In 2010, Bubba The Love Sponge claimed he was attacked backstage at IMPACT tapings by Awesome Kong over comments he made regarding Haiti earthquake relief. Bubba was brought in by IMPACT thanks to his friendship with Hulk Hogan and helped promote them on his radio show.
Kong reportedly asked for her release following the incident with Bubba, but it was not granted at the time. She was released a few months later after refusing to go on a UK tour and she filed a lawsuit against Bubba for an alleged threatening phone call.
The situation turned into a big mess for all parties, but Eric Bischoff, who had just started with IMPACT alongside Hogan, wasn't mad at what happened between Kong and Bubba.
"I never liked Bubba," stated Bischoff on 83 Weeks. "I hung out with him a few times, meaning I went with Hulk to his studio when Hulk was going to be on-air. But I never liked him, I never trusted him. There was nothing specific. When you walk into a room, sometimes, someone will stand out and you go, 'I don't feel good about this. I'm going to avoid anything about this person that I possibly can.' I couldn't avoid everything with Bubba. Hulk was very high on him. He was able to justify bringing Bubba into TNA to a degree because Bubba, with a national radio platform, was able to promote TNA in a way they couldn't afford to buy. There was a mutual benefit to having Bubba on the team. To me, he was such an ass and a disgusting person in general. I'm sure he still is, in every way. When that fight went down, I was like, 'Alright Kong.' I didn't really know her, but when I heard about it, I was like, 'Cool. I hope she drew blood.' [The fallout] was a clusterfuck."
Kong was officially released in March 2010. Bubba wouldn't be around much longer, getting fired in April 2010.
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