (John) Kronus. After the match, he fended off interference by both XPW's "Human Horror Film," Supreme, and The Messiah. This would be the first confrontation ever between Messiah and Sabu. The next night (April 29) in Bakersfield, CA, XPW held a one-night, single-elimination tournament to determine a new XPW World Heavyweight Champion. Chris Candido had been stripped of the title due to having to fullfill full-time duties with WCW.
The tournament never would've actually if it wasn't for Lazie and Sabu, who went to Candido's hotel room and stole the title belt the same morning of the show. Lazie was going to simply crown Sabu the new XPW World Champ, but he instead decided to hold a tournament for it. Both Messiah and Sabu would be participants in the tournament. Among two other first-round results, Messiah advanced by pinning a rival of his, "White Trash" Johnny Webb, while Sabu (w/ Lazie) advanced by again pinning Kronus. One of the other two first-round bouts saw Axl Rotten and (Homeless) Jimmy battle eachother. The match was ruled a No Contest when Supreme ran in and all three men brawled throughout the building. This meant that Messiah would receive a "Bye" to the final-round due to the Axl/Jimmy match having no decisive winner.
So, all eyes were on the second-round match that pitted former-XPW Champion "The Real Deal" Damien Steele against former-ECW Champion Sabu to determine Messiah's final-round opponent. Sabu ended up pinning Steele to advance to the finals, but the decision was very controversial, as Steele had lifted his feet onto the bottom rope, but referee Patrick Hernandez didn't see it and counted the pinfall in favor of Sabu. Albeit the controversy, the stage was set, as the winner of the Messiah/Sabu match would win the XPW World Heavyweight Championship.
During the match, Sabu used a single-leg takedown and applied a leglock, and once he released that, used a headlock takeover. After bodyslamming Messiah, he hit his signature catapult somersault leg drop for 2, and then locked on a camel clutch. Messiah eventually escaped and missed a corner splash, allowing Sabu to clothesline him for 2. Messiah rolls to the outside, where he receives a baseball-slide dropkick from Sabu. Back in the ring, Sabu snapmares Messiah and then hits his signature triple-jump moonsault (using a chair to vault off of) for another 2 count. Sabu tries a second triple-jump moonsault, but lands in a crotched position on the top ring rope.
Messiah then lifts Sabu onto his shoulders and delivered his Godsmack finisher to the Arabian maniac. The move is a spinning fireman's carry into a stunner, and as Messiah spun around, Sabu's feet kicked referee Hernandez in the head, sending him down. Messiah covered his foe, and it was obvious that Sabu had stayed down for more than three seconds, but there was no referee to count the fall. After this, Sabu's manager, Josh Lazie, climbed onto the apron, but Messiah hammered him, sending him off flying off the apron and crashing into the steel guardrail.
XPW Owner Rob Black, along with his wife, Lizzy Borden, then ran out and climbed onto the ring apron. Messiah held Sabu from behind for Black to deliver a chairshot, but Sabu ducked down, and the chair swacked Messiah across the forehead, sending him down to the mat. Sabu then clotheslined Black, who fell off of the apron and crashed through the timekeeper's table. After this, Sabu draped Messiah on table and put him through it with an Arabian Facebuster (flying leg drop). Referee Hernandez was still out, but another referee, Pee Wee Moore, quickly ran down the entrance aisleway and made the count: 1...2...3! Sabu had won the XPW World Heavyweight Championship!!!
- At "XPW D-Day" (4/26/00; L.A., CA), Sabu pinned Chris Candido to retain his XPW World Heavyweight Title. Afterwards, a shocking appearance by the hardcore legend, Abdullah the Butcher, occurred, and Abby proceeded to attack everyone in his sight, including Josh Lazie, who he cut open with a fork, and Sabu!
On the second show of XPW's "D-Day" tour (and the first of the two "D-Day Aftermatch" shows) (2/2700; Bakersfield, CA), Sabu was forced to defend his title in an elimination three-way match against both Chris Candido and The Messiah - both disciples of Black. The first elimination occurred when Sabu pinned Candido. After he was eliminated, Candido took his anger out on Messiah, who he spiked with a piledriver. This allowed Sabu to also pin Messiah, which won the Arabian lunatic the match and a successful retention of his XPW World Heavyweight Title.
