Jim Ross shoots on Tazz falling down the card in one year

[@herbertholland924]

On his podcast Angle said that Taz injured him in that debut match doing a spot that Angle called (don't remember what it was). Tazz didn't want to do it, but Angle insisted. Angle says it was his own fault and that Tazz got the rep for being dangerous after that. Angle also stressed that Tazz was not dangerous.

[@ajk]

It was the choke at end of match wasn't it? Or was it something else?

[@LoopyWorld716]

@@ajk it was a german suplex, angle assisted taz with suplex and kurt landed on his stomach. It looks pretty darn cool but to other wrestlers at the time it seamed like Taz didn't know how to control his own strength... God WWE messed up with Taz, dude had it all.

[@ajk]

@@LoopyWorld716 I actually think I remember that story, didn't Angle tell him to do it? And despite hesitations, Taz did?

[@LoopyWorld716]

@@ajk Exactly.

[@Cablev94]

@@LoopyWorld716 Messed him up? He had one of the best careers as a commentator, I love going back and watching some of my favorite matches ever and Tazz is the commentator. So good.

[@InvestBetter.]

Testament to Tazz, getting himself over as an announcer. He always cut good promos, and knew how to talk, better than most of the WWE talent

[@alanguages]

Tazz was amazing on commentary. I actually enjoyed watching Smack Down, as he was a big contributing factor, calling the matches. Him and Michael Cole gelled really well as the announcing team.

[@fartman10284]

While tazz got buried in the ring, Vince gave him the opportunity to become a commentator. Tazz credits Vince for his success as a commentator

[@dennisnguyen2847]

Well... here comes the pain!

[@mikecuozzo9709]

Taz was AWFUL on Commentary! He had energy but he had the same go to of, "when I was in the ring with (insert guy in ring). And he was obnoxious and loud

[@MichaelSevilla97]

​@@mikecuozzo9709tazz was solid on commentary period 🤡🤡🤡🤡✌

[@ryandeffley7652]

He got a really massive pop at the 2000 Royal Rumble. Especially loved his debut involved Angle too.

[@kennethgriffin7921]

I remember taz showing up at wwe and by the 2nd week he was doing commentary

[@kickycrowbar]

no

[@kefkarothsephka7708]

WWF!!!

[@carter3369]

That was about a year later

[@carbon.the.christ5626]

lol,he just didn't look menacing among WWE giants in a well lit arena.

[@amante104]

No it wasn't that fast. Taz debuted in WWF at royal rumble 2000.

[@Gweb52]

Can you imagine the Taz/Chris Benoit fued we should have got ?

[@jawesselman]

Absolutely would be a bad ass match

[@39Hundred]

The submissions and variety of suplexes would’ve been insane.

[@JackgarPrime]

I would've loved it

[@FRESNOSTATE1559]

It be a tazmanian devil vs a rabid wolverine

[@logicallydashing]

@@FRESNOSTATE1559 We need that poster.

[@alexanderwagner4587]

Telling Tazz that he couldn't use suplexes because they "looked too dangerous" would have been like telling Kevin Nash to wrestle on his knees because he "looked too tall" wtf is the point of using a guy if you don't capitalize on the primary thing that got him over in the first place? Alright Hulkster, quit tanning and bleaching your hair and working out, your new gimmick is Terry the Fairy Bolea and your finisher is the moonsault! 😂

[@user-li3fr8jl3b]

😂😂😂

[@strictlyextreme9201]

I haven't laughed like this in a long long time thank you

[@jeremyzak654]

He can use the same ballerina outfit he wore in Mr. Nanny.

[@neosupreme7971]

Terry The Fairy Bollea made me laugh loud and heartily.

[@kevinhousen2791]

But William Regal had suplex was dropping people on there neck with his suplex and Brock can take people to suplex city.

[@carter3369]

Royal Rumble 2000: Gets great pop. Royal Rumble 2001: Gets eliminated in 5 seconds whilst a guy holds up a sign that says “My crap is bigger than Tazz” lol

[@Myrridan19]

And yet I don't recall a similar reaction to Eddie Guerrero (same height or slightly shorter) or Rey Mysterio (obviously shorter). Charisma and booking are king. Tazz wasn't booked well and he showcased little charisma at the time. His ECW run was a distant memory by 2001.

