Babu

Coming up in the late 90's as a "hardcore wrestler" was hard enough, but for Babu, the road to glory would be tougher than most. Babu was never a big wrestling fan, but at the age of 15, a chance encounter with wrestling legend "Sabu" was all that was needed to spark the career of a legend. From then on, hard-work, determination, the thrill of victory.. and the agony of defeat would all roll in to one big wreckling ball that was.. The Insane Arab.

The Fort Lauderdale War Memorial
At the age of 15, Babu was invited by a cousin to attend a wrestling show that was too good to miss. After hearing about the blood and barbwire that was ECW, Babu would be hardpressed to miss seeing such an event of barbaric proportion. Amazed by what he saw, wrestling forever would be left imprinted across the young Babu's heart. After watching Sabu and Sandman in the Main Event, Babu found himself backstage with a few other fans and was introduced to the Homicidal, Genocidal, Sucidal freak that was Sabu. He would get an autograph from the legend and leave not only with a priceless John Hancock.. but with a dream to someday fly as high and break as many tables as his newfound idol. Over the next few years, Babu became a big ECW and Sabu fan. And before long, he was training to do what he loved best.. wrestle.

= The Law, The End of ECW, and The Beginning =

In 1998, Babu had already dropped out of High School and was focusing mostly on training. He stayed out of the streets by going to the gym on his days off and flying around the ring. Still, growing up in Downtown Miami was hard for Babu and he wasn't immune to the dangers of the inner-city streets. Gangs, drugs and violence all plaqued Babu's hometown of Liberty City, but he stayed strong in his focus on becoming a wrestler. But one afternoon, he found himself in a sticky situation with a neigborhood drug dealer. When the dealer felt disrespected by Babu's shunning his offer of becoming a pusher himself, a fight broke out and Babu left the hoodlum with a broken nose, a bloody eye and an I.C.U. visit. Babu was sentenced to a year in a Juvenile Prison, but his time wouldn't break his spirit. What broke his spirit, was hearing about Sabu's departure from ECW. Having already been home for a week, Babu watched a match where if Sabu lost he'd have to leave ECW. Sabu lost to C.W. Anderson and Super Crazy. From there on, Babu decided it was time to finally make his move. He had been continuing his physical training during his lockup and felt he was in perfect shape to begin his career.

Babu started wrestling for a small-time promotion under the alias of Acid. He found quick success and climbed the ranks of the organization in no time. He racked up titles on his own and tag titles with his partner Trip. Collectively, Acidtrip. It was a new millenium and Babu was on top of the world. For a young rookie.

He'd have a try-out with the biggest company in the world of Wrestling, Thaddius Peters' RCWF. Babu was signed by the Rhy'Din Championship Wrestling Federation and quickly found himself working house shows. But just when he was on the brink of bigtime, Babu found himself getting caught up in the dark shadows of the wrestling world.

= Early Drug Problems =

Babu began abusing painkillers, namely Vicodin, Xanax, and OxyCoton, and just as quick as he was signed to RCWF, he was suspended. Babu wasted the later parts of 2000 fighting a vicious addiction. But it was in a Miami Drug Rehab Center that he would find his best friend and future tag team partner.. God Van Damn. GVD, at the time, was a 21 year old street hustler. He was caught up in the fastlife of women, partying and drug use. Babu saw potential in the young GVD. He was a big man, and quick on the basketball court, so Babu talked him in to training. The two began training in rehab and when they got out, Babu brought GVD to his local gym where the two would start anew.

