Is Taz showing the WWE what they missed out on in 2000?

[clifford]

Ok, Taz's recent run in AEW as manager/mouthpiece of Brian Cage has been nothing short of incredible; the promos he has been cutting are sensational, they get the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up like Taz's promos in ECW back in the day used to do.

Taz had an amazing debut in the WWF at the 2000 Royal Rumble, but then basically fell off a cliff in terms of relevance, getting completely lost in the shuffle after the arrival of the Radicalz only a few weeks later. His only other real noticeable moment in the WWF before falling into obscurity and becoming a commentator was that loss to Triple H on Smackdown as the ECW champion.

Do you think that Taz, with his in ring ability and promo skills (that he evidently still has 20 years later and never got to show off in the WWF) could've been a big player in the landscape of the WWF in 2000? Or was there just too much talent present for this to happen.

Vince obviously had an issue with his height and he was close to in-ring retirement in 2000 due to long standing injuries, so he was never going to get that push right to the top; but he undoubtedly could've been used better and gone further than he did. I feel that Taz in 2000 is one of WWF's greatest missed opportunities, and it's never really talked about cause of how good a year they had in 2000 regardless.

[4TheGlory]

On the mic absolutely, though i feel like we got a taste of that nasty side of Taz in his feud with Lawler and JR.

If his neck was not totally screwed up, his run would've been drastically different. Taz unfortunately was damaged goods by the time he made it to the WWF, which makes it hard to fault WWF for not strapping a rocket to a guy whose career could end at any moment

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jul 10, 2020 4:17:38 GMT -5 4TheGlory said:

On the mic absolutely, though i feel like we got a taste of that nasty side of Taz in his feud with Lawler and JR.

If his neck was not totally screwed up, his run would've been drastically different. Taz unfortunately was damaged goods by the time he made it to the WWF, which makes it makes it hard to fault WWF for not strapping a rocket to a guy whose career could end at any moment

I also heard Vince didn't like Taz from the get go. Something about the Madison Square Garden match with Angle. I think it was the ECW Chant or the fact he was so over and not a talent he made himself? Heard a few things of that nature but yeah Taz had an unfortunate stint of injuries, I'm just glad he can still be a force in wrestling all these years later 

[Deleted]

Yo, could someone recommend me two to three Taz matches out of their heads? I could (re)watch 'em and remember again that he was once pretty cool. 'kind of decent right now, but I can not friggin' stand that guy. His voice is made of the same venom as Lawler's.

[cabbageboy]

Can we be real about Taz in the WWF? He was signed just to try and wreck ECW as they debuted on TNN. They had no plans for him and it's obvious Vince didn't much like him as a talent. The Dudleys at least got over in the tag ranks with the TLC matches.

[BRAINFADE]

Let's be real here, Taz is showing that wrestling companies, namely WWE and TNA, have wasted him and his talents for two decades. Even after the injuries forced him out of the ring, he could have been an incredible manager all this time. This pairing with Cage has been brilliant so far, and Taz's promos have quickly became a weekly highlight of Dynamite.

Jul 10, 2020 5:16:18 GMT -5 mj0mn0m said:

Yo, could someone recommend me two to three Taz matches out of their heads? I could (re)watch 'em and remember again that he was once pretty cool. 'kind of decent right now, but I can not friggin' stand that guy. His voice is made of the same venom as Lawler's.

I've always been partial to his two pay-per-view matches with Bam Bam Bigalow in 98.

[Bad Moon]

I always thought Taz was a strong manager already in TNA (even if it was at a low time for TNA) I think in AEW he'll flourish in the role.
I don't think he'd ever have made as strong of an impresson in 2000 because the bar for promo skills was so much higher but he still could have been a great manager. I don't have any illusions of him ever going past the lower midcard as a wrestler though, even before his injuries he was a decent wrestler elevated by a great gimmick but never more than that.

[Ben Wyatt]

Jul 10, 2020 9:26:10 GMT -5 cabbageboy said:

Can we be real about Taz in the WWF? He was signed just to try and wreck ECW as they debuted on TNN. They had no plans for him and it's obvious Vince didn't much like him as a talent. The Dudleys at least got over in the tag ranks with the TLC matches.

Eh, it wasn't as simple as that. It was a perfect storm.  I don't think they knew how much his body was breaking down when they signed him, the Radicalz debuted right after him and they (especially Benoit and Saturn) could do what Taz did better, and then Angle found his grove a lot faster than anyone figured he would....all that on top of an already really stacked roster. 

It's nothing he did, he had no chance with all that working against him.   

All that said, could they have gotten more out of him? Sure.  But he was never going to be anything close to the ECW star he was

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Idk, maybe i'm missing something but i'm just not feeling this Taz/Cage combo

In regards to missing out on him, not really. Tazz needed to be in WWF 2 years earlier but by the time he came he was at the end of his rope. Still, his long lasting as being a great commentator on SD is nothing to sneeze at

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

Even without injuries, with the type of talent there at the time, with certain stigmas very much present, I think the absolute ceiling for Tazz would have been some runs with the IC title. In fact, that’s what I remember hoping for. For him to have runs with the belt similarly to Kurt, Benoit, and Jericho at the time.

I agree, he’s killing it in his current role. I like Cage on a visual level, but I’d like to see Taz manage someone with a bit more of a personality.

[Instant Classic]

It’s just crazy to me that he is and always will be an announcer to me. I didn’t get in to wrestling until 2001 and he was basically already an announcer.

