The more humiliating Tazz beatdown by Austin in 2001?

[The Rick Jericho]

There were four in 2001 Tazz received from Steve Austin. Which one of the four was more humiliating and killed Tazz's heat the most?

1. Jun 28, 2001 Smackdown. Demands Austin apologize for beating up Michael Cole. Challenges him to a match for the WWF title. Beatdown ensues.

2. Aug 13, 2001 Raw. Blames Tazz for not helping Shane after he takes rock bottom from Rock on a table. A whipping ensues. Raven/Morrus/Dudleyz/Rhyno/Austin beatdown.

3. Sep 10, 2001 Raw. Austin rallies the alliance. Tazz tells Austin there's a good chance Angle takes his title and kicks Austin's ass. Beatdown by Austin/RVD/Kanyon/Test.

4. November 8, 2001 Smackdown. Tazz with the memorable line of "Don't Trust AUSTIN!". He says they don't like Austin. And they are tired of Austin treating them like "trailer park trash". Single beatdown by Austin on Tazz.

So why was Tazz the whipping boy for the Alliance and Austin during 2001? Who did he piss off backstage? Seems he got a beatdown about every 6 weeks or so by Austin in 2001.

[jason1980s]

This to me seemed to be a kayfabe mimmicking reality. Like Austin the man was truly bitter that he came into WWF and was a nobody and Tazz came in and got a big push from the start. Of course said push didn't last after the Rumble debut but Tazz didn't pay those dues! This was probably the worst time period for Austin as a human being.
Tazz was probably also looked down upon by the Bradshaw's and Holly's and others of the time. He was also considered way too small but then again, so were Benoit, Eddie and Malenko BUT...THEY paid the dues so they were OK. But not Tazz. He didn't pay the dues. He was famous in the outlaw promotion.

[Deleted]

Jesus Christ, they did this FOUR times?!

[Aceorton]

I foolishly thought they were setting Tazz up for a breakout turn and push. Nope. He just got the crap knocked out of him a bunch.

A preview of most WWE booking from about 2014 to present.

[Andee9001]

Jun 26, 2022 19:27:43 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

I foolishly thought they were setting Tazz up for a breakout turn and push. Nope. He just got the crap knocked out of him a bunch.

A preview of most WWE booking from about 2014 to present.

Hey he won the tag titles with Spike Dudley that January. That counts. It counts to me dammit!

[chronocross]

I also remember Austin beating Tazz in a very quick match on the Nov 12 2001 edition of Raw.

As for the list, I'd go with the 8/13/01 Raw as Austin whipped him like a dog after berating him on the mic.

[The Rick Jericho]

Jun 26, 2022 20:03:02 GMT -5 chronocross said:

I also remember Austin beating Tazz in a very quick match on the Nov 12 2001 edition of Raw.

As for the list, I'd go with the 8/13/01 Raw as Austin whipped him like a dog after berating him on the mic.

As if the beating wasn't bad enough, taking all those finishers too. Geez....

[Mozenrath]

Tazz was someone who they kept returning to for this because A. he was able to sell it well, and B. with him deciding to not get neck fusion surgery, his in-ring days were virtually over with. They were trying so hard to make heel Austin work, and it just never fully did because fans didn't want it, hence the post-InVasion blatant reset they did with Austin and Angle, despite it making no goddamn sense.

[James Fabiano]

Whichever has the most WHATs.

[James Fabiano]

Jun 26, 2022 18:54:32 GMT -5 jason1980s said:

This to me seemed to be a kayfabe mimmicking reality. Like Austin the man was truly bitter that he came into WWF and was a nobody and Tazz came in and got a big push from the start. Of course said push didn't last after the Rumble debut but Tazz didn't pay those dues! This was probably the worst time period for Austin as a human being.
Tazz was probably also looked down upon by the Bradshaw's and Holly's and others of the time. He was also considered way too small but then again, so were Benoit, Eddie and Malenko BUT...THEY paid the dues so they were OK. But not Tazz. He didn't pay the dues. He was famous in the outlaw promotion.

