How good was I?

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Austin, Rock and Triple H had no issues getting suplexed all over the place by Benoit just a few months later. In fact, Benoit is probably only a couple of inches taller than Taz.

Benoit was a well respected worker by most of the roster before he even entered the WWF. Tazz wasnt. Tazz wasnt well liked by many people in his own locker room in ECW and most felt he took liberties with them. I remember just before Tazz signed Jericho got interviewed and they asked who was the biggest pain to work with and he said this:

 

4. What wrestler is the biggest pain in the ass to work with and why?

 

JERICHO: Taz, very concerned that he looks good at all times.

 

I'd imagine the WWF locker room was aware of this. This was the same locker room who thought WCW wrestlers were "against them" even though Vince owned both companies. This was a fucking paranoid locker room.

 

Yes, you could "associate someone Taz's size as a pushover", but that doesn't mean it would actually be the case with Taz (or anyone else his height who looked tough).

 

Don't know about anyone else, but to me, this bloke looks pretty fucking hard...

He does look hard on that photo, but this was 2000. It was still the land of the giants, and the likes of Angle and Jericho werent given many clean wins over the big boys because they looked small. Angle especially never came across as much of a threat. He would usually "Miz" his way through title defences. I'm not even having a go at Tazz, as I said I liked him. What I'm saying is, its not hard to see why they didnt push him in such a successful era. Especially with the influx of talent on the way in and with Undertaker and Austin set the return.

 

His promo's were that of a smack-talking ass-kicker. What's not WWF 2000 about that?

Everyone had charisma out the arse in 2000. Tazz was a decent talker (as they saw by sticking him on the commentary desk), but he came in during an era where there was so much talent. A ridiculous amount. In 2000, it seemed like everytime someone farted, it would be on a t-shirt. Rikishi got over massive, Too Cool got over huge, the Hardys and Edge and Christian were mega-popular (or hated), Road Dogg was still squeezing what was left out of DX, the Dudleys were big, Commissioner Foley was still a big star. It isnt like 2011, where there's a load of spots available but they arent sure who to go with and fuck it up and throw the ideas out the window. It was a golden era. I remember more people being upset that Tests push was taken off him, more than Tazz to be honest.

 

 

Mike Tyson was 5' 10" in a world of 6 foot 5 giants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6WX4becZSg

Wrestlings fake, Doc. Perception is reality, is the tag line. Also, if Mike Tyson in his pomp walked up to me I'd shit myself. 5'10" and jacked isnt a pussy size, no matter how tall you are.

[CJD]

DID TAZZ USED TO HAVE LONG HAIR IN wcw?

[Vito]

Taz was de-pushed because the WWE doesn't know how to manage its talent properly, there were a million and one things they could have done with someone like Taz but as usual they dropped the ball because they apparently hate making money.

I know you're excitable and good for an overreactionary chuckle, but that's mostly complete nonsense. Yeah, they could have done something with Taz, they possibly missed the boat with him. But does that justify a blanket 'they don't know how to manage their talent properly' statement? Of course it doesn't.

The WWE is a collage of missed opportunities. For every Stone Cold Steve Austin's there are a dozen Taz's. It's an established fact that only a select few are ever permitted to get over, Taz was obviously one of them for the first ten minutes of his WWE tenure until somebody somewhere lost confidence in him and shoved him down. In my opinion anyone on TV should be there to make money, if the audience are given a reason to care about a wrestler then they will, it pisses me off when guys like The Uso's are on TV despite not serving any purpose other than to fill time.

[Dirty Eddie]

Austin, Rock and Triple H had no issues getting suplexed all over the place by Benoit just a few months later. In fact, Benoit is probably only a couple of inches taller than Taz.

Benoit was a well respected worker by most of the roster before he even entered the WWF. Tazz wasnt. Tazz wasnt well liked by many people in his own locker room in ECW and most felt he took liberties with them. I remember just before Tazz signed Jericho got interviewed and they asked who was the biggest pain to work with and he said this:

 

4. What wrestler is the biggest pain in the ass to work with and why?

 

JERICHO: Taz, very concerned that he looks good at all times.

 

I'd imagine the WWF locker room was aware of this. This was the same locker room who thought WCW wrestlers were "against them" even though Vince owned both companies. This was a fucking paranoid locker room.

