Latest news with #Brunk
Boston Globe
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Terry Brunk, professional wrestler known as Sabu, dies
Known for using tables and chairs in the ring, Mr. Brunk rose to national prominence with Extreme Championship Wrestling, a smaller and grittier circuit compared with the more mainstream World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling companies. 'Sabu became a national star as part of ECW, where he was a pioneer of hardcore wrestling, leaping from chairs and driving his opponents through tables and even barbed wire,' WWE said in its statement. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Mr. Brunk later joined the WWE in 2006, with which he performed for a year, including at WrestleMania 23 in Detroit, Mr. Brunk's hometown. Advertisement As recently as last month, Mr. Brunk was slinging chairs around a barbed-wire ring, returning once again as Sabu in an event with wrestler Joey Janela that was billed as Sabu's retirement match. Although widely remembered for his use of props and tables in the ring, Sabu was wary of professional wrestling's spectacle. He would go on to criticize the larger-than-life stunts that would come to define later iterations of the WWE and other wrestling promotion companies. 'In an Olympic match, you cannot stack a couple tables and then climb something and jump off. That's a stunt,' Mr. Brunk told an interviewer with Covalent TV at Wrestlecade in 2024. 'I'm not a stuntman or an actor.' Advertisement Terrance Michael Brunk was born on Staten Island, N.Y. He was trained by his uncle Edward George Farhart, a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler known as 'The Sheikh.' 'I went over all the basics every day,' Mr. Brunk recalled in his Covalent TV interview. His uncle, he said, made him set up and tear down the training ring for months before ever giving him a chance inside it. For many fans, Mr. Brunk represented an era of professional wrestling when storytelling took priority over spectacle. Mr. Brunk said in his 2024 interview that even his use of a single table could keep an audience engaged — there was a narrative arc, a setup, a tease. Not so in modern professional wrestling, he said. 'When they break a table,' Mr. Brunk said, 'they're just doing it for the crash.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sabu, a.k.a. hardcore wrestling pioneer Terry Brunk, dies at 60
Sabu, who is known as an originator of hardcore wrestling, often leapt from chairs and threw his opponents through tables and barbed wire. (Rich Freeda / WWE / Getty Images) Terry Brunk, the professional wrestling pioneer known to fans as Sabu, has died at age 60, World Wrestling Entertainment announced Sunday. No cause of death has been given. The nephew of WWE Hall of Famer Ed "The Sheik" Farhat, Brunk wrestled on several circuits, including a handful of appearances with WWE (then known as World Wrestling Federation, or WWF) in 1993. He then rose to fame with Extreme Championship Wrestling, for which he was a two-time champion. Advertisement Known as an originator of hardcore wrestling, Sabu often leapt from chairs and threw his opponents through tables and barbed wire. He signed with WWE in 2006 as part of the company's ECW revival and competed against Rey Mysterio for the world heavyweight championship and against John Cena for the WWE championship. Read more: Kevin Sullivan, pro wrestler known as 'The Taskmaster,' dies three months after accident He and his fellow ECW Originals (The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam) defeated the ECW's New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker) at WrestleMania 23 in Brunk's hometown of Detroit. Sabu left WWE in 2007 and continued to wrestle in various leagues, including All Elite Wrestling in 2023 and Game Changer Wrestling, for which he wrestled his final match last month. Advertisement "AEW and the wrestling world mourns the passing of Sabu," AEW wrote on X. "From barbed wire battles to unforgettable high-risk moments, Sabu gave everything to professional wrestling. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans." GCW posted a tribute video to Sabu on YouTube. Read more: Sika Anoa'i, WWE Hall of Famer and father of Roman Reigns, dies at 79 "He was an outlaw and a gamechanger," the organization wrote in the caption. "He inspired so many that stepped inside a GCW ring and he will continue to inspire for generations to come. His legacy will last forever and he will never be forgotten." Advertisement Van Dam also posted a tribute to his longtime friend on X. "Sabu was as irreplaceable in my life as he was in the industry," the WWE Hall of Famer wrote. "You all know how important he was to my career, and you know how much he meant to me personally. He's been a tremendous influence since I was 18 years old , when I met him. "Learning to be an adult, while you're in the crazy environment of this business can go several different ways. I'm proud to have been able to carry on so many of Sheik and Sabu's values, both in and out of the ring. Sabu helped make me the wrestler I am, the person I am, and I'll always be proud of that and grateful." Many others from professional wrestling paid their respects on social media. WWE star Sami Zayn wrote that Sabu belongs in the organization's hall of fame, calling him a "one of a kind, absolute legend and a true game changer for professional wrestling." Longtime wrestling announcer Tony Schiavone called Sabu "an incredible talent that will obviously put someone through a table in the afterlife." Advertisement Mysterio posted on Instagram: "Feel truly honored to have shared the same ring with you many times and even more to have called you my friend. Always had me on my toes. ... You will be missed." Retired WWE wrestler Marc Mero wrote that Sabu "was not only a remarkable performer but also a gracious and engaging person." "Sabu's wrestling style was fearless and relentless," Mero wrote. "From his intense barbed wire battles that tested the limits of both his body and spirit, to his high-risk maneuvers that left audiences in awe, often deafening in their excitement. He truly gave it all every time he stepped into the ring. His dedication, courage, and passion for wrestling have left an indelible mark on the sport and its fans." Fellow retired WWE wrestler Jake "the Snake" Roberts wrote: "He was a pioneer in our business, a talented performer, and most importantly, a good man." Advertisement Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Sabu, a.k.a. hardcore wrestling pioneer Terry Brunk, dies at 60
