What is the nature of Sabu and WWE veteran's relationship following heated exchange?

Sabu had a year-long run in WWE, but he is mostly known for his time in ECW. His hardcore wrestling style, combined with the death-defying turnbuckle, made him the legend he is today. The 58-year-old has shared the ring with Terry Funk, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Tommy Dreamer, but his rivalry with Taz is most remembered.

The Tazmaniac vs. Sabu first occurred in October 1993. Paul Heyman had big plans for the two as a year later, they captured the ECW World Tag Team Championship in a double table match. However, Sabu no-showed the main event of the Three Way Dance to accept a booking in NJPW, subsequently getting a public firing from Heyman and souring his relationship with Taz.

The WWE veteran was furious when Paul Heyman re-signed Sabu in November 1995. After many verbal exchanges, their real-life heat led to an epic grudge match at ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal 1997, in which Taz won. Two years later, on March 21, 1999, Taz defeated The Houdini of Hardcore for the World Heavyweight Title at Living Dangerously. Even after settling their differences in the ring, they don't seem to be on the best terms.

In 2016, Sabu used a racial slur for Taz and refused to apologize. During the same year, fellow ECW legend Mikey Whipwreck revealed that both wrestlers wanted to do things differently at Barely Legal. Their week-long preparation for the match led to a tense backstage environment and many confrontations.

The real-life Terrance Brunk is now a part of All Elite Wrestling. It was announced that he would be the special enforcer in the match between Adam Cole and Chris Jericho at Double or Nothing during the unsanctioned match. Taz is also a part of AEW, although in the role of a full-time commentator on Dynamite.

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Taz believed WWE didn't acknowledge him and Sabu in a video package

On April 14, 2021, WWE posted a clip on Twitter to acknowledge the iconic Barely Legal 1997. Taz locking horns with The Arabian Machine of Destruction was the highlight of the event, and they were prominently featured in the footage.

However, neither of the two were tagged. Paul Heyman, Lance Storm, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, and Bully Ray were the only ones to get a shout-out.

Taz took to Twitter to express his displeasure and called out the Stamford-based promotion for attempting to rewrite history.

The Tazmaniac worked as a commentator for World Wrestling Entertainment until 2009. He did make a cameo appearance in November 2016 during the WWE Network special, The Authentic Untold Story of ECW. Meanwhile, Sabu hasn't appeared in WWE since being released in 2007.