 

Yes, you could "associate someone Taz's size as a pushover", but that doesn't mean it would actually be the case with Taz (or anyone else his height who looked tough).

 

Don't know about anyone else, but to me, this bloke looks pretty fucking hard...

He does look hard on that photo, but this was 2000. It was still the land of the giants, and the likes of Angle and Jericho werent given many clean wins over the big boys because they looked small. Angle especially never came across as much of a threat. He would usually "Miz" his way through title defences. I'm not even having a go at Tazz, as I said I liked him. What I'm saying is, its not hard to see why they didnt push him in such a successful era. Especially with the influx of talent on the way in and with Undertaker and Austin set the return.

 

His promo's were that of a smack-talking ass-kicker. What's not WWF 2000 about that?

Everyone had charisma out the arse in 2000. Tazz was a decent talker (as they saw by sticking him on the commentary desk), but he came in during an era where there was so much talent. A ridiculous amount. In 2000, it seemed like everytime someone farted, it would be on a t-shirt. Rikishi got over massive, Too Cool got over huge, the Hardys and Edge and Christian were mega-popular (or hated), Road Dogg was still squeezing what was left out of DX, the Dudleys were big, Commissioner Foley was still a big star. It isnt like 2011, where there's a load of spots available but they arent sure who to go with and fuck it up and throw the ideas out the window. It was a golden era. I remember more people being upset that Tests push was taken off him, more than Tazz to be honest.

 

 

Mike Tyson was 5' 10" in a world of 6 foot 5 giants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6WX4becZSg

Wrestlings fake, Doc. Perception is reality, is the tag line. Also, if Mike Tyson in his pomp walked up to me I'd shit myself. 5'10" and jacked isnt a pussy size, no matter how tall you are.

 

Yeah, fair point about Benoit being a safer, proven worker. That still doesn't mean that Taz wouldn't have gotten to that point if they'd tried a bit more with him. You mention Jericho, he was another guy who "couldn't work" according to the WWF locker-room 'leaders'. But they stuck with him and it all came together.

 

WWF 2000 wasn't Land Of The Giants. Kurt Angle, Jericho, Eddie and Benoit all did alright for themselves despite being under 6 foot. They weren't top line Main Event talent, but I'm not really arguing that Taz should have been at that point. A decent mid-card push would have been nice with him getting in the IC mix.

 

You said his promo's were not what they (the WWF) were after. I disagreed and still do. Yes, there were other great, charismatic talents, but Taz's shtick would have worked fine, just exchange the 'fucks' for 'god-damned'.

 

As for the "perception is reality" line. Well, that supports that they could have pushed Taz. You think what we tell you to think has been the WWF/E way forever. If they told people Taz was a ruthless, iron-willed, mma-trained submission machine, the kids would believe.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Your probably right. But I'm looking at it from their logic. I wouldnt have minded seeing him in around the uppercard spot, but The Undertaker didnt sell for 10 WCW wrestlers beating him up in a car park. Its hard to see him selling and bumping for Tazz. That era just brings up memories of DDP getting beaten up by Sara Undertaker and Lance Storm getting People's Elbowed by a midget version of Booker T. I'm just looking for the reasons why they wouldnt push him. Not everything makes sense. WWF refusing to allow Randy Savage wrestle in 1994 when the headliners they had werent drawing on PPV was a pretty stupid as well, but they have their own logic I suppose. The WWE Writers week on the Observer site had a funny story on it about Rey Mysterios title win, where Vince actually reminded everyone from the day Rey won the belt at WM22 until the day he lost when he was losing it. He apparently kept telling the writers "only a month left for him right?" He has his imagine of a hardcase and thats what he likes to push. You wouldnt think Vince would be so pro-looking like a legit badass would you though? Especially since he's so pro "entertainment". Court Bauer said his opinion of Batista changed the day he lost the fight to Booker T and even said "he'll never wear that belt again". He got over that one I assume.

[Dr Reefer]

Austin, Rock and Triple H had no issues getting suplexed all over the place by Benoit just a few months later. In fact, Benoit is probably only a couple of inches taller than Taz.

Benoit was a well respected worker by most of the roster before he even entered the WWF. Tazz wasnt. Tazz wasnt well liked by many people in his own locker room in ECW and most felt he took liberties with them. I remember just before Tazz signed Jericho got interviewed and they asked who was the biggest pain to work with and he said this:

 

4. What wrestler is the biggest pain in the ass to work with and why?

 

JERICHO: Taz, very concerned that he looks good at all times.