After the match, Abdullah the Butcher (who had made a successful XPW debut by pinning Homeless Jimmy in the match immediately preceding the main event), again made his prescence felt, just like he did at the tour's first show, by coming to the ring and destroying everybody in his path, including head XPW referee Patrick Hernandez and the security crew.
- XPW Vengeance (6/17/00; L.A., CA) kicked off with heel stable, The Black Army, coming to the ring and calling out Josh Lazie and his protege, XPW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu, both of whom did just that and came right out. After some words by Rob Black, Sabu punched the XPW Owner in the face, prompting the whole Black Army, which included The Messiah, to pounce on Sabu and beat him down.
Just when it looked as if Sabu was going to be too injured to defend his title against Abdullah the Butcher later in the night, the music of XPW's masked man, TOOL, hit and the colossal giant rand out and made the save for Sabu, cleaning the ring of Black Army members. After he made the save, Sabu and the masked TOOL stood face-to-face in the ring for a few moments before TOOL left and headed back to the lockerroom, leaving Sabu and Lazie to chill in the ring for a few minutes before the night's first match began.
Later that night in the main event, Sabu (w/ Josh Lazie) defended his XPW title against Abdullah the Butcher in a bloody brawl throughout the arena. After Sabu hammered Rob Black (who had accompanied Abby to the ring), The Black Army (including The Messiah) ran out and began beating down the defending champion and any other non-members, prompting the bout to be ruled a No Contest (meaning Sabu would retain his title). After the match, TOOL's music hit (just like earlier in the night) and he tried to make the save, but not even he could fight off the army, who eventually outnumbered him.
It wasn't until the second XPW World Champion ever, Big Dick Dudley, made his triumphant return that the army finally faced a legitimate challenge. Dick overpowered every army member, and Sabu eventually came back into the ring (he was apparently brawling with Abby in the backstage area) to assist Dick in fending off the army (most of whom had already been punked out by Dick). Dick even Chokeslammed XPW Owner Rob Black through a table that Sabu set up just seconds before, and the show ended with Lazie proclaiming into the mic, "Vengeance is mine!"
- On July 22, 2000 in L.A., CA, XPW held their one-year anniversary show, entitled, "Go Funk Yourself." The main event saw Sabu defend his XPW title against the hardcore legend, Terry Funk, but the show began with Sabu and Josh Lazie coming to the ring. Lazie only got a few words in before The Black Army came out and surrounded the ring. After making some negative statements about XPW fans, Paul Heyman, and Sabu and Lazie, he ordered The Black Army to attack Sabu, which they did.
Sabu was forced to fight off several army members, including (among others) Tracy Smothers, (John) Kronus, and The Messiah. Sabu was put over as a major force as he rather quickly fought off the army, including Messiah, with little problem. After Sabu cleared the ring of the army, he had two brief confrontations with two men, the first being the masked TOOL and the second being his opponent for later that night, Terry Funk, who had aligned himself with Black's army for that one night.
Later that same night, Sabu and Terry Funk (accompanied to the ring by Rob Black) brawled all around the arena during their World Title Match, but in the end, Sabu gained the pinfall win after stealing Funk's burning brand iron and bashing it across Funk's forehead, burning the former-NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Sabu quickly took the opportunity to gain the pinfall win while Funk was still in pain from being burned.
- At "XPW Dismembered in November" (11/11/00; San Bernadino, CA), The Messiah, with the help from Black Army members Lizzy Borden and Rob Black, pinned XPW King of the Deathmatch Champion Supreme (who had become the inaugural champion by winning XPW's first-ever K.O.T.D.M. Tournament back at My Bloody Valentine, the same night Shane Douglas first appeared in XPW) in a gory deathmatch to win him the XPW K.O.T.D.M. Championship. Also that night, the main event saw Sabu retain his XPW title in a three-way match against both Big Dick Dudley and Black Army member (John) Kronus by pinning Kronus while Dick was beating up Rob Black on the outside.
- On January 13, 2001 in Reseda, CA, XPW kicked off the new year with a show called, "New Year's Revolution II." The show's main event was an XPW World Heavyweight Title Match between the defending champion, Sabu, and the challenger, The Messiah. Sabu was accompanied to the ring by his manager, Josh Lazie, while Messiah was seconded by fellow Black Army members Lizzy Borden and Rob Black. During the match, Sabu DDT'd Messiah on the ring mat and then vaulted off of a steel chair and hit his signature Triple-Jump Moonsault. Sabu then went for the cover, but Rob Black climbed up onto the ring apron, which distracted the champion. Sabu went over to Black and hammered him off of the apron, and Black stumbled his way back to the lockerroom. Meanwhile, at ringside, Lizzy distracted Lazie long enough for Black to come back out and begin choking Lazie from behind with a chain.
