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10 ECW Wrestlers That Were Difficult To Work With

TheSportster 3/18/2023 Josh Evanoff

Part of the allure and the appeal of Extreme Championship Wrestling was that it wasn't like anything else happening at the time. While the WWE was featuring names such as Steve Austin and The Rock, ECW was instead featuring figures such as The Sandman and Sabu.

To achieve their goal of making creative programming, ECW signed some intriguing talent over the years. However, while they signed some massive names and high-profile stars, they also ran into some issues along the way. A lot of the names that Paul Heyman and the crew at ECW signed weren't very easy to work with.

The Sandman

The Sandman is one of the most beloved figures in ECW history. Sporting a beer can and a kendo stick, he's arguably the best "worst" wrestler of all-time, as the crowd loved him and he had several incredible moments but couldn't work a five-star match if he wanted to.

While Sandman was beloved, he also wasn't the easiest to deal with. While he wasn't rude backstage or had beef with all of his fellow performers, he did have major battles with addiction which led to him being unreliable.

Abdullah the Butcher

Abdullah the Butcher is a hardcore icon, and has been a part of some of the most brutal matches in wrestling history. However, while he's beloved by fans, his fellow performers have spoken poorly of the legend over the years.

Butcher has been accused of 'potatoing' in his matches, but also blading very deep on his opponents without permission. He was even sued by indie wrestler Hannibal, and lost the case. Butcher reportedly bladed knowing that he had hepatitis C, and didn't inform his opponent and was forced to pay millions in damages.

Taz

These days, Taz is the reliable and witty commentator on AEW television. However, before his days behind the microphone, he was the suplex-giving bruiser in ECW. While Taz is beloved today, he wasn't always that way.

In the '90s, Taz was a bit of a wild guy, having some high-profile arrests in that time. The ECW legend has also admitted that some of his fellow wrestlers didn't get along with him because he essentially lived the gimmick.

New Jack

New Jack is just as famous for his exploits outside the ring as he was for his performances in it. The former ECW tag team champion was a wild man, to put it simply. Even more than Taz, New Jack lived the gimmick.

That doesn't mean that Paul Heyman and fellow ECW talent liked that, however. Jack came under fire several times during his run in the company for his violent tendencies, and even brawled with Junkyard Dog once backstage.

Jake Roberts

Much like the aforementioned Sandman, Jake Roberts was a bit difficult to deal with times. However, unlike other entries on this list, it had nothing to do with being violent or disrespectful towards other talents.

Roberts has had a very documented battle with drug and substance abuse over the last few decades. That made him a bit hard to manage by being unreliable, as seen in the Heroes of Wrestling pay-per-view that took place one year after the legend left ECW. These days, Roberts is thankfully sober and healthy.

Rick Steiner

Rick Steiner is actually an interesting individual when discussing his career backstage. During his time in ECW early in his career, he, along with his brother Scott, were known to be very aggressive and would commonly haze and bully talent.

To his credit, Rick Steiner grew out of that by all indications a couple of years after leaving ECW. While he was difficult to deal with for a time, it seems that he was able to turn it around thankfully.

Jimmy Snuka

Jimmy Snuka has had his legacy destroyed over the last few decades. At one point in time, he was a beloved legend. The high-flyer was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996, and even returned at WrestleMania 25 for a legends' handicap match against Chris Jericho.

However, in the internet age, information has been much easier to find and has led to Snuka becoming a hated figure. In addition to all around being an unstable and odd individual at times, he was also convicted in the death of Nancy Argentino.

Scott Steiner

You knew this one was coming at one point. As previously mentioned, Scott Steiner and his brother Rick liked to haze their fellow talent earlier in their careers including their ECW stint. While the latter grew out of that, the former didn't.

Steiner was an unstable, aggressive man throughout his entire wrestling career. He got into several backstage fights throughout his career, including a bloody brawl with Diamond Dallas Page in the final days of WCW.

Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam Bigelow is considered to be one of the greatest big men of all time, and for good reason. I mean, the guy dragged an incredibly green Lawrence Taylor to a decent match in the main event of WrestleMania 11.

That being said, Bigelow proved to be a controversial guy backstage. During his time in the wrestling industry, he had multiple feuds with names such as Andre the Giant and Shawn Michaels and the Kliq. He even left the WWE in favor of ECW due to the latter.

Ian Rotten

Ian Rotten did a lot of his most memorable work in wrestling as a member of the ECW roster. Working alongside Axl Rotten as Bad Breed, the two had some high-profile matches during their stint.

However, to say Ian Rotten is hard to do with is putting it mildly. He's been involved in several incidents over the years, including nearly killing an indie wrestler, Mike Levy, in an unscripted assault on a show.

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