Was it a mistake to never push Tazz?

[Matisyahu]

I often wondered after Tazz came to WWE right before ECW plummeted why they never pushed him. I understand that Vince doesn't like to live off the credibility of one companies success with a wrestler much like the situation when Mick Foley came in and Vince said lets create something new..lets make our own history and instead of Cactus Jack we got Mankind. But why then did he just add a Z to Taz and make him look like a watered down version of the Human Suplex Machine? Worst of all he took the Tazzmission and made it a stand up version where nearly anyone could break free. The beauty of the original was that once you were locked in it was over! Isn't that the whole point of the finisher and most of all the submission factor in wrestling?!

I seriously believe that Tazz could have been and deserved a small taste of fame in the WWE and they could easily have banked off him big time. Sure he became a commentator and I for one associated Smackdown with the voice of Tazz and Cole for the longest time. But then again I go back and see all his old ECW stuff and see how amazingly talented and brutal he was in there with his numberous variations of the Tazzplex and just say man I cannot believe he never made it big.

Maybe it was his size given that he is short and all I mean everyone knows about Vinces legendary love of the big man who knows.

Either way it sucks that ol Tazz got the shaft. Thoughts?

 

[mork83]

I always assumed it was his health. I recently watched his debut on Youtube and his ovation was incredible (granted it was in NYC) and he gave Kurt Angle his first loss. They had him face HHH as the ECW champ and also, for some reason, remember a triple threat match on RAW with Tazz, Angle, and the Rock.

I figured they had big plans for him, but he had health issues and he then just wrestled in lame hardcore matches or squashes with Jerry Lawler or RTC.

I wished that instead of the Benoit, Jericho, Angle match at WM XVI, they would've thrown in Tazz.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Originally I didn't think it was a mistake that he didn't recieve a proper push. I felt he was too small. But then they went and made Rey Mysterio champ. Don't get me wrong I like Mysterio. But he's 5'3'' and against smaller opponents he's pretty good. He's ok against bigger opponents as well. But Tazz despite being a midget he could wrestle with Super Heavyweights. If he'd been booked in WWE the same way he was in ECW he would have been huge imo.

 

[A.J.]

Looking back it i thought Tazz was over his head in the WWE. I saw him going maybe as high as IC champ but never the WWE Champ. As Jake said Tazz could wrestle the bigger oppnents as Rey Rey struggles badley look back at his championship matches vs JBL and Booker they were nothing special.

Tazz was miss used back then but looking at the time he joined Vince didnt vision anyone under 6'4 to be champion. Hell he always thought Y2J and Angle was too small to champs at first. If WWE used Taz as he was in ECW he would have been big prolly be one of the top ten guys back in the WWF in 2000 if WWE used his ECW stuff, but they didnt. Sad thing now is he is rotting as an ECW commentor

 

[RVDgurl]

I know that I'm very partial to the ECW, but I really think that Taz was completely misused in the WWE. Taz was the first big talent taken from ECW by the WWE. He didn't jump the ship before it went under, he headed for the WWE a few years before ECW closed its doors. Taz was brought in at the same time that Chris Jericho was a major player and the two are nearly identical in height, so size cannot be used as an excuse. Taz's character was never given a chance to develop in the WWE which is a complete shame.

 

[Rabbid Wolverine]

ye, he never got off the ground, i'm guessing alot of the talent in wwe wasn't too sure about get suplexed 10 dif ways, and the guys in wwe would be harder to throw for the most part i think.

he could have had some good fueds thought, even with his size, why not have submission matches with jericho,benoit, malenko.. or even fueded with a guy like guerrero

but he doesn't really look to be to upset about being an announcer.

there was an old article up about how kurt angle saw rvd slap tazz and he did nothing....... that suprised me big time (if its true)

 

[Kasey]

Taz was pissed away for the sole purpose of killing the mystique of ECW...plain and simple. He was brought in hot as it gets upon debuting. However, instead of allowing him to do what he did to garner attention in the first place (wrestle a smashmouth, semi-shoot style that garnered a rabid fanbase) they did another one of McMahon's "Let's fix what isn't broken" schemes and let his star burn out. He had one of the hottest debuts of his time and had instant cred as the dominant monster of ECW who ate guys like Rhino for breakfast without even breaking a sweat. In the end, though, McMahon worked his magic as usual and had Taz get a hold of the ECW title so that he could bring it to Smackdown and job to HHH. Just like Tajiri, Rhino, RVD, Super Crazy and numerous others, McMahon tried to change the root formula of what made these guys beyond over in ECW. The sad thing is that no one ever told the dumbass that he didn't need to meddle in their gimmicks. Just book them right and the rest would take care of itself.