Sabu rushed to his manager's aid and grabbed Black by the hair, trying to pull him into the ring. As referee Patrick Hernandez tried to break Sabu's grip on Black's hair, Messiah snuck up from behind and laid out the ref with an inverted DDT. With the ref down and out for the timebeing, Messiah snuck up, this time on Sabu, low blowed him, turned him around, and delivered The Godsmack (Spinning Fireman's Carry into Stunner). Messiah covered Sabu, but the match's referee was out for the timebeing. Kevin Kleinrock (wearing a black-and-white striped referee shirt), XPW Executive V.P. and known friend of Rob Black, ran down the entrance aisleway and into the ring, though. Without hesitation he immedately counted a super fast three count in Messiah's favor. The Messiah's music hit and he was apparently the new XPW World Heavyweight Champion, even though Kevin Kleinrock, who wasn't even an official referee, had counted the fall.
The real referee of the match, Patrick Hernandez, had made it back to his feet, though, after being knocked out by Messiah and was telling Messiah, who was already celebrating what he perceived to be his title win, that he hadn't won the title because Kleinrock wasn't the official referee. Meanwhile, Sabu was glaring straight at Rob Black, prompting the XPW Owner to move Kleinrock in front of him for protection (yeah, right...). Sabu pulled back, ready to swing for the fences, but Kleinrock fainted, and Black was now in clear view. Sabu stopped in mid-swing, again pulled back, fired, and connected with Black's jaw, sending him down to the mat. After throwing the limp bodies of both Kleinrock and Black out of the ring, Sabu turned his attention back towards his opponent. Sabu hammered Messiah twice and then layed him out on a table that Lazie had set up earlier in the match and then put the challenger through the table with a flying leg drop! 1...2...3! Sabu retains his XPW World Heavyweight Championship!
As soon as Sabu gains the three count, The Black Army ([in no particular order] Kronus, Steve Rizzono, Kraq, Rob Black, Lizzy Borden, and the newest member, Kevin Kleinrock) run out and beat down Sabu and Lazie. The assault quickly ended, though, when, over the P.A. system, the familiar sounds of Ice Cube's "Natural Born Killaz" hit and none other than "The Original Gangsta," NEW JACK emerged from the backstage area alongside a trash can full of weapons.
Using various weapons, he laid all of the Black Army members until only he, Sabu, and Lazie standing alone in the ring. Then, surprising many in attendance, Jack bashed a guitar over Sabu's head, send him down to the mat and breaking the guitar into mere pieces. He then attacked Lazie, and after he was done with that, Jack got on the mic and told the crowd that this was only the beginning.
In it's 2001 year-end awards, XPWForever.com named the Messiah/Sabu match at New Year's Revolution II the XPW Match of the Year.
- February 3, 2001 was the night that XPW held their "Payback's A Bitch" show in Los Angeles, CA. The show kicked off with New Jack confronting Rob Black and his wife, Lizzy Borden, in the ring. As Jack was about to attack Black, something cut a hole in the ring behind him. None other than Vic Grimes, the same man that had been involved in the 2000 ECW Living Dangerously Pay-Per-View scaffold fall incident with Jack, emerged and, from behind, attacked Jack, a man who he hadn't seen since that incident in mid-2000.
Grimes proceeded to bash the guitar that Jack had brought to the ring over "The Original Gangsta"'s head, and then, along with several Black Army members (including Kraq, Kronus, Steve Rizzono, and Messiah) who had just ran down to the ring, continued to beat Jack down to a bloody pulp. Grimes left the ring alongside The Black Army, and it was obvious that he was in cahoots with them and was a new member.
The main event later that night was a tag team match pitting Vic Grimes (making his XPW debut) and K.O.T.D.M. Champion The Messiah against Homeless Jimmy and XPW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu (w/ Josh Lazie). The stipulation was that the winner of the fall would win Sabu's XPW title (or if he won the fall, then he'd retain the title). Jimmy didn't actually arrive to the ring until a few minutes in, and Sabu was already being beat down in a two-on-one assault by Grimes and Messiah. As soon as Jimmy arrived (he was pushing his signature shopping cart, which was filled with various weapons), the match degenerated into a no holds barred brawl throughout the arena.
