He was an asshole back in the day, sort of like Scott Steiner and tough as nails and also an amateur standout much like Steiner as well. He wasn't very well liked by many.
He was also known for scamming wanna be wrestlers in the different territories he worked that he would personally train them. He'd take their money and move onto the next territory. There were other times where some guys wouldn't pay until the first day of training so Sawyer would train them for two hours, take their money and tell them to come back the next day and Sawyer was gone. One of the more well-known "students" was the Undertaker. He took Taker's money, taught him a few holds, and then disappeared.
Taker later met up with Buzz Sawyer in late '89 in WCW and confronted Sawyer backstage and all Sawyer did was laugh. Some say Taker was ready to fight and had to be restrained while others have said Taker just stared at him, told him off and walked away.
This was all to support his drug habit, the same one that took his life around '92. Still, a tough SOB and an all around asshole