[@papasmurf3569]

That guy with the sign had sooo many diff signs in that rumble 01 lmaooo he was fan on the decade for me that decade

[@zlinedavid]

@@Myrridan19 Tazz was about an inch taller than Eddie.

[@charlesstilesmysterydinersfn]

I remember that sign XD

[@kingofkings69ner]

@@papasmurf3569 I think that was the same guy who was always in the crowd from the mid 2000s throughout early 2010s with an orange hat on backwards and was on Deal or No Deal

[@EGarrett01]

Remember: The Ultimate Warrior was one of the sloppiest workers in history. They worked around it because he was over. After HHH and company took over, anything was an excuse not to push someone. The guys who did get over were either his buddies, wrestler's kids or on Smackdown far away from HHH.

[@GavinWoods]

Tazz had just become ECW champ and had a champ vs champ match with Triple H. Instead of being made to look like equals, HHH beat him clean in a match that should have been saved for a PPV.

[@rleonardgreen78]

@@GavinWoods Tazz wasn't on HHHs level.

[@ninowaves4061]

He was over triple h level..triple h stole Shane Douglas gimmick

[@ST1TCH916]

​@@rleonardgreen78 Tazz gave an Olympic gold medalist his first loss. They were booking him to be main event level, dont even lol. Vince only MADE him look weak cause of his damn height

[@rleonardgreen78]

@@ST1TCH916No he made him look weak because Tazz didn't want to put talent over. Yes he beat Angle and then shortly after that he was regulated to the hardcore division.

[@jamess.9743]

I'm so glad someone mentioned this. I was stunned how fast WWF dropped him.

[@johnytwotimes4072]

I was psyched when Tazz debuted!

[@echad6259]

Me too...then he let me down.

[@igorivanov299]

*Taz

[@0maxk_]

I was psyched when I saw your profile photo.

[@williamgravley3033]

So amped his theme song was awesome! I used it for the longest time in wwe video games

[@johnytwotimes4072]

@@0maxk_ been a fan since Adrenaline and after I saw them live in 96 they were my favorite and still are. Always great to hear from another Deftones fan 🎼🔥🔥🔥🎼

[@jonathanhensley6141]

Taz should have gone to AAA and NJPW because he could have finished his career on a positive not rather than having it ended by whining wrestlers.

[@justarandominternetdude2579]

Maybe, but his son was either just born or very little when he got sign. He wasn’t going to a out of country promotion.

[@nubreaks2]

His career concluded due to a career-ending injury, just like Arn Anderson. He could probably still be wrestling if not. He had also wrestled internationally as the Tazmaniac before he came to Eastern Championship Wrestling. AAA and NJPW couldn't pay the same and he was married. He also had a dojo and was training wrestlers and martial artists.. He made the right choice for himself. If he hadn't, he probably couldn't return to ECW to take the belt off of Mike Awesome who had signed with WCW.

[@XLgameBRO]

Taz was dangerous?!?! But Nia Jax who legitimately hurt like five people in two years has a job? Lol make it make sense....

[@dominiquejones3805]

Wasn't homegrown WWE

[@dook166]

Or the Rock's cousin

[@DensilGrant]

That was staged goof

[@ChadTower]

@@DensilGrant what she did to Becky wasn't staged nor was what she did to Kairi Sane.

[@UFC_Buffalo]

@JIM DIM right, because the quality has gone down so much.

[@TheDudeVT]

I just watched Tazz's debut match with my kids last night! The human suplex machine!!! Loved Tazz in those ECW days! Would have been nice to see wwe do something better with Tazz.

[@GodyP]

He was legendary on commentary they shoulda never let him go

[@hollywood21639]

I absolutely hated him on commentary. Especially in TNA.

[@colourfaze86]

@@hollywood21639 Completely agree. The Brooklyn accent didn’t help either.

[@GodyP]

@@hollywood21639 I never watched tna but he was basically the voice of smack down for awhile there

[@hollywood21639]

@@GodyP I'm aware but I never enjoyed him on commentary

[@brandonrice1124]

He said one sentence that will last forever in wrestling history i cant believe no has said it yet= Here comes the pain so popular they made a game based on it and is still one of the best wrestling games ever made.

[@essanance]

I remember his WWF debut ,it was great ....

[@davidthompson3872]

Tazz had the scariest and most real finishing move. Should’ve booked him as a bodyguard type of manager if talent were being sissies

[@mattharper1242]

Dress him up like Oddjob

[@pooldead7712]

@@mattharper1242 🤣

[@dustinmasterson411]

Great idea actually, brother.