After Sabu put Grimes through a table in the ring by hitting a flying leg drop and covered him, referee Kevin Kleinrock performed a slow count, which allowed Grimes to kick out at 2. Sabu quickly dropped one more flying leg drop on Grimes and again covered him. Kleinrock counted to 2, but when he hesitated to count to three, Josh Lazie grabbed his hand and forced it down to the mat to complete the three count, which meant that Sabu had retained his XPW Championship.
After the match, the winners, Jimmy and Sabu, left the ring and made their way backstage while The Black Army (Black, Borden, Kleinrock, Messiah, and Grimes) pointed fingers and argued in the ring about who they thought was to blame for the loss. Suddenly, New Jack's music hit and "The Original Gangsta" came out with his signature trash can full of weapons. Most members of The Black Army scattered out of the ring and hustled for safety, but Grimes wasn't as lucky. Jack entered the ring and a slugfest ensued, and in the end, Jack got the best of it by bloodying Grimes with various weapons, including his ever trusty staple gun! The show ended with Grimes lying on the mat in a world of pain, as payback had indeed been quite a bitch for him.
- At XPW's next show,"My Bloody Valentine 2" (2/24/01; Reseda, CA), Vic Grimes won the second annual King of the Deathmatch Tournament, which won him a shot at Messiah's K.O.T.D.M. Title, but since they were both members of The Black Army, Grimes decided that it wasn't worth going at it with his partner, so he layed down for Messiah, who placed a foot over him for the pinfall title retention. After that match, Supreme ran in and tried to attack Grimes (Grims had beat him in the final round of the tournament with some cheap help from Rob Black), only to get assaulted himself by several Black Army members that had ran down from the ring. New Jack's music then blared over the P.A. and he came out with his usual trash can full of weapons. Jack made the save and, along with Supreme, cleaned house of army members. Earlier in the night, Messiah retained his K.O.T.D.M. Title against TOOL. Sabu did not compete at the event.
- At XPW's next supercard ("The Night XPW Stood Still"; 3/17/01; Van Nuys, CA), Sabu and Josh Lazie came to the ring and made a bold challenge. Lazie demanded that Sabu get a shot at The Messiah even though the K.O.T.D.M. Champ was already scheduled to compete in the main event tag team match later that night. Rob Black came out and said that he'd get back to Lazie on that challenge, but that on that night, Sabu would defend his XPW title against none other than Juventud Guerrera! Before the match even started, though, it turned into a three-way war for the XPW World Heavyweight Title when Kid Kaos came down to the ring and demanded that he too received a spot in the match. What followed was one of the most exciting matches in XPW history, with Sabu eventually putting Kaos through a table with an Arabian Facebuster and pinning the then-22 year old phenom to retain his XPW World Title.
Also that night, the main event saw The Messiah and Vic Grimes capture a controversial win over the dream team of New Jack and Supreme. Both teams brawled all over the arena, and, among several other things, a staple gun, and even fire was utilized as weapons. After the ring was engulfed in smoke from men crashing through flaming tables and Black spraying the ring with a fire extinguisher, a three count was heard amidst all of the smoke and fog, and after some more chaos, Messiah and Grimes were controversially announced as the winners of the match.
- At XPW's next show, which was entitled, "Scene of the Crime" (4/21/01; L.A.,CA), Rob Black, Lizzy Borden, and The Messiah came to the ring (to a chorus of loud boos) about halfway through the show. Black immediately called out Josh Lazie and the XPW World Heavyweight Champion, Sabu, both of whom quickly came out to the ring. Black said that tonight, he was going to end all the crap between Messiah and Sabu by scheduling a steel cage match between the two for later in the night. Lazie accepts on Sabu's part, but adds one quick stipulation: if Messiah loses the match, he can never ask for another shot at Sabu's XPW title. Black and his clan accepts, and that means that Scene of the Crime had an awesome main event scheduled.
In the main event, both Sabu (w/ Lazie) and the K.O.T.D.M. Champion, The Messiah (Messiah's title wasn't on the line;only Sabu's was), traded high impact manuevers and performed exciting, high risk spots inside the steel cage, and in the end, Sabu leaped off the top of the cage and connected with an incredible Arabian Facebuster, which easily got him the 1-2-3 pinfall win and retention of his XPW World Heavyweight Championship.
