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New Japan Pro Wrestling issued the following:
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Brunk, known to wrestling fans as Sabu, on May 11. He was 60.
Trained by his uncle The Sheik, who had himself appeared briefly in NJPW in the early 1970s before wrestling more consistently with All Japan Pro-Wrestling, Sabu debuted in 1985, and had a more technical approach to the style he would become internationally renowned for. In November 1991 Sabu first came to Japan for FMW as part of that organization's tag league alongside his uncle, and wild matches for the Atsushi Onita promotion saw Sabu craft not only a dynamic and unpredictable style, but a mystique and aura that soon carried itself overseas.
By the mid 1990s, Sabu was a mainstay for Extreme Championship Wrestling in the US, and on January 4 1995, was a surprise tag team partner of Masahiro Chono in the Tokyo Dome, the two battling Tatsumi Fujinami and Junji Hirata. At Wrestling Dontaku that May, Sabu defeated Koji Kanemoto to lift the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, continuing to compete in the cerulean blue through the end of '95.
Sabu continued to compete in Japan for FMW, AJPW and latterly WWE into the 2000s. His last appearances in Japan came in 2018, including a six man tag in DDT, where he, Kikutaro and Jun Kasai faced Akito, Shunma Katsumata and current NEVER Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita.
Sabu's dynamism and ceaseless innovation made him an unforgettable star to fans around the world. The thoughts and deepest sympathies of all at New Japan Pro-Wrestling go to Sabu's family, friends and fans.
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