[@dustinmasterson411]

@@mattharper1242 Yassssss lol

[@adamhanscom7570]

He could have been a great General Manager. Imagine if he had been the Smackdown GM when Eric Bischoff was the Raw GM!

[@darrickmeek5531]

Not sure if he could have ever main evented Wrestlemania or anything but they could've done more with him. The politics in Wwe blocked him from getting anywhere.

[@jasonph2522]

Not politics- McMahon burying anyone who created a legacy in another company- WWF / WWE had to be the best. Stars from WCW / ECW had to be proven inferior by making them a jabroni within a few months.

[@darrickmeek5531]

@@jasonph2522 ... Goldberg is the only one who was a superstar product built up from another organization that they really pushed

[@scorpa106]

@@darrickmeek5531 not in the beginning in 2003. They exposed him by making him work long matches and beat him in Elimination Chamber killing all his momentum

[@GavinWoods]

People thought Hart, Mihaels, Benoit, Eddie, DB and Rey would main event Mania but they did. All they needed was a chance.

[@redrick8900]

@@darrickmeek5531 AJ Styles. Chris Jericho. Chris Benoit. The Dudleys. Watch more wrestling if you want to pretend to know things.

[@christianwitte81]

Even tho Tazz was short, I saw him live at an ECW event and he looked like a giant and squashed everyone. He was so badass

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

Yep, he had enough skills to make it believable. The short argument is bs, in Taz' case it was booking-dependent, if bookers did their job right, Taz would have been a believable short wrecking machine.

[@ZEMO74]

@@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266 Yep, exactly. What about Rey Mysterio? He is short even for a cruiser weight and they had him in matches with the Big Show, which is beyond ridiculous. There could have been some interesting match ups with him, I just think Vince didn’t care for him as a wrestler. Vince doesn’t like superstars that he didn’t create. And he was an ECW, Paul Heyman created Star.

[@blakecorea1512]

It's planned lmao

[@narcoskeptic]

@@blakecorea1512 yes hence the term squash . imagine you thinking you're one upping a wrestling fan by saying it's planned

[@wingedhussar1453]

​@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266 which is incredibly weird because Tyson was short and they booked hims strong

[@SRPC21]

He was never going to realistically be a main eventer & feud with The Rock, Stone Cold, HHH & The Undertaker... you’d have to be really special & a consistent performer in the wwe to get a spot like that. Even RVD (who was all round a much better wrestler than Tazz & a lot more over), took a long time to win the big one in the wwe.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

RVD was neither. In WWE he got crazy over, but Taz was more over in original ECW and he is a better worker.

[@maximussampson2218]

@@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266 Taz is a better worker than RVD? Did Taz even get on the top ropes once in his career? Get outtttaaaa here!

[@MegaHeelhook]

You idiot, you don't have to go on the top rope to that you're a better wrestler. RVD was a high spot wrestler, Tazz was a mat submission wrestler, very different.

[@grammysworld5449]

@@maximussampson2218 so jumping off of ropes makes you a good wrestler? He's right.. young Taz was better.. RVD was just a spot monkey after WWE took everything that made him over in ECW and made him the stoner guy with a few good high spots

[@flimflamman175]

​@@maximussampson2218Taz was a way better technician on the mat. How many times you saw arn anderson do high risk maneuvers?

[@alonsolopez3541]

A lot of the top talent didnt wanna sell for him... im gonna go out on a limb and say that was Trips

[@ChadTower]

It was probably anyone over 250lb. It's one thing to throw around the ECW guys. He wouldn't have been able to do that with the big guys.

[@lukasbafer]

@@ChadTower Taz never looked out of place wrestling with Bam Bam and he was huge!

[@ChadTower]

@@lukasbafer nobody actually believed that Taz could go with Bigelow. And Bigelow couldn't do a fraction of what Lesnar could do when Taz was in WWE.

[@lukasbafer]

@@ChadTower Taz could probably win a shoot fight against most of the Wwe guys at the time. And did you ever actually see Bam Bam wrestle? No not Lesnars level but very athletic for his size.