After the match, several Black Army members found their way into the cage and began assaulting both Sabu and Lazie. After about three minutes, though, Homeless Jimmy, Dynamite D, Kid Kaos, and another new wrestler hit the ring, climbed into the cage, and made the save for Sabu and Lazie by cleaning house of the army members. This concluded XPW's Scene of the Crime card.
- At "XPW Redemption" (5/26/01; L.A., CA), Rob Black announced that Sabu wouldn't be at the show because the army had broken his ankle at the previous show (Sceneof the Crime). Josh Lazie then comes out with the XPW title and says that as long as he and Sabu have the XPW title, it's staying there in Los Angeles. Black then says that, since Sabu wouldn't be there, Lazie would defend the title for his protege against... The Messiah! Lazie tries to argue out of the defense by pointing out the stipulation made at the last show, but Black reminds him that he said that Messiah would never get another title shot against Sabu. Since Sabu wasn't there, Messiah would receive a shot at the title, which would be defended by Lazie.
So, the match began, and Lazie, defending the XPW title for his man, Sabu, was being mercilessly assaulted by Messiah until...the familiar music of New Jack blasted over the P.A. and "The Original Gangsta" made an unexpected appearance! Apparently New Jack will defend the XPW title against Messiah in place of Sabu. Jack begins assaulting Messiah with any weapon in his sight, including a staple gun, a board with nails attached to it, a road sign, a golf club, and more weapons. Messiah, who was already a bloody mess just a few minutes into the match, eventually began mounting a comeback when he nails Jack with a metal pipe and unleashes a series of blows upon his opponent.
Messiah's advantage doesn't last long, though, as Jack eventually takes back control with the utilization of a cheese grater, which he uses to further cut open Messiah's already bloody head. Messiah again takes back control with the use of a trash can and a road sign. New Jack eventually grabs a guitar from Messiah and breaks it over his foe's head. However, after another exchange, an incredibly bloody Messiah steels back control and hits Jack with The Godsmack (Spinning Fireman's Carry into Stunner)! He covers him: 1...2...3! The Messiah has won the XPW World Heavyweight Title from New Jack!
After the match ends, several superstars come charging out to the ring, including Supreme, Vic Grimes, Vampiro, The Insane Clown Posse (the rap band [they had competed in a match earlier in the night], and Sabu! Vampiro and The I.C.P. beat up Rob Black and take back the XPW title belt that they think should belong to Sabu (the decision still stands, though, as Messiah is the new XPW World Champion) while New Jack plungesoff of a 35-foot tall balcony and splashes Vic Grimes through a table! The show ends with the faces celebrating in the ring and Lazie informing the crowd that no one messes with XP F'n W!
- At "XPW Rapture" (6/7/01; L.A.,CA), The Sandman ran in and made the save for former-WCW female valet Major Gunns (real name: Tylene Buck), who was being beat down by some Black Army members. A few minutes later, he successfully debuted in XPW by pinning army member Vic Grimes.
The night's main event was scheduled to see The Messiah defend his newly-won XPW World Heavyweight Title against Vampiro, but just a few minutes into that match, Sabu's music hit and the Arabian maniac hit the ring, turning the match into a three-way battle for the XPW title. Sabu immediately threw some chairs at each of the other two participants. Then, with his two opponents on the outside, Sabu vaulted off of a set up steel chair and connected with a triple-jump springboard clothesline suicida, sending both of his opponents down hard onto the concrete and taking a lot out of himself, too. Sabu regains his composure and repeatedly whips Messiah into the steel guardrail, but Messiah eventually counters and whips Sabu into the very same rail several times.
Back in the ring, Sabu spikes Messiah on a steel chair with a DDT. Back on the outside, Vampiro sets up a table and places Sabu on it, and then goes back to Messiah (who's now also on the outside) and hammers on him. Back in the ring, Vampiro goes after Rob Black while Sabu, who's got off the table and re-entered the squared circle, brings Messian off of the top-rope with his leaping frankensteiner. Vampiro, though, covers Messiah and gets 2. Messiah superkicks Vampiro down and Sabu connects with an Arabian Facebuster (flying leg drop). Sabu powerbombs Vampiro, but Messiah then sends the Arabian into a steel chair. Sabu, whose nose is busted open and is dripping blood, looks to have re-injured his chin, so he wraps athletic tape around the chin, much like he did several times in his ECW career.
