Despite closing its doors nearly 20 years ago, ECW remains one of the most beloved wrestling promotions of all time. The Philly-based promotion is responsible for launching the careers of technical greats like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and Tajiri, while simultaneously showcasing some of the most brutal action fans had ever seen.

No doubt, ECW is responsible for some of the most dangerous hardcore high spots of all time. But most ECW wrestlers weren't playing characters.

RELATED: 15 Times ECW Took "Extreme" WAY Too Far

In fact, things got all too real on several occasions. Keep reading to learn about 10 of the biggest ECW feuds that came from bad blood.

10 Taz and Rob Van Dam

Taz and The Whole F'n Show's first meeting is the stuff of legends. The fiasco began when Taz allegedly claimed he could beat up the entire ECW locker room. As relaxed as RVD normally is, the comment seemed to rub him the wrong way. So he decided to introduce Taz to his favorite game. Rob walked up to Taz, closed both fists, and calmly asked The Human Suplex Machine to pick a hand. When Taz chose a hand, Van Dam smacked Taz across the face. While things seemed fine between the two years later, the incident reportedly caused conflict between the ECW stars for years after.

9 Kurt Angle and the Entire ECW Roster

Did you know that Kurt Angle was originally slated to wrestle in ECW? Oh, it's true. It's damn true. However, the Olympic gold medalist's initial exposure to ECW didn't go as well as Paul Heyman hoped forUnknowingly, Angle showed up at the height of the Raven and Sandman feud. The duo's feud was well underway, and they needed a way to up the ante. So naturally, that night's show included an angle where Sandman was to be crucified on a makeshift cross and wrapped in barbed wire.

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A horrified (and very religious) Kurt Angle stormed out after witnessing the spot, claiming he'd never work for the company again.

8 Francine and Dawn Marie

Francine and Dawn Marie were among the most popular wrestlers in ECW. They were mean, cunning, and weren't afraid to mix things up with the male superstars.

Or each other.

Things took a turn for the worse during WWE's ECW reunion, One Night Stand, in 2005. Dawn Marie claims Francine shrugged her off, ignoring the tradition of meeting and greeting the locker room upon arrival. The two reportedly had words, and a few expletives later, the situation almost became physical. Marie claims that had she not been pregnant at the time, she likely would've escalated things herself.

7 Taz and Sabu

via si.com

Taz and Sabu's first feud took 18 months to build. And by the time ECW's first Barely Legal event hit pay-per-view airwaves, the two were at each other's throats...literally. The match was so important that Taz insisted on spending a week at his training school choreographing it. Sabu wasn't too thrilled, insisting that they could come up with the bulk of the match on the spot. The bickering lasted the entire week, and by the time Sunday rolled around, they were ready to tear each other apart. Go back and watch the match and you'll see both guys sneaking in a few stiff shots.

6 New Jack and Balls Mahoney

The Mass Transit Incident is one of the most disturbing events in wrestling history. Long story short, New Jack and a young wrestler had an impromptu match after Jack's original opponents no-showed the event. During the match, Jack stabbed the young wrestler, resulting in an ultimately fatal amount of bleeding. Balls Mahoney never forgave New Jack, and things came to a head during a shoot interview years later.

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Guilt, accusations of drug abuse, and genuine hatred -- their face-off shoot interview is some of the most heated stuff out there.

It's hard to listen to Pantera's "Walk" without thinking of RVD strutting to the ring, or Metallica's "Enter Sandman" without picturing The Sandman downing a six-pack with fans. People couldn't believe that ECW could afford to license these amazing tracks. But the thing is, they couldn't, nor did they bother trying. Despite using licensed music in broadcasts, Paul Heyman never sought permission from artists or recording companies to use these iconic tunes. At the end of the day, things worked out in Heyman's favor and ECW escaped without as much as a single lawsuit.

4 Jerry Lawler and ECW

Rob Van Dam Jerry Lawler ECW WWF

Even before the Internet, WWE's involvement with ECW was one of the worst-kept secrets in wrestling. Vince bankrolled several ECW events and even encouraged cross-promotion. Both companies got a bit more than they bargained for when it came to Jerry "The King" Lawler and Paul Heyman, however. Lawler, a traditionalist, and old-school wrestling enthusiast, genuinely hated ECW and everything it stood for. Using every opportunity possible to bury ECW talent on commentary.

While the infamous "Extremely Crappy Wrestling" promo was for show, the sentiment behind it was quite real. As were the slights against guys like Taz, Rob Van Dam, and more.

3 Axl Rotten and Ian Rotten

Axl Rotten and Ian Rotten ECW

Sibling rivalries are par for the course in the wrestling world. But a feud between siblings is rarely rooted in reality. Despite tagging together for years as The Bad Breed, Axl and Ian Rotten began to drift apart as ECW picked up steam. While they still worked together in a professional capacity, putting on incredible matches like the famous Taipei Death Match at ECW Hardcore Heaven in 1995, drugs and relationships caused anger and resentment.

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Axl eventually passed away due to an overdose in 2016, but it's believed that the brothers patched things up beforehand.

2 Jerry Lawler and Taz

Remember those jabs at Taz we mentioned before? Yeah, Taz didn't appreciate them. The insults stuck with Taz throughout his ECW career, making things more than a little awkward when Taz signed with WWE in late 1999.

The real-life heat served as inspiration for an on-again-off-again feud between Taz and Lawler throughout the early 2000s, culminating at ECW One Night Stand in 2006 when the duo hashed things out in a brief match. It's unclear where things stand now, but make no mistake, the heat between the duo wasn't just for show.

1 Paul Heyman and the ECW Roster

As brilliant as he is, Paul Heyman wasn't the savviest businessman back in the day. For proof, look at the last few years of ECW.

Wrestlers like Taz, Raven, Perry Saturn, Shane Douglas, and even Sandman jumped ship to ECW's competitors, leaving ECW with a talented yet barebones roster. But it turns out that everyone left for a good reason, as Heyman's checks started bouncing. And that was if you were lucky. Most of the ECW locker room straight-up didn't receive a check at all. While there are multiple reasons why ECW died in 2001, Heyman's refusal to pay talent is undoubtedly one of the grossest and most downright unnecessary.

NEXT: 10 Most Controversial Things Paul Heyman Has Done In Wrestling