[@ChadTower]

@@lukasbafer There is no evidence, other than his gimmick, that Taz would win a fight with a guy a foot taller and 50lb heavier than himself. Taz is tough, yeah, but the guys on the WWE roster were at least as tough and substantially larger. Remember, that's the roster with guys like Shamrock, Severn, Angle, and those weren't even the large guys.

[@digdugdat2847]

Taz appeared to have an ego from his entourage in ECW, his FTW title, and locker room incident with RVD. I'm willing to believe that his reputation before going to the WWE, bled over which led to wrestlers not willing to work with him.

[@freezhollywood]

it def did

[@nineteeneightynine432]

Yeah he was a double outsider along with his injuries and a gimmick that needs more height he never stood a chance. That rvd punking him story is one of my favorites....

[@kwrbt2979]

Their failed booking of Taz was one of my biggest disappointments with wrestling of that era. A totally missed and botched opportunity. Soon after was the WCW buyout and then I was a goner

[@TONYchicago1111]

Crazy because literal same here

[@jrgomez2283]

JR always throws people under the bus for Vince.

[@FinnSwede906]

Pretty much eh? Sounds familiar

[@terryscott2007]

Me too, it was over after that, haven't watched it since

[@baddoggzproductions5108]

Tazz also admitted that he had a crap load of nagging injuries that he never got fixed from ECW, so when he got that WWE contract, my boy decided to get fixed, I don't blame him. That goofy mechanic outfit they gave him looked dumb af and him wrestling guys way taller than him looked awful. He took a decade off his career with some of the stupid spots he did in his matches with bam bam. That suplex off the ramp into the crowd and him bashing the back of his head on the guard rail in the process was just awful...

[@ihavetubes]

Taz wasn't any more dangerous than Brock,Chris Benoit,Kurt Angle or any big guy back in those days. Sounds like they just wanted to fight for his spot since he came in hot.

[@onionsavoya7543]

Taz suplex looked lethal but he had joey styles talkin him up.

[@tylenolpringle2040]

Taz's career was on life support the moment he took that botched Spike pile driver from Dean malenko and too cold Scorpio in 1995, By the time Taz got to the wwf, other injuries coupled with his neck were too numerous for him to go on much longer, had he come 6 or 7 years earlier, Taz would have been a major star

[@narcoskeptic]

I dunno I'm watching him in 1996-98 recently , he seemed to be on a good tear there.

[@vanessawagner6209]

Nah, he wouldn't have. Its just the way it is/was 🤷

[@tylenolpringle2040]

@@narcoskeptic that's because he was heavily protected due to his weakened neck, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon were able to squeeze the last little drip of a career that Taz had left out of him before his body just gave out

[@rattlehead999]

@@narcoskeptic Stone cold was good for 6 years after he got his neck broken, maybe would have been for a couple more, but it all caught up to him.

[@dominiquejones3805]

Tazz vs Bam Bam is 1 of them matches I loved. Hell Tazz was my dude n ECW. His match wit Sabu

[@leigh7507]

Now we have tons of tiny men like Gargano and Adam Cole

[@bigc181]

Neither look like they could fight their way out a paper bag though

[@Iliketoeatallday]

@@bigc181 yeah they should be huge and tear their muscles like sid and hhh

[@charlesstilesmysterydinersfn]

Add Balor to that. He's even smaller.

[@royalzak2670]

Sami Zayn literally looks like he writes for Buzzfeed

[@8512124]

@@Iliketoeatallday you know he is right , and you got butt hurt

[@lawrenceterrell8471]

We all will remember Tazz more for his commentary he did all those years on smack down, even Matt Striker had a short run but did better at commentary

[@jeffreyriley8742]

I loved Tazz in ECW but all I could think about was how small he looked in a WWF ring when he wrestled Kurt Angle.

[@justarandominternetdude2579]

Tbh, Taz was ahead of his time.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

It's all camera angles. ECW did well to hide the heights of their talent. WWE's camerawork has sucked since the 90s. They didn't care back then because their top talent was huge men with loud mouths, but it's not only the heights, the ring work is better appreciated with different camera angles. That's why some matches like tag teams or Orton's matches look SO boring on TV when they aren't THAT boring actually. Camerawork in WWE sucks.

[@regulardadhere8832]

Taz was the same height as Gary Coleman you dumb sons a bitches. Camera angle can’t hide 5’4”.

[@vincentpulizzijr]

The Human Suplex Machine Taz vs The Cerebral Assassin Triple H was a feud I wanted to see so bad

[@S3NTINEL2001]

They did have a match the Triple H beat him easily, on smackdown.