Sabu attempts to spear Messiah through a table, but Messiah dodges him and Sabu misses. Vampiro drills Messiah with his Nail in the Coffin (Michinoku Driver II [Bodyslam Piledriver through his legs]), but Messiah eventually recovers and connects with his own flying leg drop (like Sabu) for the 1-2-3 and retention of his title!
After the match, Messiah, the still XPW Champion, repeatedly hammers Sabu in the corner, who he has handcuffed to the turnbuckle, meaning that there's no escape - unless...Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blasts overthe building's P.A. system and the former-five-time-ECW World Heavyweight Champion, The Sandman, hits the ring and takes down several Black Army members who entered the ring after the match to join in on the assault on Sabu. Once Sandman has cleaned house of the army members, Sabu, whose still handcuffed in the corner, throws a steel chair towards Sandman and it hits "The Hardcore Icon" right in the head! The two former-mega ECW rivals stare eachother down, but as the show reaches an end, Sabu (who eventually escapes out of the handcuffs) and Sandman share a beer, and it looks like they may just still be on the same page!
- On August 25, 2001, XPW held their "Damage Inc." show in Los Angeles, CA. The show featured a one-night, single-elimination tournament to crown an inaugural XPW Television Champion. In the final round match, Kid Kaos pinned Konnan to become the inaugural XPW TV Champ, and after the match, he shocked everybody by turning heel by, a long with The Enterprise, beating Supreme to a bloody pulp. Kaos was the newest member of The Enterprise.
That was not the main event, though. The night's main event was scheduled to be a tag team match that pitted Black Army members Rob Black and the XPW World Heavyweight Champion, The Messiah, against Josh Lazie and Sabu. The stipulations of the match said that if either Lazie or Sabu were pinned by either of their opponents, both of them would have to leave XPW forever. However, if either Lazie or Sabu pinned one of their opponents, Sabu would once again become the XPW World Heavyweight Champion and Lazie would become the C.E.O. of XPW.
Before the match, though, there was a confrontation between Messiah and Black at the very beginning of the show. Messiah told Black that it was time for him to return to Heaven. Messiah had apparently seen the light and realized how he had been tempted to do bad by The Black Army and how he had used them to find his way to the XPW World Heavyweight Title. He had committed sins that he felt he could only repent by returning to Heaven. Black told Messiah that he couldn't leave him alone in his time of need, and Messiah agreed. Messiah said that from now on, he would start that moment and try to be a better person. With that, Messiah told Black to behold his new guardian angel. The camera angle did not allow fans to see who it was, but they did see Black's face go pale and hear him utter, "I thought you were dead!"
While there were still many questions that were left unanswered, one thing was for sure, and that was that the night's main event had apparently been chaned. Messiah had decided to leave and go back to Heaven, but Black wasn't willing to lose the match by forfeiting. So, he decided to take on Lazie and Sabu all by himself. That was a terrible decision, though, as Black was simply massacred by his two opponents. Just a few minutes into the bout, he was a bloody mess, having been drilled with several stiff kicks by Sabu, a chairshot by Lazie, stabbed in the forehead several times with a fork by Sabu, and put through two tables. Suddenly, while Sabu and Black were battling at ringside, New Jack's music blared over the P.A. and "The Original Gangsta"came out through the curtain and throws Rob Black towards the ring.
Wait a second - Rob Black is already fighting Sabu and Lazie, so how can Jack have just thrown him towards the ring. It turned out that there were two Rob Blacks - the real on and a lookalike. Upon futher examination, it became obvious that the Black that Jack was beating up was actually a dreadlocked and shaved "White Trash" Johnny Webb! On the previous weeks of XPW TV, XPW commentators Kris Kloss and Larry Rivera had been debating about whether Webb had joined The Black Army. Their questions had now been answered, and it was obvious that Webb had indeed sold his soul to the devil and joined the army!
The match was still occurring, though, as Lazie was layed out on a ringside table and the real Rob Black leaped off of the top-rope and put him through the table with a flying elbow drop suicida! The move took a lot out of Black, though, too, as he layed still next to the limp body of Lazie for awhile after performing the move. Meanwhile, back in the ring, Sabu had layed Webb out on another table and was about to put him through it with his signature Triple-Jump Moonsault. As he starts running, a rather large man comes walking out from the lockerroom, and the identity of the man quickly becomes apparent: it's "The Real Deal," Damien Steele, making his return to XPW. Sabu sees him and stops the Triple-Jump Moonsault in midair. So, that's what Messiah meant when he introduced Black to his new guardian angel and Black uttered, "I thought you were dead!" earlier in the show. He had seen Damien Steele!