Terry Brunk, the professional wrestling pioneer known to fans as Sabu, has died at age 60, World Wrestling Entertainment announced Sunday. No cause of death has been given. The nephew of WWE Hall of Famer Ed 'The Sheik' Farhat, Brunk wrestled on several circuits, including a handful of appearances with WWE (then known as World Wrestling Federation, or WWF) in 1993. He then rose to fame with Extreme Championship Wrestling, for which he was a two-time champion. Known as an originator of hardcore wrestling, Sabu often leapt from chairs and threw his opponents through tables and barbed wire. He signed with WWE in 2006 as part of the company's ECW revival and competed against Rey Mysterio for the world heavyweight championship and against John Cena for the WWE championship. He and his fellow ECW Originals (The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam) defeated the ECW's New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker) at WrestleMania 23 in Brunk's hometown of Detroit. Sabu left WWE in 2007 and continued to wrestle in various leagues, including All Elite Wrestling in 2023 and Game Changer Wrestling, for which he wrestled his final match last month. 'AEW and the wrestling world mourns the passing of Sabu,' AEW wrote on X. 'From barbed wire battles to unforgettable high-risk moments, Sabu gave everything to professional wrestling. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans.' GCW posted a tribute video to Sabu on YouTube. 'He was an outlaw and a gamechanger,' the organization wrote in the caption. 'He inspired so many that stepped inside a GCW ring and he will continue to inspire for generations to come. His legacy will last forever and he will never be forgotten.' Van Dam also posted a tribute to his longtime friend on X. 'Sabu was as irreplaceable in my life as he was in the industry,' the WWE Hall of Famer wrote. 'You all know how important he was to my career, and you know how much he meant to me personally. He's been a tremendous influence since I was 18 years old , when I met him. 'Learning to be an adult, while you're in the crazy environment of this business can go several different ways. I'm proud to have been able to carry on so many of Sheik and Sabu's values, both in and out of the ring. Sabu helped make me the wrestler I am, the person I am, and I'll always be proud of that and grateful.' Many others from professional wrestling paid their respects on social media. WWE star Sami Zayn wrote that Sabu belongs in the organization's hall of fame, calling him a 'one of a kind, absolute legend and a true game changer for professional wrestling.' Longtime wrestling announcer Tony Schiavone called Sabu 'an incredible talent that will obviously put someone through a table in the afterlife.' Mysterio posted on Instagram: 'Feel truly honored to have shared the same ring with you many times and even more to have called you my friend. Always had me on my toes. ... You will be missed.' Retired WWE wrestler Marc Mero wrote that Sabu 'was not only a remarkable performer but also a gracious and engaging person.' 'Sabu's wrestling style was fearless and relentless,' Mero wrote. 'From his intense barbed wire battles that tested the limits of both his body and spirit, to his high-risk maneuvers that left audiences in awe, often deafening in their excitement. He truly gave it all every time he stepped into the ring. His dedication, courage, and passion for wrestling have left an indelible mark on the sport and its fans.' Fellow retired WWE wrestler Jake 'the Snake' Roberts wrote: 'He was a pioneer in our business, a talented performer, and most importantly, a good man.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists make startling discovery after reviewing 700,000 hours of forest sounds: 'It's sort of a blueprint'
What happens if a bird sings in the forest and no one is there to hear it? If it's in the Sierra Nevada, chances are a microphone placed by researchers from Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin will be listening. A vast network of audio recorders now covers almost 40% of the mountain range in California. They transmit groundbreaking bird-tracking data back to scientists for a practical wildfire study, according to Here's how it works. A joint team from Cornell's conservation bioacoustics lab and UW partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and several other West Coast schools. It placed enough microphones to cover 6 million acres of forest and gathered over 700,000 hours of tape featuring all kinds of birdsong, explained. In the lab, they ran the recordings through BirdNET, which is powered by artificial intelligence. It can recognize distinct species just from hearing a snippet of sound. The technology was developed by Cornell ornithologists and Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany. With this method, the team analyzed the population levels of spotted owls, woodpeckers, and eight other key birds that reflect the forest's health, per Those findings are already pretty useful for birders, conservation efforts, and more research. Plus, getting such a large dataset this way was far more cost-effective than manual observation would have been, researchers said. But the team did not stop there. It set out to apply its bird presence data to other variables, such as forest density and canopy height. These are the kind of traits that forest managers rely on when strategically removing foliage or running a controlled burn to prevent the spread of wildfires and restore forests. Yet managers are not always equipped to make those decisions with biodiversity in mind. Now, they can just look at a detailed map informed by hours of birdsong and see where certain species are likely to live, according to As global temperatures rise, devastating fires are becoming more frequent. They pose intense and long-lasting dangers to both humans and wildlife. With this kind of applicable research, those on the front lines can work to prevent fires and protect habitats at the same time. "It's sort of a blueprint for how monitoring birdsongs and calls can inform management," lead author and Cornell postdoctoral research associate Kristin Brunk said, per "I'm really hoping that we'll hear from other researchers who are trying to do similar things." Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Yes — always Yes — often Yes — sometimes No — never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Within the Sierra Nevada, I think this is really going to enhance the way that forest management works," Brunk added. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
