Beat Taz If You Can – Survive If He Lets You

Did WWE drop the ball with Taz?

David Gibb: It’s hard to judge fairly if WWE “dropped the ball” without knowing where Taz’s neck was at the time. If he was capable of being the same Taz as he was in ECW and the powers that be just didn’t do it, then it’s a yes.

Chad Gelfand: Yes. When Taz debuted at the 2000 Royal Rumble and beat Kurt Angle, he felt like a huge star and the fans reacted in kind. Taz didn’t have to be someone that WWE needed to push for the next five years, but why not strike while the iron was hot? Money was left on the table with Taz as a wrestler in WWE.

Steven Jackson: It’s hard to say. I’ve never been a huge fan of Taz and given the amount of talent that came up during the Attitude Era, it was inevitable he was going to get lost in the shuffle. Plus, his injuries were severely affecting his work (even when he was in ECW), so you always need to pay attention to your health more than anything else.

Matthew Smith: WWE not only dropped the ball, it tossed it down the street and ignored it. Taz came in and from his first look and actions seemed to be a new monster that would kick your ass and then put you to sleep. He came in and beat Kurt Angle, who was rocking an undefeated streak, which should have launched him to the top. Fast forward a few months and he is losing to Jerry Lawler.

Juan Bautista: Yes. While his debut beating Kurt Angle was great, nothing more came of it. Even if WWE didn’t know he was on borrowed time, there should’ve been more done with him. The invasion angle didn’t do him any favors either.

John Corrigan: Absolutely. After his first night, it seemed like WWE had no idea what to do with him. But there were options: the Hardcore Championship, which Taz could have brought credibility to during the silly 24/7 era; the European Championship, which was lost in the shuffle aside from Al Snow representing different countries; and the Intercontinental Championship, which had so many titleholders in 2000 that Taz could have tangled with to produce great matches. Then there’s the invasion angle, where he was emasculated by Stone Cold without any payoff.

Jack Goodwillie: I don’t think so. Truth be told, there wasn’t a ton of time left on Taz’ clock by the time he came to WWE. I always thought he was the perfect fit for ECW because Paul Heyman had such a great grasp on the character. When you stick him in WWE, what do you really have? A monster? Big Show, Kane and Undertaker are all more credible monsters. A great talker? The Rock was in the prime of his career at this point and Chris Jericho was also prevalent. A badass? Steve Austin had that market cornered. A wrestling machine? Kurt Angle could do everything Taz could do and had bonafide main eventer upside (which he fulfilled). Now, could he have played a larger role in the Invasion angle? Perhaps, but that angle was doomed from the start. It would have failed with or without Taz. In WWE, he topped out as a midcarder. In ECW, he was a main eventer and a fan favorite and there are reasons for that.

What do you think of his commentary?

Gibb: He’s good at doing straight color and brings a lot of knowledge of actual grappling to the table (always a plus), but I wasn’t a fan of him doing the bully heel announcer deal as a part of Aces & Eights. It was just laid on too thick.

Gelfand: I really enjoyed Taz’s commentary. When I was a kid, I would only be able to watch SmackDown, so the commentary team of Taz and Michael Cole were kind of like the voices of my childhood wrestling fandom.

Jackson: I enjoyed Taz’s commentary with Michael Cole at the beginning of their run on SmackDown. They were a great combination. Taz has always been trying to find that magic again, but sadly never has.

Smith: Solid commentator for SmackDown. He and Michael Cole helped build stars like John Cena and JBL. Taz dealt with a lot of injuries and his amazing work on commentary helped extend the shelf life of his career.

Bautista: Excellent. He is capable of giving the moments their due. When Randy Orton’s music hit at No Mercy for the Hell In a Cell, Taz got the TV audience hyped. When he was a heel commentator for Impact while part of Aces & Eights, he was brilliant. When Bully Ray turned heel, Taz’ line “I’ve got goosebumps” was great. I’m looking forward to him commentating for AEW.

Corrigan: Just like Chad, I grew up with Taz calling the action on SmackDown (and Sunday Night Heat). He brought such a distinct voice and perspective to WWE TV and made wrestling fun. Plus, he coined the phrase “Here comes the pain!”

Goodwillie: Taz is a good commentator. I’d struggle to call him elite, but no one will ever accuse him of not knowing what he’s talking about and he’s the best broadcast partner Michael Cole ever had. Don’t get me wrong, Cole has called matches with better commentators, but he and Taz just had this incredible chemistry you’d have to see for yourself to understand. Unlike today’s booths, Cole and Taz felt like a team, much in the same way J.R. and King did. Sure, they’d spar, but Taz always had Cole’s back when push came to shove.

What’s Taz’ greatest match?