= The Birth of Babu and GVD =

In late 2001, Babu began showing up at RCWF events and running his mouth to the event staff. An announcer by the name of The Crude was calling shows back then and told the world that Babu would make his impact soon enough. At the 2002 Royal Rumble, Babu finally made his debut. He was announced and entered the Rumble like a bat out of hell, eliminating everyone in his path. Babu managed to toss out the legendary John Kaos, who at the time was making his name as one the best, and it seemed that was the statement he was trying to make. Soon after, Babu introduced RCWF to his tag team partner. Babu and GVD arrived on the scene together in RCWF and stormed the Tag Team Scene. Teams like the Bradleys, Roz and Dan Shoryu, The TableBomberz, The Crimsons and the Monoxides were all dominant forces but a new wave of teams were fresh on the scene. One of which were the young, fast, and vicious Babu and GVD. They found themselves in early battles with the Dark Angel and Michael Kraine. These matches went the distance everytime, and both teams racked up victories against the other in a tug-of-war of back-to-back matches week-in-and-week-out. The battles all accumulated in to one giant bloodfest at British Blood Party in June of 2002. The stakes were a shot at the World Tag Team Titles in a Barbwire Match. Both teams went balls to the wall and would see each team lose a partner before it came down to Kraine and GVD. Kraine would score the victory in a controversial ending that saw both teams continue fighting past the match's end. The Front Office of RCWF came down hard on GVD and Babu for their inciting the small riot, and the men found themselves split up. GVD would fall off the map over the rest of the summer for 2002, while Babu swore that he would continue fighting until he saw gold. So with GVD out of the picture, Babu began his solo career with no one to watch his back.

= The Solo Start, and Another Downfall =

Babu took a few weeks off but came back to regular duty and got heavy on the house show scene. After weeks of grueling matches, Babu found himself back on Demolution and by the end of the summer he was a regular on Painkiller again. Babu found himself in the midst of a heated fued with Dan O'Mally during the end of July 2002, and would go back-and-forth with the man for weeks until the fued came to a boiling point one night in Dublin, Ireland.. O'Mally's birthplace. Until now, Babu had been a major fan-favorite in RCWF. But this night, Babu dominated O'Mally and showed so much disrespect to the crowd in Ireland that from then on.. he would be hated by all. Babu bloodied O'Mally in front of his fellow Irishmen and disrespected him in a way that got the entire locker room's attention. RCWF was in the middle of a Worldwide Tour, and things got even more interesting when O'Mally and Babu fought in Saudia Arabia. O'Mally had won the European Title a week before, and used it to defeat Babu in his birthplace of the Middle East. Before long, a title match was set up and Babu would claim his first piece of gold in Thad Inc. Dan O'Mally suffered an injury to the crazy Arab and James LeBlanc soon stepped up to battle Babu in his place. LeBlanc and Babu had wars with eachother which accumulated in to RCWF Homicide 2002 in August. Volt Krueger had defeated LeBlanc a week earlier and earned a spot in the match, thus making it a three-way bout. The three went tooth-and-nail and in the end Babu was the victorious one.. proving that he was more than capable of being a great champion. But after losing the title to LeBlanc later, Babu also proved he was the worst of losers. Sore with the outcome of a close match, Babu began beating himself up over the loss of his European Title. Backstage fights and legit heat with James LeBlanc off the air would find Babu suspended and he soon found himself out of a job. Babu took the firing to heart and began turning back to drugs. During a raid in Miami, Babu was found in a known crack dealer's house with an ounce of weed, and two bottles of Xanax prescription painkillers. He was sentenced to seven months in jail. Babu had went from being on top of the world, to seeing 2002 go by behind bars. As 2003 came, he started getting down on himself. He would get overweight in jail and as he was released in the summer of 2003, found he was too out of shape to get back in wrestling.

= Return to Fame =

Babu would be determined to get back in shape, and over the course of a three month pilgrammage to Mecca, he trained and got back in perfect physical condition. Babu worked the indy circuits for a few months and on the weekend of Janurary 2nd, 2004, he made his return to RCWF for the spectacle that was Wrestlemania. Guy Silencine would be the opponent in what would be the first of many classic battles. The first of the series however went to the legend and veteran, Guy. The two went at it with an array of amazing aerial manuevuers. In the end, Guy was able to lock in his Single Leg Boston Crab for the victory. Babu proved though that he could hang with the elite class of RCWF as he did when he first arrived. And at that night, one of the greatest events in Thad Inc history, Babu shined in his loss.

