Ive listened to Crucify the Dead 50 times and never once did i make any connection to Axl. Ozzy was in Black Sabbath so maybe he is talking about Iommi or hell who knows.
Well, Ozzy said in an interview that it was his interpretation of what went down with the breakup of GNR, so that pretty much spells it out. Maybe his own dealings with Black Sabbath were a part of it as well.