The only thing more disgusting is having to watch Taz and Styles pretend that "ECW" on Sci-Fi isn't a complete asswipe of a show. Taz has become a really good actor on the headset. Much moreso than when he was an active wrestler.

 

[natecook59]

Tazz was pushed by WWE. After his debut he was pushed to mid-card status amongst Jericho, Benoit, Dudleyz, etc... He was in contention for the IC title on a number of occasions and wrestled in the hardcore division often where he was able to use a more "ECW" style. The big problem for Tazz was injuries. His neck continually got worse and other injuries accumulated. This made it necessary for him to transition into a non-wrestling roll.

 

[X]

Finally something I can agree with! While Taz should most definately have started off as he did, I mean his debut again Angle was the perfect way to debut a new wrestler with a big name (especially in MSG) he also should've been pushed after a while. His biggest match really was when he was the ECW champ facing Triple H who was the WWF champ back in 2000. Great match.

Yeah they really lost a lot of money they could've made bringing over Taz's ECW fanbase there. But no, instead Vince would rather just kill off a promotion that put on better wrestling on a daily basis then the WWF could have achieved in its first ten or twenty years.

Taz's ECW days were just monstrous, the guy was so over it was scary. He was like the Stone Cold of ECW in the sense that he was the guy who just didn't give a fuck, and the crowd loved him for it.

Not to mention Taz was easily one of the best wrestlers of the last twenty years, the way he would just invent suplexes in his matches can only be matched by a Scott Steiner in his prime when he used to just make up suplexes in matches.

Taz I believe deserved atleast one reign on top, as much as RVD did atleast.

 

[EP Punk]

Tazz's push in WWE was there, but very short lived. As natecook said, his neck condition continuously grew worse, as well as, as taz himself said, years of working with no knee pads pretty much destroyed his wheels. So yeah, he deserved a bigger push, but I think he and WWE both knew that a long-term push would not have been beneficial to either party.

 

[Emmet]

Ive always rated Taz as a wrestler and always wondered why he didnt get a push at the time, but looking back on it now he did get a push but it didnt last long. I'd say a combination of his neck injuries and Vince looking to bury one of the best wrestlers ECW produced was why Taz wasnt fully utilized

 

[RealDeal07]

Vince would never push a guy who wasn't a WWF superstar at that time and prefers to bury them.Taz was reduced to fighting for the Hardcore title and that awful feud with J.R. and The King.If they continued pushing Taz like he was in ECW and his memorable debut against Kurt Angle at Madison Square Garden who knows we could have eventually had a great feud with him and Austin at a PPV

 

[BIGSEXYTHEGIANTKILLER]

Very few of the ECW alumni have made it in the big leagues. RVD, Foley and the Dudleys are the only ones I can think of.

 

[rampage01]

Tazz's push ended when he got injured. But the WWE is famous for this. They had cool guys like Tazz, Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Justin Credible, Rhyno and great wrestlers like Lance Storm, Ultimo Dragon even RVD and they try to make them their own. Why would you do that when the reason behind them signing these guys was because fans wanted to see them for what they were. If they let these guys just be what they are they would have alot more main eventers right now!

 

[michiganj24]

Actually I think the reason he never really got pushed was Raven. See when he debuted he was pushed max. Gave Angel his first loss, high profile matches etc. Then like any new wrestler Vince makes them go through a jobber period and that is not just guys from other promotion. Look at Mr Kennedy or Orton. Vinces theory is that will stop them from getting a big head but we see how well that works. Then just as he might have been over that scenario Raven came along and they felt they had to buddy them up as they were both ECW guys even they hated each other but that was the we dont know anything about ECW booking team. Then came the Alliance and that clusterbuck. Too many new guys competing for top slots and so guys on the cusp lie Taz got pushed way down. At that point his injries were catching up to him and by the end he retired to be an announcer. If he had had a few more years when the title scene was so loaded he might have done it.

 

[danmorrison05]

taz was over rated he had some good technical ability but he wouldn't of been able to carry the wwe or a major title he just doesn't look the part and he is under wwe and disneyland ride restricted height

 

[StrangerX9]

Taz was in ECW, what Samoa Joe was in TNA before Kurt Angle. He dominated but he had complications with his neck. So when he went to WWE he was a short guy in a land of giants. I'd like to see him come back and wrestle some more, but you'd have to have alota guys put him over and there's always the risk he'd get hurt again so its not a wise investment from a promoter stand point.