Gibb: I’m not the best at picking out singular matches, but his best opponent was always Sabu. They were so different from each other, but both wholly unique and authentic in a way that only ECW was presenting at the time.

Gelfand: Taz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow at ECW Heat Wave 1998. That DDT by Taz on Bigelow through the ramp is legendary.

Jackson: The match I always think of is the one he had with Bam Bam Bigelow at Heat Wave 1998 when Taz DDT’d Bam Bam through the stage!

Smith: Living Dangerously 1998 when he and Bam Bam Bigelow clashed for the ECW TV Title. They literally tore the ring apart and a match after had to be canceled. It was a great example of two big men putting on a hell of a show.

Bautista: Taz vs. Sabu from ECW Living Dangerously 1999.

Corrigan: vs. Bam Bam Bigelow at Heat Wave 1998. You’ll never forget that finish.

Goodwillie: Taz had two HUGE rivals in ECW: Sabu and Bam Bam Bigelow. Any match you want to name as his greatest match is fine, as long as it was one against one of these two, because they were insane. I’ve always been partial to the Taz-Sabu match at Barely Legal, ECW’s first PPV. The company, if you want to call it that, rode the momentum coming off that show for nearly four years, and the Taz-Sabu match was a big reason for it. Although Terry Funk won the ECW Championship from Raven, many consider that Taz-Sabu match to be the true main event of the evening.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dv53

What’s your favorite Taz moment/angle?

Gibb: His debut at the 2000 Royal Rumble. I know he would tell you it was bittersweet because he was doomed from the start, but it really was a great way to introduce someone new.

Jackson: Same answer as above, but count in the ring break from Living Dangerously as well.

Smith: Beating Angle in his debut.

Bautista: The FTW belt. Just hearing about that and seeing how that played out is great.

Corrigan: Taz introduced me to pro wrestling. When I was 7 years old, I was watching Street Sharks on channel 48 in Philly one night and after it ended, a man with a towel over his face was growling into the camera. He dared me to beat him if I could, and survive if he’d let me. Then the opening montage to ECW’s TV show began and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Goodwillie: Although Taz as a wrestler in WWE didn’t really work out, his debut was still sensational. Being the surprise opponent for Kurt Angle – a guy who at the time was pretty heavily protected despite still being green – and beating him was huge. The fan reaction says it all. It was the follow-up that fell flat, but make no mistake, this was a cool moment.

HUGE ovation for @officialtaz! #AEWDynamite #AEWPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/ZzqFDbFR9o
— The Wrestling Estate (@TheWrestlingEst) October 16, 2019

What’s Taz legacy in pro wrestling?

Gibb: Taz belongs on ECW’s Mount Rushmore and proved he’s a mind, not just a machine, with his commentary.

Gelfand: Taz will remembered as one of the faces of ECW that helped put that promotion on the map and as a commentator who’ll be remembered as one of the voices of SmackDown in its prime.

Jackson: Taz’s legacy in wrestling is that of a true ECW legend. From the beginning until near the end, Taz developed his character and style as his career progressed in ECW. Part of some of the most important and profitable feuds in the company (notably Sabu), Taz was a fantastic antagonist, who earned the fans’ respect through intense toughness and legitimacy. Survive if I let you!

Smith: He paved the way for guys like Samoa Joe, A.O.P. and Keith Lee. He didn’t have the best body, but he used his weight to present himself as a monstrous force. When you got in the ring with Taz, you knew you were going to be in for a long, painful night. With more care and protection from WWE, he could have been a world champion. Hopefully, WWE learned from Taz and won’t make the same mistakes with those guys.

Bautista: He was a great wrestler. While he didn’t always see eye to eye with everyone, once he got in the ring, he was about business. The politics weren’t always on his side, but he dealt with it. Once his time in the ring was done, he became a fabulous commentator. For some people, he was the voice of SmackDown (instead of Cole) and his work in Impact was tremendous.

Corrigan: Absolutely belongs on the ECW Mount Rushmore. Like Chris Jericho, Taz also deserves credit for consistently re-inventing himself, from the Tazmaniac to the Human Suplex Machine to commentator to radio broadcaster.

Goodwillie: Taz will be remembered in many ways. He’ll certainly always be remembered for being a cornerstone of ECW, but also someone who took himself just as seriously outside the ring as inside the ring. Sometimes, his ego could get in the way and manufacture backstage conflict. I wasn’t a fan of the FTW (‘f**k the world,’ not ‘for the win’) Championship, but it was only one angle. One could also argue Taz’ persona outside the ring made everything he did inside the ring feel as real as anything going on in the mid-‘90s. Then there’s his career after the ring. Taz is an excellent example of how a wrestler can transition into a career outside the ring when their time inside the ring is up.