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Post by chunkylover53 on May 5, 2011 21:37:38 GMT -5
When Tazz debuted for the WWF, they were pushing him as a badass. His first piece of business was ending Kurt Angle's undefeated streak, and at one point he challenged Triple H for the WWF championship. Then he got injured and his WWF career wasn't the same again. He wrestled a few more matches with the WWF/E before later becoming a color commentator.
I can understand why they stopped pushing him(mounting injuries, and the debut of The Radicals made a big splash just shortly after), but why did they give it to him in the first place? Did they have plans to make him a big mega star? Was the mood going to change?
I just find it hilariously sad that at the 2000 Royal Rumble, he defeated Kurt Angle with ease, then one year later, he lasted in the Royal Rumble match for 10 seconds(and Michael Cole asks him over Coach, who's been in the Rumble way longer, for tips on how to survive).
Your thoughts.
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Crappler El 0 M
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on May 5, 2011 21:41:27 GMT -5
I think they initially had high hopes for him (Vince reportedly loved some of the video he saw of Taz in ECW circa 1998-1999), but as you mentioned, the multiple neck injuries he suffered meant he was already wrestling on borrowed time. They liked him enough to give him opportunities as a color commentator.
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Post by joebob27 on May 5, 2011 21:51:13 GMT -5
It's probably the best it ended the way it did. I don't think they would have ever really taken him seriously and his push was slagging pretty hard before he got hurt anyway.
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Post by johnnybaseball, Mantaur Fan on May 5, 2011 21:55:01 GMT -5
When Tazz debuted for the WWF, they were pushing him as a badass. His first piece of business was ending Kurt Angle's undefeated streak, and at one point he challenged Triple H for the WWF championship. Then he got injured and his WWF career wasn't the same again. He wrestled a few more matches with the WWF/E before later becoming a color commentator. I can understand why they stopped pushing him(mounting injuries, and the debut of The Radicals made a big splash just shortly after), but why did they give it to him in the first place? Did they have plans to make him a big mega star? Was the mood going to change? I just find it hilariously sad that at the 2000 Royal Rumble, he defeated Kurt Angle with ease, then one year later, he lasted in the Royal Rumble match for 10 seconds(and Michael Cole asks Tazz over Coach, who's been in the Rumble way longer, for tips on how to Survive). Your thoughts. Maybe this is just a northeast thing, but I was at Royal Rumble 2000, and everyone knew Tazz was debuting, and everyone was very excited about it. He got a pretty huge pop, if I recall correctly (but who knows, I was going nuts at MSG for everything). |
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Jimmy
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Post by Jimmy on May 5, 2011 22:04:57 GMT -5
The Radicalz jumping ship just weeks after Tazz debuted pretty much sank him.
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Post by Tyfo on May 5, 2011 22:11:02 GMT -5
I don't know how much they really intended to push him. His first real feud was with the Big Boss Man and Prince Albert, who were by no means high in the pecking order at the time.
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Post by Monty Dawson on May 5, 2011 22:21:01 GMT -5
When Tazz debuted for the WWF, they were pushing him as a badass. His first piece of business was ending Kurt Angle's undefeated streak, and at one point he challenged Triple H for the WWF championship. Then he got injured and his WWF career wasn't the same again. He wrestled a few more matches with the WWF/E before later becoming a color commentator. I can understand why they stopped pushing him(mounting injuries, and the debut of The Radicals made a big splash just shortly after), but why did they give it to him in the first place? Did they have plans to make him a big mega star? Was the mood going to change? I just find it hilariously sad that at the 2000 Royal Rumble, he defeated Kurt Angle with ease, then one year later, he lasted in the Royal Rumble match for 10 seconds(and Michael Cole asks Tazz over Coach, who's been in the Rumble way longer, for tips on how to Survive). Your thoughts. Maybe this is just a northeast thing, but I was at Royal Rumble 2000, and everyone knew Tazz was debuting, and everyone was very excited about it. He got a pretty huge pop, if I recall correctly (but who knows, I was going nuts at MSG for everything). Without a doubt the most excited I've ever been about a wrestler debuting |
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Post by johnnybaseball, Mantaur Fan on May 5, 2011 23:21:07 GMT -5
Maybe this is just a northeast thing, but I was at Royal Rumble 2000, and everyone knew Tazz was debuting, and everyone was very excited about it. He got a pretty huge pop, if I recall correctly (but who knows, I was going nuts at MSG for everything). Without a doubt the most excited I've ever been about a wrestler debuting Yeah, it was a pretty awesome debut. And when he choked out Angle, it was a great moment, IMO. That PPV kicked ass. |
