Bully Ray Recalls Sabu and Taz’s Real-Life Heat During ECW Days

There’s been a lot of talk about AEW stars who have backstage heat with each other, and Bully Ray recalled a similar situation between Sabu and Taz in ECW. CM Punk and The Elite’s backstage issues have been a heavy focus in the leadup to last Saturday’s AEW Collision premiere, and Punk alluded to the tensions in his promo that opened the show. On Busted Open Radio, Bully talked related it to tensions between talent in ECW back in the day, notably the well-known issues between Sabu and Taz that started when Sabu returned in 1995 after being fired previously for no-showing an event to take a Japan booking.

“I remember the night that Taz was standing in the middle of the ring, the lights went off in the ECW Arena, the lights came back on, and there was Sabu standing there, finger in the air,” Bully recalled (per Wrestling Inc). “Taz wanted to rip Sabu’s head off of his shoulders and spit down his neck. For a 100% straight up shoot. To the point that Paul asked guys like me to be out there just in case. And I’m a young boy in ECW. I’m Jabroni Dudley at the time, but Paul’s like, ‘Bubba, you gotta be out there just in case anything goes down. I need you to get in the middle of this.’ Because there was so much animosity and hatred.”