Long story short Taz was awsome, and if Samoa Joe went to WWE the same might happen to him, but i dont think hes ever had an serious injuries so who knows.

 

[Big Fella]

I think most of the reasons for Taz's lack of WWE success have been documented in this thread, but I disagree to some extent with some of the reasons listed here.

First of all, guys like Jericho, Benoit, Rey, and other smallish guys that had success wrestled a vastly different style than Taz. The small guys that have success are guys that can wrestle an higher flying up-tempo style and a mat attack. Taz was not able to speed up his tempo or take to the air. He was stuck in the middle really. He was not small/fast enough to wrestle bigger guys and take the underdog role as a "giant-killer." But he was not big enough to wrestle his heavyweight style successfully against WWE's heavyweights.

I still think Taz could have had more success in the ring if he was injury free, but never would have been a heavyweight champion caliber guy.

 

[nomonksinmyband]

I read recently that Tazz himself said that he is glad how his run was to an extent but he is never gonna get back in the ring to further it because he wants to keep healthy.

And as much as he was awesome somewhere else just like many people Vince is always gonna push his homegrown guys the biggest which is a way of showing his loyalty

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I think that Taz never got the right about of push he deserved, because as its been stated.. McMahon doesn't like to push off of another companies history. He wants each of his Superstars to recreate their own history, in his company.

Taz's debut against Kurt Angle could've been a lot better. In looking back on that match, it honestly wasn't the best. It was too short for what it was, & both men had tremendous talent, especially with suplexes.. for them to only use a limited amount.

After his debut, they instantly threw him away, having him get beat down by the Bossman & Buchannon. Then his debut Wrestlemania, they had him in some shit-ass Hardcore opening.. in which he should've likely came out the winner, but was actually beaten in the end. They tried to repackage him, & did that with his feud against Rikishi (which I think they tried copying the Bam Bam Bigelow aspect of everything) & then with Jerry Lawler, to hopefully stir up some old E.C.W. memories.

Taz & Raven were then placed together, & upon Raven's push away from Taz.. Taz fell away. His biggest match was during his reign as E.C.W. Champion, when he fought against Triple H. on Smackdown. The match should've been Main Event of Raw.

I honestly think Taz could've been a great World Champion, especially when the likes of Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio & even The Great Khali have all worn the Championship. Taz brought something to the table that connected tremendous promos, outstanding wrestling ability, & good charisma with the fans.. but due to W.W.E. not pushing him since he lacked in size.. & because they didn't want to use what/who he was for E.C.W.. Taz faded away into being an announcer.

 

[Guy]

Taz....don't even get me started on this guy! The man was a revolutionary. He wasn't just some short fat midget, he was a black belt in Judo and could work a match with the likes of big men like Mike Awesome and Bam Bam Bigelow. His tazplexes amaze me...seriously they are incredible. He makes them land straightly on their neck and hasn't severely hurt anybody besdies Sabu. His mic skills were very instense and it gave you the feeling that when he went to the ring someone was about to get spiked on their head. He could also very well shoot on anyone at anytime using his Judo background.

Now on to the push section of my post: This is one of the reasons I'm not too fond of Vince. He basically had signed a technical masterpiece like Taz and use him piss-poor. I understand that he was from ECW, but if WWE tried their hardest in pushing him he would be HUGE. WWE has been known to water down wrestlers from other promotions though (Goldberg, DDP, The Dudleyz, Taz) so they weren't just singling Taz out.

Taz though...quite arguably one of the top 20 best wrestlers of the 90's.

*EDIT*

I also remember them tainting Taz's legacy by having him get squashed by Stone Cold. Come on was that really necessary? Stone Cold is good, but having him beat a wrestler ,who dominated a promotion where people were put through flaming tables on a regular basis, in a squash match is ridiculous and comes off as unrealistic. Hell if anything Taz should've shooted on him for being treated like that.

 

[SpiralHands]

I started watching WM17 the other day and saw Tazz on there teaming with APA, and I had same thought of why didnt Tazz ever get a push from the WWE Tazz was big time money at the time he entered the WWE, but I think Vince had a problem with the size, and the hardcore ECW style Tazz everyone had knew I dont think WWE would have suited his style, I dont think with all the other major talent they had in WWE that time Tazz really stood a chance to get big which is massive shame because I loved Tazz.