 

I'd imagine the WWF locker room was aware of this. This was the same locker room who thought WCW wrestlers were "against them" even though Vince owned both companies. This was a fucking paranoid locker room.

 

Yes, you could "associate someone Taz's size as a pushover", but that doesn't mean it would actually be the case with Taz (or anyone else his height who looked tough).

 

Don't know about anyone else, but to me, this bloke looks pretty fucking hard...

He does look hard on that photo, but this was 2000. It was still the land of the giants, and the likes of Angle and Jericho werent given many clean wins over the big boys because they looked small. Angle especially never came across as much of a threat. He would usually "Miz" his way through title defences. I'm not even having a go at Tazz, as I said I liked him. What I'm saying is, its not hard to see why they didnt push him in such a successful era. Especially with the influx of talent on the way in and with Undertaker and Austin set the return.

 

His promo's were that of a smack-talking ass-kicker. What's not WWF 2000 about that?

Everyone had charisma out the arse in 2000. Tazz was a decent talker (as they saw by sticking him on the commentary desk), but he came in during an era where there was so much talent. A ridiculous amount. In 2000, it seemed like everytime someone farted, it would be on a t-shirt. Rikishi got over massive, Too Cool got over huge, the Hardys and Edge and Christian were mega-popular (or hated), Road Dogg was still squeezing what was left out of DX, the Dudleys were big, Commissioner Foley was still a big star. It isnt like 2011, where there's a load of spots available but they arent sure who to go with and fuck it up and throw the ideas out the window. It was a golden era. I remember more people being upset that Tests push was taken off him, more than Tazz to be honest.

 

 

Mike Tyson was 5' 10" in a world of 6 foot 5 giants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6WX4becZSg

Wrestlings fake, Doc. Perception is reality, is the tag line. Also, if Mike Tyson in his pomp walked up to me I'd shit myself. 5'10" and jacked isnt a pussy size, no matter how tall you are.

 

Yeah, fair point about Benoit being a safer, proven worker. That still doesn't mean that Taz wouldn't have gotten to that point if they'd tried a bit more with him. You mention Jericho, he was another guy who "couldn't work" according to the WWF locker-room 'leaders'. But they stuck with him and it all came together.

 

WWF 2000 wasn't Land Of The Giants. Kurt Angle, Jericho, Eddie and Benoit all did alright for themselves despite being under 6 foot. They weren't top line Main Event talent, but I'm not really arguing that Taz should have been at that point. A decent mid-card push would have been nice with him getting in the IC mix.

 

You said his promo's were not what they (the WWF) were after. I disagreed and still do. Yes, there were other great, charismatic talents, but Taz's shtick would have worked fine, just exchange the 'fucks' for 'god-damned'.

 

As for the "perception is reality" line. Well, that supports that they could have pushed Taz. You think what we tell you to think has been the WWF/E way forever. If they told people Taz was a ruthless, iron-willed, mma-trained submission machine, the kids would believe.

 

Exactly my point. If Tyson had been a 5 foot 10 ripped monster who happened to go over like a sapling in a stiff wind you wouldn't think he was hard. Tazz got over in ECW suplexing Bam Bam Bigelow through the ring. Have him T-bone Suplex Viscera or Rikishi a few times and people would take him seriously as a threat.

[Dirty Eddie]

Your probably right. But I'm looking at it from their logic. I wouldnt have minded seeing him in around the uppercard spot, but The Undertaker didnt sell for 10 WCW wrestlers beating him up in a car park. Its hard to see him selling and bumping for Tazz. That era just brings up memories of DDP getting beaten up by Sara Undertaker and Lance Storm getting People's Elbowed by a midget version of Booker T. I'm just looking for the reasons why they wouldnt push him. Not everything makes sense. WWF refusing to allow Randy Savage wrestle in 1994 when the headliners they had werent drawing on PPV was a pretty stupid as well, but they have their own logic I suppose. The WWE Writers week on the Observer site had a funny story on it about Rey Mysterios title win, where Vince actually reminded everyone from the day Rey won the belt at WM22 until the day he lost when he was losing it. He apparently kept telling the writers "only a month left for him right?" He has his imagine of a hardcase and thats what he likes to push. You wouldnt think Vince would be so pro-looking like a legit badass would you though? Especially since he's so pro "entertainment". Court Bauer said his opinion of Batista changed the day he lost the fight to Booker T and even said "he'll never wear that belt again". He got over that one I assume.