= The Return of GVD =

After RCWF went through a few changes, it would re-open as GCW in April of 2004. When it did, Babu brought back an old friend. GVD re-arrived on the scene and soon the old tandem began raising hell. Babu had gotten in good by now with the brass of GCW. Of course, after doing some dirty work for the boss, Mr. Peters. So, GVD and Babu were booked weekly in 2 on 1 handicapped matches where they'd face an unlucky opponent. They ran through the roster and garnered the reputation of being the toughest guys in the company. After a few months, a wrestler by the name of Rave started to get pissed at GVD and Babu's antics. He'd try relentlessly to beat the men by himself and after weeks of trying, he begged for a shot at the two with a partner. He was granted the match, and soon YBK would be introduced in to the mix. Young Brooklyn Killa was a big man, and had been the closest in beating both Babu and GVD, but failed a month earlier. But during the tag team match, YBK dominated both men during his stints in the ring. Rave tagged out and YBK would do all the work. But somehow, in the end, Babu and GVD came out on top.

At GCW Badd Blood 2004, Babu and GVD faced off against Thaddius Peters and the returning Krow, The Headshop (Rogan Reid and John Cena) and Rave and YBK. But as the match was set to go underway, GVD was nowhere to be found. Babu was asked if he wanted to go out with another partner, but he said if GVD decided not to show up, then he'd have to fight for both of them. Babu went out alone, and would fight against three other times on his own. During the end, it came down to The Headshop, Babu, Krow and Thad and Rave. Thad eliminated Rave and Babu dominated Krow in his return on the outside, in the crowd and in the boiler room. Babu got the pinfall on Krow and as he did, The Headshop defeated Thaddius. Babu got back in the ring and went at it with the Headshop. The man who had been taking advantage of 2 on 1's his entire stay in GCW was now getting worked over with the odds. But Babu showed guts and managed to defeat Rogan Reid with a Camel Clutch submission. It was down to Cena and Babu. Both men went at it ruthlessly. But the numbers game was still played against Babu as Reid stayed ringside and got involved just as soon as he was eliminated. Babu was double teamed and eventually pinned by Cena. The Headshop went on to win the titles, and dominated the GCW Tag Team Division for the summer of 2004.

= Sweet Victory =

At King of Kings PPV in September, Babu and GVD found themselves once again at the mountain top. They had defeated Damon Steele and Kryle for a shot at The Bradleys for their Tag Team Titles. Babu and GVD had been teaming for years up to this point but had nothing to show for it. The Bradleys had been wrestling a little longer, but had hundreds of tag team title runs. Babu and GVD were definitly big time underdogs, but fought valiantly throughout. Showing their true fighting nature, Babu and GVD took the legendary tag team to their limits. Babu scored a pinfall during the match, but it was called back due to Babu not being tagged in properly. It seemed that was the end for Babu and GVD. That was the time of the match where they usually went nuts and combusted. But GVD would prove to be the one who prevaled with the coolest head. The man who had no-showed big time title matches in the past and basically turned his back on Babu many times.. would tag in and take control. GVD locked his Godlock on R.B. Bradley and made him tap an hour in to the match. Babu and GVD finally celebrated with the Tag Team Titles.

It almost seemed too good to be true, and it was. Soon after winning the titles, Babu and GVD went back to their lazy work ethic. The two were stripped of the titles.

GVD would take time off and bask in his glory of winning the titles. He got a major pay increase and would take his benefits on the road to live the party life. Babu found himself once again a singles wrestler.

Babu faced HBK at 2004 for a shot at the World Title. He won, and would square off against Guy Silencine in an epic Ladder Match. Guy again came out victorious against Babu, but not without feeling the pain of a hardfought victory. Babu did something many hadn't up to that point, they almost took the title from Guy.

It wouldn't be until the roster split and the re-opening of RCWF would Babu taste his first World Heavyweight Championship. He faced off against Raven in another epic Ladder Match. This time, Babu won with an Arabian Facebuster off the ladder on to Raven and through a table. Babu would hold the title for a few weeks and eventually dropped it to Guy Silencine.