With Sabu still somewhat distracted by the unexpected appearance of Steele, Webb gets off of the table, goes to the outside, brings Lazie back into the ring, and pins him to win the XPW World Heavyweight Title! Webb is the brand-new XPW World Heavyweight Champion! Referee Patrick Hernandez, who counted the pinfall, hands Black the XPW title belt, and Black, in turn, hands it to the newest champion, Johnny Webb! Apparently, Webb is not only the new XPW World Champ, but he's also the newest member of The Black Army! The rest of The Black Army come out onto the entranceway and celebrate their latest accomplishment, as they now have possession of XPW's World Championship. Meanwhile, Sabu and Lazie argue in the ring about what the hell happened. Due to their loss, they are now gone from XPW forever. So, the show ends with Lazie (on Sabu's part) thanking the crowd and saying goodbye while The Black Army celebrates their huge victory.
- XPW Damage Inc. would be the last time that Sabu, Josh Lazie, The Messiah, or Homeless Jimmy would ever appear in XPW. For Sabu and Lazie, it was just a matter of them finding better work and better money on the indy circuit. Lazie remained Sabu's manager for the next few years, and Sabu continued his dominance as a major player on the indy circuit.
The night after Damage Inc., the now-defunct XPW1.com posted that not only had Sabu and Lazie left XPW, but Messiah and Jimmy had also. They posted that for Messiah, it was because he had apparently been sleeping with Rob Black's wife, Lizzy Borden, and when Black found them together, he immediately fired Messiah. As soon as Messiah saw that rumor on the website, he contacted the webmasters of the sie, Cal Manska and Kfir Hezroni, and gave them his phone number and other contact information so that they could conduct an interview and clear up the gossip.
On August 21, 2001, Cal Manska conducted a very revealing interview with The Messiah, and he brought SoCalUncensored.com's Mr. Hill to the interivew, too. When asked why he left XPW, he said the following: "It was a decision that was made about a week ago, and other than that, there is really nothing more to go into. We had a falling out." When asked if it was a mutual decision, he said the following: "No, it wasn't a mutual decision, but at the same time, it was a decision that I really had no power over. I've told people before that pretty much everything I had was gone in the span of 48 hours. I had to wake up the next morning just being a "regular guy," if you want to call it that."
Towards the end of the interview, Cal apologized on behalf of XPW1.com for posting the rumor about him and Lizzy. He responded: "It's OK. I don't have any hard feelings about it, because you were just doing what you had to do. When I saw that post, I knew I had to come out and say something, because Lizzy was one of my best friends in the back. We used to goof around just like we goofed around with the rest of the boys. This Internet rumor has affected the people I love, and that is where I draw the line."
Soon after leaving XPW, Messiah debuted (under the same alias and with the same gimmick) in Deptford, New Jersey-based Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW, for short) (headed by John Zandig) on January 12, 2002 at Viking Hall (The ECW Arena) in Philadelphia, PA and competed in a bloody battle with CZW star Justice Pain. Soon after debuting, he won the CZW World Heavyweight Championship, making him the only man to win both the XPW and CZW World Title. He also won the MPW (Millenium Professional Wrestling) World Title after leaving XPW (on March 23, 2002, to be exact), which only added to his already impressive resume.
In another interview, this time with CZWFans.com on February 21, 2002, Nate Hiatt asked Messiah about his fallingout with XPW. "Rob Black and I don't get along. It's that simple." When he was asked if a return to XPW in the future is out of question, Messiah said that, "The day Rob Black stops shooting porno is the day I go back to XPW." Messiah was also asked about the biggest difference between CZW and XPW.
"CZW gives the fans what they want. XPW does what ever Rob wants to do. Rob could give A flying fuck what the fans want. Rob is all about getting himself over. The joke I tell the boys is, 'If you work at the office (on the porn side of XPW [which is owned by porn video distribution company Extreme Associates]), you get to become world champ.' Hell, if Rob could put the belt on himself, he would. Zandig cares about the fans. And, he doesn't try to put himself over in every match. The differences between the two is that one fed cares about it's fans and the other doesn't," he responded.