Oh yeah, WWE and completely logical decisions don't go hand in hand.

 

I'm blatantly a big taz mark, and it pained me to see him amount to nothing.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I can't find the video on youtube, but there is an amazing sequence between Taz and Sabu (I think) where he crotches Sabu on the top rope; hits a sweet top rope belly-to-back; Sabu staggers to his feet immediately and Taz swarms on him and hits an even sweeter T-Bone; Sabu, again, staggers back to his feet and Taz just takes his fucking head off with a clothesline. Brilliant.

 

I think the deal with Taz is (and its a common theme with a lot of the wrestlers I love), he looked and sounded rugged. He wasn't clean and polished, but he was completely committed to the character and he looked, sounded and acted like he thought the world was full of cunts and it was his sole purpose to tear all of our heads off.

 

Taz was amazing.

[cobra_gordo]

I remember being 16 or something and seeing Tazz suplex the shit out of somebody, to me it didn't matter that he was a short arse, he looked to be a genuine threat. The pop he gets at his debut vs Angle should have been a sign that this guy should have been destined for big things and then the WWF/E screwed things up. Thanks to this thread I've been sat on Youtube for 45 minutes watching old Tazz matches, a good one against Benoit from Raw and one vs Angle on Smackdown. It reminds me how much I liked how he could switch from those brutal looking suplexes to a hardcore brawling style.

[truthofsin]

I always liked Taz.. He looked like a badass and acted it too.. His offence was different and i think it really added to his character, i really digged the Human Suplex Machine gimmick.. I also loved that he did a DiBiase and created his own title in the form of the FTW title, but unlike the Million $ title or similar created belts, the FTW title actually had meaning and status within the company.. When Taz became Tazz i popped like a kid as he walked out at MSG and destroyed Angle.. I even loved his next PPV match as i think he played his part well and looked great.. getting hammered by both Albert (i think) and Bossman with the nightstick, but still getting up over and over again to fight on.. Tazz should have stole the show at Wrestlemania 2000 in the over booked hardcore title match by winning the strap early on (which happened) and not losing it for the duration, this i feel would have been what cemented him as a threat.. But sadly it didnt happen.. The 24/7 gimmick could have been great with Tazz in the champion role..

[Happ Hazzard]

He did well in ECW where Paul E was forced to make the best with the talent he had. In the WWF, his weaknesses were exposed. He was too short to be a main eventer and his work and gimmick wasn't suitable for working a small-man style. Can you imagine him going up against the likes of Undertaker and Kane? It'd look utterly ridiculous.

[PowerButchi]

Have him T-bone Suplex Viscera or Rikishi a few times and people would take him seriously as a threat.

 

Could Taz have been safe with that though? Bammer was a big bastard, but not compared to Big V.

[air_raid]

Hi guys im pretty new here. Im from Belfast and know a lot about wrestling. If you want to know anything from WWE, WCW ECW or even WWF just ask. thumbs-up.gif

 

DID TAZZ USED TO HAVE LONG HAIR IN wcw?

 

Thank God you're here.

[Egg Shen]

I'll always have a soft spot for Taz because of my ECW love, but his reputation since ECW has been harmed. It seems that the majority of his fellow ECW workers didn't like him, and there's plenty of stories of how his tough guy persona was a bit of a joke, but besides that there's no denying that in ECW he was fucking awesome.

 

The WWF fucked it all up.

[Magnum]

It occurs to me here that, even though I'm 100% in agreement that the influx of the Radicalz probably derailed Taz's push in that there was now something newer, shinier and generally better to look at, it actually would've been the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

 

Here you had four blokes who were all good workers, over to a decent degree after the way they entered the promotion, all heels, and all of comparable size to Taz. Fair enough, Benoit was busy with Angle/Jericho and Eddie was injured, but Saturn and Malenko weren't doing much of any note at that point. Even with his height, they could've kept Taz credible and interesting for a few months by keeping him away from the taller blokes and in feuds with the likes of the Radicalz and X-Pac.