At the end of 2004, GCW entered the Umbrella Nationals against WWA and HPWF. Babu took part in the opening match that evening and lost to R.B. Bradley in a close matchup. The GCW would lose every match, and Thaddius took it to heart. He'd leave the wrestling scene.. but return in April of 2005 with New Glory.

= New Glory Professional Wrestling =

Babu returned to wrestling a few weeks after NGPW opened. And in a rare turn of events, was booked to team with arch nemesis Guy Silencine. The two flurished as tag team partners, but not without controversy. Babu would slap Guy around and drag him by the hair during matches to tag himself out. But the two still ran through the competition.

At NGPW Scars and Stripes 2005, Babu and Guy squared off against the upstart MoorePeters and the Headshop for the Tag Titles. Tad Peters, son of Thaddius Peters, and Nathan Moore, son of legendary Nate James. Guy would be eliminated first and left ringside. Rogan and Cena were both eliminated. This left Babu in a familiar position. He was once again stacked against the odds and facing two men for the Tag Team titles. He fought just as he did one year earlier, valiantly, and eliminated Tad Peters from the bout. As he did, Moore came in for a pin attempt. Babu kicked out and delivered a DDT on to a steel chair. Moore managed his kick out. One move later, Moore was delivering his Crucifix Piledriver and scoring the victory. Babu fell short once again.

But that wasn't the end for Babu and Guy. They earned another shot at the gold and at Cyberslam 2005 faced off against the champs, MoorePeters, in the first ever Bloody Tuesday match. Babu and Tad had a legendary bump during the match where Babu Hurricarana'd Tad off the barbwire covered top and in to the ring. During the match, Guy was eliminated and so was Moore. But unlike the prior match, Moore didn't leave ringside. He stayed and as Babu locked Tad in a tight Camel Clutch, Moore interfered. Nathan payed the price with a DDT on top of some glass shards, but Babu would fall victim to Tad's Zombie Maker. Another shortcoming for Babu.

At NGPW Bloodshed 2005, Babu and Guy again had a shot at the tag titles and MoorePeters. However, turmoil between Guy and Babu was brewing and at the sound of the bell.. Guy up and left the apron. He left Babu stranded in what was another Bloody Tuesday Match. Babu was dominated from the sound of the bell. But 15 minutes in.. the lights turned out..and the on.. and there stood Krow. The legendary Krow had came to Babu's aide, more importantly, he came to get some of Thaddius' son. Krow took care of Tad with his trusty black ballbat, and Babu and Moore went at it with one another. Krow would be eliminated by Moore after Krow eliminated Tad. That left Babu and Moore for one more go. But the earlier beating proved to wind Babu and in the end he couldn't fend off Moore's attacks. At the finale of the event, Krow gave a Bloodshed to all competitors in the match including Babu.

Babu took time off in NGPW after the beating at Bloodshed. Guy Silencine had turned his back on Babu and Babu wanted revenge first off. He was booked against Guy and got the victory, but was later overturned when Babu continued the beating.

= A Month Off =

Babu returned to NGPW a month after the Guy fiasco and found himself in a match with AJ Styles for number one contendership to Christian Cage's US Title. The crowd erupted when Babu came out, and he completely squashed AJ in the match.

At King of Kings 2005, the PPV where Babu and GVD won their first Tag Titles, Babu was set to face off against Cage. And much like his match against AJ, Babu was squashed. He managed some offense, but couldn't finish the deal against the champion. Babu was back to scraping for number one contendership.

Over the course of 2005 and in to 2006, NGPW saw Christian Cage rise and Roz return to take control. Babu would score singles victories against NGPW greats such as Cage, Roz, Hassan, Peters and Moore during this time. But he never seemed to get enough momentum to put a winning streak together.

Babu questioned weather he had enough to keep going. Years upon years piled on his body, and the scars of countless Barbwire battles had taken toll on him physically. Mentally, Babu needed time off. And he was granted so by the brass of NGPW. Babu would take a pilgrimage to Mecca, and find himself with religious meditation and time alone. All-the-while, he would keep training to keep his body in perfect condition.