[@vincentpulizzijr]

@@S3NTINEL2001 disappointed me tremendously, to throw that out was a shame

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

@@S3NTINEL2001 Trips probably didn't want to sell Taz' offense.

[@L.m.CeeTee]

Taz wasn’t whoopin anyone in a Shoot. He would just pick a hand.

[@tylenolpringle2040]

He had a legitimate judo background, if you notice, nobody else ever tried anything with Taz besides Rob Van dam, just a testament to how tough Van Dam really is

[@soluble8029]

@@tylenolpringle2040 that's true, I've actually never heard any stories about anybody else assaulting Taz except for Rob Van Dam

[@sublime90]

@KiLDiG Horror Movie Archive dude tazz would almost break everyones neck when he suplexed them.

[@africanbushboogie1939]

@KiLDiG Horror Movie Archive I know people in their 70s and '80s that still smoke pot, it's legal in almost 16 States now

[@yujirohanma5199]

@KiLDiG Horror Movie Archive I suppose ppl just use narcotic painkillers and screw up their bone marrow/ heart/ all kinds of things in their body, long term, because YOU don't like pot. Aside from the states where legalized, the NFL n NBA stopped testing for marijuana because of its medical uses for pain management. Welcome to the 21st Century, pal.

[@BlackAngus555]

Bradshaw's face with JR on it looked like Terry Funk lol.

[@immortallegacy100]

I think one thing people forget about during Tazz's WWF run was that he had a screwed up neck at the time and was milking it for as long as he could (same with Dean Malenko) for everything he could. Tazz only wrestled for two years in WWF, and by October 2000 he was already made a part-time announcer before moving to Smackdown full-time in February (less than a month after Royal Rumble 2001).

[@davidgraham8299]

Don't think it's fair to say he was milking it.

[@lewjones3]

It's funny how height matters in a "worked " environment, cuz a short guy could beat someone's ass in a "shoot " fight.. and I'm talking as a guy who's 6'2

[@wwekane2468]

@Bruce Michael it worked better for Bryan because he wasn’t supposed to be a machine

[@TheWorldPart6]

@Bruce Michael Mike Tyson 5’10 heavyweight champion (Boxing) Daniel Cormier 5’11 light heavyweight and heavyweight champion (UFC)

[@kingofkings69ner]

Taz was always a work!

[@8512124]

wtf you are 6'2 grow a set

[@lewjones3]

@@8512124 my point is, I'm 6'2", and I beat up a guy who was like 6'6, close to 300 lbs..

[@jamestrill-green4214]

sounds like they stabbed him in the back because he was a threat to there spot!

[@yeezynapkins2970]

If Tazz was taller, he would have been a scary guy. He got pegged as a vanilla midget and the top card was just not meant for him. When you consider that they would probably only give him the HC title and maybe after enough time the IC title, what would be the point if on the other hand you would get paid to just call the match? It's a no brainer

[@1ButtonDash]

Jim saying Tazz was 5'8 is being generous

[@eveque]

Google says he's 5'9 but Tazz admitted on a shoot he's 5'6

[@curthennig9448]

@@eveque With lifts though!

[@zlinedavid]

Tazz was an inch taller than Eddie and an inch shorter than Daniel Bryan.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

@Mr. Puroresu I'd say in real height the 3 of them are exactly the same height (5'7).

[@avikfett1551]

I could listen to JR talk all day.

[@jamesvanderwire4667]

It's more likely he was "unconvinced" after a couple meetings with HHH and Stone Cold.

[@ChadTower]

If you were Austin would you want to work with someone whose primary style is dropping people on their neck? That would be career suicide.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

Yep, I guess Hunter would bitch about someone else taking his spot and Austin due to fear for his neck. I don't see Rocky doing that.

[@mitch27560]

Being a short guy myself, I loved Tazz the tough guy in the ECW. He just wasnt the same after he left.

[@emilkoch4098]

Cool podcast. By the way I really liked the artwork on this episode. Awesome painting!! Hope the artist got credited for it.

[@Dakatari]

WWE/ Vince was never truly behind Tazz because of his height.

[@Leonard_Wilson]

Eddie Guerrero was an inch shorter than Tazz.