 

[blackhart07]

Its such a shame that the WWE buried one of the biggest bad ass's in the wrestling. Taz was a machine in ECW, he was a pure wrestler in a violent company. He had it all from the look to the promos he would cut. He made you believe that he was a legit tough guy. Always put on 5 star matches, he could work with a guy like Shane Douglas then work with Sabu. Hes only 5'8 and with a sport dominated by big beefed up body builders Taz was a breath of fresh air. No one can throw a suplex like Taz. I would take a Tazplex over any kind of suplex Angle, Steiner, or Lesnar throws. Im surprised he didnt break peoples neck because he would literally just dump them straight on there head. And for the people that say Taz wouldnt survive in a company like WWE because hes to hardcore. Taz was one of the best technical wrestlers out. I would put him right up there with Angle, Benoit and Hart. He could mat wrestle, shoot, and brawl. His feud with Sabu was one of the most legendary feuds in ECW. I still say he should be in the WWE HOF one day.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

I remember the first time I learned of Tazz was back in 2000. I was browsing the WWE profile section and came across that name and wondered, "who is this?" It all started there. The guy had a tough look to him that made me want to watch his matches. After I got myself the Royal Rumble 2000 tape and watched his debut match against Kurt Angle, I was impressed. Soon after that, I hunted down as many of his matches as I could get my hands on, while at the same time, watching all of his ECW matches. That was also when I became an ECW fan.

But, anyway, after everything Taz accomplished in ECW, I was rather confused as to why he wasn't going anywhere in the WWE. The beginning to mid 2000 was actually pretty decent for Taz. I mean, he defeated Kurt Angle, beat Big Bossman and even got a nightstick cracked over his skull but still got up, nearly dominated Benoit until an interference from Saturn caused a german suplex bridge pin loss, became Hardcore Champion twice at Wrestlemania but got screwed over at the last second, defeated Eddie Guerrero on Sunday Night Heat which will probably never be remembered, won the Hardcore title for the third time and during the same month he won the ECW World title for the second time, wrestled then-WWF Champion Triple H in a Champion vs. Champion match only to get screwed over in the end, lost to Lawler but got a win back and got up from THREE of his pile drivers. Okay, so maybe he didn't even start out that great. But, a lot of his early WWF matches were quality nevertheless.

With that being said, 2001 was the most disappointing ever. The WWE decided to job him consecutively. Just when I thought he was going to become European Champion, they screwed him over. What? And this was the same Taz that defeated Shane Douglas for the ECW TV title in three minutes using only the tazzmission! Shame. He lost a Pay Per View match to Tajiri, who he used to whip around like a toy in ECW and then ended up losing to Stond Cold Steve Austin in 1 minute (reminiscent to how Tazz lost a match in 2000 to Chris Jericho). If they weren't going to push him, they could've at least lengthened the matches to give him some credibility in offense. Nope. Or let's just say it usually looked like he was going to win, only to get screwed over some way. Even Billy Kidman beat him.

When 2002 came around and he finally won the World Tag Team Championship, I was half-thrilled. It was good seeing Tazz choking out wrestlers left and right and WINNING, but what I wanted to see was Tazz having a successful singles run as either the dominant IC Champion or tough-as-nails WWE Champion.

Here's the thing. Tazz had the look, the charisma, the mic skills, the ability to cut bad-ass promos, the ability to sell moves. If size was what downed him, it's ridiculous. Look at Crash. He wasn't all that tall either, yet he won more Championships. Look at Spike. He wasn't all that tall, yet he won more Championships in the WWE than Tazz. So, what was the problem? It was most likely his injuries and dying in-ring passion. He has stated that himself in the "The Butterflies are gone" article way back in 2002. Most recently, he had a new article that reiterated or further dove into his retirement issue and the whys.

In conclusion, it was a mistake to not push Tazz when he was still wrestling. They could've done more with him during the InVasion angle but they blew that out the window. And now, it's too late and it's over so all the Tazz fans can only do is relive his better years back in ECW. That's his legacy. I don't even want to believe that his WWE wrestling career existed except for some cool moments in 2000.

 

[Slyfox696]

What happens when TNA signs a former WWE guy, and puts them in the upper main-event scene? What is always said about that? "It makes TNA look bad by having WWE guys come in and dominate...like TNA guys are inferior to WWE guys". Well, there's your answer to why Tazz was treated as he was.

Tazz received, for the most part, the same style of booking that most crossovers receive from the WWE. Hot start with big debut, and then a push down the card, just so they can slowly be built back up. They did that to Jericho, remember? Debut promo with Rock, and then IC title scene? The reason that Tazz never got his push after his demotion was most likely because of his health issues.

People want to blame Vince McMahon for this and that, but really it makes sense. Couple in that with the fact that Tazz probably wasn't much of a draw outside of a 5 state radius, and it is easy to see why he was treated as he was.