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Post by Muskrat on May 5, 2011 23:29:07 GMT -5
Without a doubt the most excited I've ever been about a wrestler debuting Yeah, it was a pretty awesome debut. And when he choked out Angle, it was a great moment, IMO. That PPV kicked ass. Damn rights it did!! That being said, my theory has always been that they gave his push to Benoit. I don't think he ever would've gone as far as Benoit did, as I doubt he'd be challenging for the belt as quick as Benoit did, but I do think they had plans to push him hard at the IC level. But timing and injuries torpedoed that |
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Post by johnnybaseball, Mantaur Fan on May 5, 2011 23:58:17 GMT -5
Yeah, it was a pretty awesome debut. And when he choked out Angle, it was a great moment, IMO. That PPV kicked ass. Damn rights it did!! That being said, my theory has always been that they gave his push to Benoit. I don't think he ever would've gone as far as Benoit did, as I doubt he'd be challenging for the belt as quick as Benoit did, but I do think they had plans to push him hard at the IC level. But timing and injuries torpedoed that It's really too bad, I think he could have been pretty big. |
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Post by jadison on May 6, 2011 0:29:12 GMT -5
I saw a house show just a week or so after the Royal Rumble. They had Angle pin Tazz in about 5 minutes. I feel like he got the rug pulled on him from the start, probably some lockier room heatz bs.
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Post by chunkylover53 on May 6, 2011 2:03:19 GMT -5
I saw a house show just a week or so after the Royal Rumble. They had Angle pin Tazz in about 5 minutes. I feel like he got the rug pulled on him from the start, probably some lockier room heatz bs. Damn, so that made his debut even more pointless. |
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Post by joebob27 on May 6, 2011 2:21:13 GMT -5
Here's Tazz's problem. He's a monster heel of sorts. But he's not very big. You're Vince, you have Kane, you have Tazz, which one are you going to give that badass heel run to?
He didn't fit. He never would have been anything other than a midcarder, no matter what happened. Even when he "turned" on evil Alliance Stone Cold and was getting pops (I think it irrelevant at this time anyway because he was on his way out as a wrestler), he got stomped like he was Chavo or some other pointless Alliance lackey.
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Post by The Deadly Snake on May 6, 2011 5:35:35 GMT -5
Tazz would have went far-if it were not for his injuries.
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Post by Nikki Heyman on May 6, 2011 10:18:14 GMT -5
Tazz would have went far-if it were not for his injuries. This. And I've heard - this may or not be true [/Rajah] - that Tazz didn't want to get the surgery, so he had to stop wrestling. |
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Post by Slingshot Suplay on May 6, 2011 10:39:56 GMT -5
I think that Tazz wasn't used properly because it's often said that Vince doesnt understand things that he didn't create. I don't think that the WWE understood Taz's appeal and didn't think that the crowd could buy this short suplex machine destroying their talent.
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BIG DUNC
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Post by BIG DUNC on May 6, 2011 11:19:15 GMT -5
if there are any doubts over his popularity, just look for his return on youtube.
Also isn't vince on record for saying he regretted putting HHH over him?
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Crappler El 0 M
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on May 6, 2011 11:25:30 GMT -5
if there are any doubts over his popularity, just look for his return on youtube. Also isn't vince on record for saying he regretted putting HHH over him? On the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, Vince indicates that he thinks looking back that the decision might not have been best for ECW or Taz. It came across as someone interviewing him and asking him a pointed, accusatory question about if that hurt Tazz or ECW and Vince giving a response to it without totally committing himself to that position. Of course we never hear the interviewer in these documentaries, but I am sure that's what went down. |
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2011 15:59:24 GMT -5
Not long after he debuted the WWE supposedly banned all sorts of release overhead suplexes, thus rendering his offense ineffective.
Also, he feuded with the Mean Street Posse for some reason.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on May 6, 2011 16:16:33 GMT -5
The injuries and Benoit having a similar gimmick but being far healthier (at the time) were more than likely the main reasons his push ended so quickly. As for why he got to look so strong in the beginning, it was probably out of respect.
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