[@12345Yeah]

@@Leonard_Wilson and 10 times more talented

[@luisugalde6956]

One year? One month actually. He was fighting Prince Albert in the next PPV. After that, Albert went to form the T&A team, and Taz relegated to the Hardcore title.

[@fooliosantana5646]

Ecw Tazz Was Brock Lesnar Before a Brock Lesnar If That Makes Sense

[@ChadTower]

No, it doesn't. NCAA HW champion, UFC champion, a generational athlete. And Taz, a little strong guy with suplexes. Nothing alike at all.

[@fooliosantana5646]

@@ChadTower I’m talking about more the characters being alike,That straight up fuck you up type deal,the suplexs,they both had Paul behind them,the style of wrestling wasn’t being that literal champ it’s just my opinion 💯

[@ChadTower]

@@fooliosantana5646 yeah, but Lesnar's whole character was based on credibility and athleticism. Two things Taz had no reason to claim on the same planet as Lesnar.

[@KingJRZJ]

You're right. Taz was the original suplex machine. You didn't see a lot of guys like that back then. Especially for a guy his size.

[@norcaltimcaldwell3325]

Ultimate warrior was my favorite wrestler growing up. I was born in 85 so I was super young when warrior was at his peak, so all his energy plus his look and intro music was what intrigued me as a kid looking back. I was so bummed out when I got older and heard all the stories about him being an asshole and not considered by the other fellas to be a good wrestler lol

[@howlbeast]

When Tazz chocked Angle and walked out while the stretcher came in with his theme playing was so GANGSTA

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Taz debut was amazeballs! Can't believe they messed it up

[@dachronicalalittlebitofeve6630]

I never got taz in wwf, I didn’t know about his other exploits and just thought isn’t he small.....

[@cardsfighter2]

My exact sentiments

[@tommydub7785]

You have the mind of a child. To you, big means strong and short means weak 😆

[@thebrizzy]

Taz was one of the most anticipated WWE debuts of all-time. I remember at that time all of the wrestling magazines had Taz on the cover.

[@cocaroto9650]

Taz had a Jerry Lawler role after a year which means to me he was highly respected. Great announcer and could get physical if needed. He has two bodies of work that can fully appreciated.

[@cfairfax85]

I was always frustrated with this being a hugs tazz fan from the old ecw days.

[@stretchluv]

Booker T fan here…. I was at the Royal Rumble at Philips Arena when Booker T came to the ring, hit the spinarooni, and was then tossed out by a returning Triple H. I was furious! He last mere seconds.

[@ashleybroussard3008]

I was at the royal rumble 2001 in new Orleans, la it brings back memories, I was 15 years old.

[@bignbafan20]

Did the crowd erupt when stone cold won

[@TheKhaosDemon]

When Taz came from ECW and became Tazz in WWE, he had such a great start, but yeah, within 4 months they had a flood of talent coming in, followed by the death of ECW and WCW... more just bad timing but happy Taz is still in the Biz. Loved ECW!

[@kman8749]

I thought Taz was fun to watch but I really enjoyed him as a commentator with a few altercations sprinkled in for storylines.

[@kwrbt2979]

4:07 Kliq style politics from the big names

[@SirFailsalot91]

Always beware of cliques in any business, they hold back the actually good individuals and only lift up people they like or who could be useful for them; it's disgusting behaviour, but it's everywhere, including current generation Pro-Wrestling.

[@EyeMixMusic]

What happened? Vince happened. Talented? Don't care. Over? Don't care. Huge potential? Don't care. If you're not 6'5'' with plenty of beef, Vince don't wanna know.

[@satanspit4101]

Taz had amazing matches against sabu and rvd. I loved watching him in ecw.

[@thomasarnoldcoe6527]

Great debut

[@weedheals4202]

So all these years I thought JR was a commentator... but really he was a Booker? Wow!

[@TheGreatestPlayerInTheWorld]

Booker, commentator , performer, manager(of fake diesel and fake razor Ramon) talent relations,presenter, JR has done it all

[@brandonbates9259]

@@TheGreatestPlayerInTheWorld Don't forget author

[@davidiihouston6883]

He HAS to be talking about HHH at 4:15.

[@KickDoeLock]

I love the thumbnail 😂😂

[@williamgray1221]

Yeah tazz is HIGHLY under used. He was a scary dude even though we knew it was script

[@td5254]

Tazz came in at the wrong time. If he would of came in 98 with the MMA guys he'd be used a lot better. He came in 00 when personality was the key and just being pint sized Ken Shamrock isn't going to get it done.