Oh, and on the subject of Homeless Jimmy, XPW1.com said that, like Messiah, he had a falling out with XPW.
- So, there you have it: the rivalry between The Messiah and Sabu. Messiah, along with Damien Steele, (Kid) Kaos, and Johnny Webb, is one of the very few XPW-made legitimate independent stars currently out there. His feud with Sabu and his hardcore matches with men like Johnny Webb and Supreme made him a major player on the indy circuit, and that's why, when he left XPW, he was able to find a home in CZW as one of it's top stars. Sabu left ECW in early 2000, about a year before it filed for bankruptcy, and, soon after pinning Mike Rapada to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title, he debuted in XPW and began heated feuds with men like The Messiah. What's so interesting about the Messiah/Sabu feud is that it lasted from a few days after Sabu debuted in XPW to the very last day of the XPW tenures of Sabu and Messiah.
The Messiah/Sabu rivalry, which lasted for most of mid-2000 to late-2001 (which is more than one full year) really catapulted Messiah, as I noted above, into the upper realm of stars on the indy circuit. XPW was never recognized as much of a talent pool by most XPW fans because it concentrated on hardcore wrestling more so than actual mat wrestling and high-flying. Messiah, though, was able to attract the attention of many indy fans, and his talent won him some rather impressive awards. In it's 2001 year-end awards, XPWForever.com named XPW's inaugural Television Champion, (Kid) Kaos, as The XPW Wrestler of the Year, but Messiah won their pick for that award's runner-up.
In the site's award for Match of the Year, the Messiah/Sabu XPW title match at New Year's Revolution II came up with the win in that category. Here's what XPWForever.com had to say on that match: "This is the one match between Sabu and Messiah that was none (they meant to say non) stop and the best XPW had to offer for the year. Expectations were riding high coming into this match, and both men delivered. Many doubted Messiah's ability, but this night he showed what type of talent he had. Chasing the XPW Championship since December '99 when he made his XPW debut, Messiah came so close to winning the belt this night and if it wasn't for referee Hernandez that Messiah knocked out he would of been champ in January. Lightning did strike twice for Messiah as he had knocked out the ref by mistake in their first encounter of the XPW Title Tourney Finals in Spring of 2000, just as he had hit the Godsmack for the win. Both times, Sabu made his way out of the arena both nights as XPW Champion."
The Messiah/Sabu rivalry also won XPWForever.com's award for the XPW Feud of the year. Here's what they had to say about that long-winding rivalry: "No other feud in XPW history had kept intrested in the outcome as much as this one did. The fans knew last year that both these men in 2001 would cross each others path one way or another. This feud stems back to April 29, 2000 in Bakersfield, CA when Sabu beat The Messiah to win the vacant XPW Title in a tournament. After that event, The Messiah would work his ass off in 2000 to get his second match against Sabu for the XPW Title at New Year's Revolution in January. This feud dominated most of 2001, lasting from January to August until both men disappeared from XPW. This feud is what helped place XPW in the spotlight for 2001 as they both put on some great matches in one on one and tag. Maybe come next year, we might see the second wave of their feud resume in XPW."
So, many see this rivalry asone of XPW's best ever, and I hope you enjoyed this edition of "The Spotlight Feud." We're not done you, though. Who won the Messiah/Sabu feud? Let's take a look...
TAG TEAM Match Results:
XPW Payback's A Bitch (2/3/01; L.A.,CA): In an XPW World Heavyweight Title Match, Sabu (C) & Homeless Jimmy d. K.O.T.D.M. Champion The Messiah and Vic Grimes when Sabu pins Grimes. Due to prematch stipulations, Sabu retains his XPW World Heavyweight Championship.
TALLY: The Messiah: 0 wins; Sabu: 1 win
WINNER: Sabu
THREE-WAY Match Results:
TALLY: The Messiah: 1 win; Sabu: 1 win
WINNER: Tie (1 win each)
ONE-ON-ONE Match Results:
TALLY: The Messiah: 1 win; Sabu: 3 wins
WINNER: Sabu
FINAL TALLY: The Messiah: 2 wins; Sabu: 5 wins
FINAL WINNER: Sabu (5 wins)
UNDISPUTED WINNER of The MESSIAH vs. SABU feud:
Sabu (5 wins)
CLICK HERE to go back home.
Other Spotlight Feuds That You May Be Interestin In Reading:
CLICK HERE to go back home.