[Cyno]

Taz was always a great talker in ECW. Never really got the chance to show that in WWE until he had to retire and go on commentary, though he had some of his weird cliches.

Damn shame what happened to his neck and we never really got to see the Human Suplex Machine in his prime outside ECW.

[Mozenrath]

Jul 10, 2020 4:17:38 GMT -5 4TheGlory said:

On the mic absolutely, though i feel like we got a taste of that nasty side of Taz in his feud with Lawler and JR.

If his neck was not totally screwed up, his run would've been drastically different. Taz unfortunately was damaged goods by the time he made it to the WWF, which makes it makes it hard to fault WWF for not strapping a rocket to a guy whose career could end at any moment

Right, if Taz had gotten fusion surgery, he would have probably been given more of a push, but as it is, I think he had a pretty solid midcard push for a couple of years, and had Tough Enough and commentary, so it's not like he was a bust. Still, fusion surgery, could have probably seen him win the IC title or something.

But, Taz had a kid, and wasn't cool with the risks associated with surgery and chose to hang it up instead.

[deezy]

Taz has singlehandedly salvaged this angle. I think giving Cage the "FTW" title a week before the title match doesn't make much sense, But promo wise Taz is killing it.

[Bub (BLM)]

I think it's more just about Taz feeling like Taz again when he's out there.

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

Jul 10, 2020 13:13:26 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Jul 10, 2020 4:17:38 GMT -5 4TheGlory said:

On the mic absolutely, though i feel like we got a taste of that nasty side of Taz in his feud with Lawler and JR.

If his neck was not totally screwed up, his run would've been drastically different. Taz unfortunately was damaged goods by the time he made it to the WWF, which makes it makes it hard to fault WWF for not strapping a rocket to a guy whose career could end at any moment

Right, if Taz had gotten fusion surgery, he would have probably been given more of a push, but as it is, I think he had a pretty solid midcard push for a couple of years, and had Tough Enough and commentary, so it's not like he was a bust. Still, fusion surgery, could have probably seen him win the IC title or something.

But, Taz had a kid, and wasn't cool with the risks associated with surgery and chose to hang it up instead.

And his Kid Eats a lot!

[cabbageboy]

I think the problem the angle has thus far is that the FTW title was done as an act of protest by Taz because he was being screwed over and denied title shots by Shane Douglas (and ECW itself I guess). Brian Cage just debuted about a month ago and was immediately thrown into the world title scene in AEW. Why would he go renegade or act out? Because Moxley's wife has Covid-19 and he was under quarantine, thus couldn't make Fyter Fest? The guy is getting the title shot literally 1 week later.

More than anyone ever though I think Taz is the epitome of the "big fish, small pond" cliche. ECW didn't have a ton of huge guys, so Taz could bully and throw people around all he wanted. Go to the WWF and it's the land of giants and there was just no way The Undertaker, Big Show, Kane, whoever were going to sell much for the 5'8" Taz. Taz was someone that had to be booked like a total killer. Anything else and you've got a 5'8" guy with a Napoleon Complex.

[Venti]

Not for nothing I always enjoyed Taz on commentary.

Now in 2000 as a wrestler? It's possible they might have realized he was at the end of his in-ring career and didn't want to push him if he was going to end up retiring.

However, I do feel like WWE missed out on letting him be a manager like he is now. He's doing awesome as Cage's manager.
And WWE in the mid 2000s had no shortage of big impressive looking dudes who couldn't talk. They could have let Taz talk for one of these guys and get them over to at least being a challenger for a title.


Also side note: I love the idea of them bringing back the FTW title, but I feel they should have waited until after Fight For The Fallen. Let Mox get away with a victory, and have the heels call BS and declare Cage the "real" champion with the FTW title.

[Deleted]

Jul 10, 2020 16:28:19 GMT -5 cabbageboy said:

I think the problem the angle has thus far is that the FTW title was done as an act of protest by Taz because he was being screwed over and denied title shots by Shane Douglas (and ECW itself I guess). Brian Cage just debuted about a month ago and was immediately thrown into the world title scene in AEW. Why would he go renegade or act out? Because Moxley's wife has Covid-19 and he was under quarantine, thus couldn't make Fyter Fest? The guy is getting the title shot literally 1 week later.

More than anyone ever though I think Taz is the epitome of the "big fish, small pond" cliche. ECW didn't have a ton of huge guys, so Taz could bully and throw people around all he wanted. Go to the WWF and it's the land of giants and there was just no way The Undertaker, Big Show, Kane, whoever were going to sell much for the 5'8" Taz. Taz was someone that had to be booked like a total killer. Anything else and you've got a 5'8" guy with a Napoleon Complex.

Now I want him to wear the Napoleon hat to look bigger. If he ever leaves AEW, I hope he manages Shorty G in his heel world title run.

[BRAINFADE]

Jul 10, 2020 22:22:29 GMT -5 Venti said:

Also side note: I love the idea of them bringing back the FTW title, but I feel they should have waited until after Fight For The Fallen. Let Mox get away with a victory, and have the heels call BS and declare Cage the "real" champion with the FTW title.

Nah I think it works better giving it to Cage now, because it fits in more with why Taz created the FTW title to begin with. He created it because he felt like Shane Douglas was ducking him by faking injuries to get out of defending the ECW title, and felt like ECW were just letting Douglas get away with it. So he created his own world title. Now, Taz thinks Mox is using Covid as an excuse to duck Cage, so awards Cage the FTW title. It's a great piece of continuity.