[@ChadTower]

He wasn't anything like Ken Shamrock. Shamrock was a legit world champion in MMA. That's nothing like being a little guy with some judo.

[@td5254]

@@ChadTower Doesn't matter if he was mma or not. Most of the mma guys had the personality of a slice of bread. The point is he'd mesh well with them.

[@mariowalker9048]

2000 actually had a lot of technical wrestlers in wwf but they still require mic skills and athletic ability to get over.

[@Thaumaturge2251]

Fell down the card? More like plummeted into the core of the Earth more like.

[@knowur10sand18s]

I feel on one hand WWF definitely dropped the ball on pushing Tazz, at the same time look at the roster. Too much competition to make everyone on the roster a main event talent. Tazz would have been better off legacy wise being a main event guy in a different promotion. Money wise, he was in the best place he could be.

[@BajaChalupas1379]

Taz was a monster in ECW. Typical WWE “creative” wasting another talent.

[@williamrockwell9705]

This is why Taz is actually the best wrestler of all time. He was so bad ass that even his fellow wrestlers were worked.

[@andrewbrown3422]

Bret ,HBK ,Benoit ,Jericho all 5'10 ...Eddie was 5'8 ffs !!! Taz so have been so over !..Angle is 5'9 billed as 6ft ....His moveset was literally a mixture of Ken Shamrocks and Taz's ....nothing but suplexs and an ankle lock (Angle Lock) finisher ...I'm gob smacked JR saying other wrestlers saying Tazs move sets were dangerous ...when they were getting shot out of a canon by Angle daily 😮

[@grant1739]

Angle was better than Taz in every way

[@josephpossanza5022]

I remember when tazz came. I was so excited. Then yes it fizzled out pretty quickly

[@peterbadami4872]

Taz was misbooked in WWF. I love that Taz was too short to be believable, but Mike Tyson who's 2 inches taller than Taz was once the most dangerous and feared heavyweight on the planet.

[@rockyb8790]

Steve Austin summed it up during a Raw episode “You are short, bald, and fat”

[@XLgameBRO]

Vince was never going to push Taz seriously. Let's be honest.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

Of course he wasn't. But Taz was talented enough to warrant a nice run with a midcard belt at least. He might have gotten over eventually too. I mean, 20 years later Brock put Suplex City gimmick over, and it was actually a Taz gimmick.

[@davym23]

Sounds like Jim Ross interviewing Jim Ross

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

Matt Hardy's crazyness has finally oozed into him lol

[@theyliveinthematrixofthefa4437]

Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Jbl. RvD, Edge etc is the class TAZ belongs in .

[@cardsfighter2]

Um, no.

[@theyliveinthematrixofthefa4437]

@@cardsfighter2 um yes . Late 90s . All these guys came up around the same time.

[@AJ7x7]

I wasn’t there JR you were but I feel it was more than just what you are saying. I didn’t know Tazz until ECW and he was that guy.

[@Dknightxs]

The thing I remember the most about tazz in wwe was “ here comes the Pain”

[@GoReacts]

Taz was like when LeBron was coming to the NBA it had a similar level of excitement to it, I just wish the higher ups saw it that way.

[@grant1739]

This is one of the dumbest comparisons ever 😄, Taz is a dwarf LeBron is a megastar

[@GoReacts]

@@grant1739 yeah in retrospect that’s easy to say, in 2024 with 20/20 hindsight that’s easy to say, I was around though and remember, Taz easily could have been as big as stone cold or the rock, didn’t get the marketing push

[@GmanBadmon20]

Taz was smaller than angle and Lesnar while offering a similar suplex persona.

[@KingJRZJ]

Wonder who the tops guys could've been? I've heard from ECW guys about how they were treated by some top guys when they got to WWF.

[@jester5311]

Poorly? I heard wcw guys were treated thst way anyways at first. It seemed to have been a dog eat dog locker room back then.

[@VitZ9]

My guess would be Hunter, and any other members of the clique who were employed at the time. Chyna, Nash, Hall, X-Pac, etc etc. Otherwise I would think the only other wrestlers who could have had Vinces ear at the time in regards to in ring work would be Taker, Stone Cold, and maybe The Rock, Angle, Kane?

[@crazyfun5150]

You can't use height as an excuse to not push Taz. He was a hell of a worker and a good promo. He had a badass character in ECW and the way he debuted they could've pushed him to the moon. I do think a lot of the top guys complaining about his suplexes being dangerous did so because they were insecure about their spot. The same was said about Jericho and RVD for the same reason. To my knowledge Taz never injured anyone. WWE dropped the ball on him simply because he wasn't tall which was just stupid.

[@grant1739]

Taz was a dwarf, get over it

[@mikefingers8909]

no chance tazz was even 5'8.

[@mattb6369]

I'm still baffled by the 2001 Royal Rumble poster advertising "30 Men" for the Rumble with Chyna in there.

[@charlesstilesmysterydinersfn]

Chyna wasn't in the 2001 Rumble match. She wrestled Ivory.

[@mattb6369]

@Mr. Puroresu I never said I was offended. When I say I was baffled, I meant I was confused why the advertisers would put Chyna amongst the advertised participants in the Rumble match (which she wouldn't even be in) for the poster while saying "30 men".

[@Alex_DC413]

I also heard murmurings that Tazz refused to be pushed as an underdog, which NGL kinda makes sense. Much like with Vader, it seems like great talents whose reasons for falling short could be listed as "All of the Above"

[@EvanWilliams86]

In the ECW has was a feared bad ass, similar to New Jack. Rough cut Brooklyn brawler. Legit dangerous but with more technical ability than New Jack had. When they brought him to ECW, I thought "awesome, we'll get to see some of ECW's raw aggression in the WWE but from a slightly more 'presentable' character". But WWE just dropped the ball with him. I never knew it was because people were scared of his suplexes lol. That was his whole gimmick, he was this short, stocky powerhouse that could suplex a guy like Bam Bam Bigelo through the entrance ramp. I thought it'd be AWESOME to see some more "dangerous" moves in WWE from a guy that wasn't impossibly huge, guess the wrestlers disagreed.

[@thefishylife6823]

The royal rumble visual looks creepy with that ghost Benoit in the far background... WTF

[@shattaredentertainment4782]

My wwe booking for Taz. Give him the ic title and only have submission matches. And you could only beat Taz by tap out. Let him have a 6 month run with the title.

[@antoniomcgowan1398]

Thanks for letting me know this

[@unicornmilk6158]

Has Taz actually seriously injured anyone? Or did people just keep saying his suplexes "looked dangerous"?

[@OddOneOut99]

One of my favs….

[@omnimouth9066]

If JR was comfortable with his own promotion I would've watched it. He has a good eye for talent

[@ThomasMiddlehurs1984]

Yeah JR definitely knows his shit. I used to be an avid reader of his blogg in the late 90s early 2000. I always felt like JR knew best.

[@kazman_6899]

I mean, I've heard he doesn't know s hit about today's talent. Who's recruiting/scouting for AEW?

[@mickanvonfootscraymarket5520]

bruhh I never knew what Taz's shoot name was until now.

[@tartarus5862]

If Tazz never got injured I would have loved to have seen him work with Lesnar, Benoit, Mysterio, Eddie, Batista and Kurt Angle when he became more serious.

[@dustinmasterson411]

Taz may not be 6 ft 8. But if you saw him in an airport..a restaurant...on the street...you'd turn your head and pay attention.

[@8512124]

because he is so orange

[@theflyingguillotine3788]

@@8512124 kek

[@colourfaze86]

@@8512124 About right 😋

[@ronniemacdonald2768]

@BigBlackBootyDaddy lol

[@DAKINS896]

No you wouldn't lol, Jacked up short guys are a dime a dozen

[@topdamagewizard]

Talk about strong booking. And respect to Kurt for doing the job.

[@LaCokaNostra81]

fans: say the line, JR JR: IT'S TAZZ!! fans: yaaay!

[@Bubba__Sawyer]

"Who the f*ck re-hired Johnny Polo?" That speaks volumes. I have a feeling JR just went ahead and hired guys without running it by Vince in the hopes that they'd eventually win Vince over. Vince would never hire Taz if he'd met him in person first and stared down at this 5"7 dude, but if his first exposure to him was seeing him toss 300 pounders over his head then he might feel differently.

[@phillysfinest215]

My only time remembering taz as a wrestler was that wwf video game 😂

[@Jtex_123]

Taz was my hero growing up since I was short stocky guy my self