Bolded quote is the inVasion in a nutshell, and WWF/E before and after too, to a degree.

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

I guess they needed someone else to be Austin's random whipping boy after Jarrett left.

They jobbed Tazz out really hard in the Rumble that year too where Kane just snatched him by the neck, set him on the top rope and then eliminated him with one punch in like ten seconds. I wonder if he had backstage heat or it was just them simply thinking very little of him as a talent that he was constantly put in situations where he was made to look bad. Made it surprising when they put the tag titles on him and Spike. I was glad he was able to find his niche in the company as commentator. As a wrestler he wasn't going to be for long there. He probably would've been released by 2003. Instead he ended up having close to a decade run in the company as I don't think he left until like 08 or 09.

[wendytorrancev1]

It seems after Tazz's feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler (one match at Summerslam 2000 where he was defeated by a candy jar and one match where he got over King the next month at Unforgiven), they didn't have much for Tazz to work with. I know he teamed with Raven with very little/limited success and then Raven went and did his own thing while Tazz just wallowed in lower midcard hell. He was unceremoniously dispatched from the Rumble in short order in 2001.

After the whole "Austin beatdown saga", he feuded with Christian for like three seconds where he won their first match on Sunday Night Heat, and then lost the rematch on Raw because Christian low blowed him to get out of the Tazzmission. A humiliating defeat, indeed. That was his last match (that I know of) in the company was and it was absolutely a cluster, compared to Dean Malenko's last match in the company a few months earlier (where he beat Scotty 2 Hotty clean).

I don't know who Tazz pissed off in the back, but they didn't forget ostensibly lol.

[msc]

Its worse to look back at because the crowds were going nuts for Tazz each time he confronted one of the Alliance, and they and internet forums were convinced there was going to be a pay off for this very long running angle.

Readers, there was no payoff for this.

(My favourite Tazz/Austin bit was the Austin Appreciation Night singing, when Tazz is in the ring, the entire time, not singing and wearing his normal gear daring Austin to notice it.)

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

Jun 28, 2022 7:51:08 GMT -5 wendytorrancev1 said:

It seems after Tazz's feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler (one match at Summerslam 2000 where he was defeated by a candy jar and one match where he got over King the next month at Unforgiven), they didn't have much for Tazz to work with. I know he teamed with Raven with very little/limited success and then Raven went and did his own thing while Tazz just wallowed in lower midcard hell. He was unceremoniously dispatched from the Rumble in short order in 2001.

After the whole "Austin beatdown saga", he feuded with Christian for like three seconds where he won their first match on Sunday Night Heat, and then lost the rematch on Raw because Christian low blowed him to get out of the Tazzmission. A humiliating defeat, indeed. That was his last match (that I know of) in the company was and it was absolutely a cluster, compared to Dean Malenko's last match in the company a few months earlier (where he beat Scotty 2 Hotty clean).

I don't know who Tazz pissed off in the back, but they didn't forget ostensibly lol.

That Christian match wasn't his last match. Actually he ended up having the best stretch of his run there right after that as him and Spike beat the Dudleyz for the tag titles shortly after that. It was really the only time in his run where he was actually booked decently strong as Spike would usually get beat up and then Tazz would get the hot tag and get the win with the Tazzmission. It was pretty short lived though as it only lasted from December until when they lost the belts to Billy and Chuck in February. It felt pretty random at the time as they were building good momentum at the time. It was close to Mania and they ended up doing a four way for the tag titles on that show so I guess they felt the Hardyz, Dudleyz, and APA needed to be on the card more with them all being higher on the company totem pole so Tazz and Spike ended up getting left out in the cold as a result.

Looking at Cagematch his last televised match was actually a win on Raw against Mr. Perfect during his failed comeback run. Then he got sent to Smackdown during the first draft but never wrestled a televised match on the show as he just did house show matches for three months before switching to commentary full time.

[EZ: Brainy Bae]

Between this and HHH beating up JR it was the golden age if you're into announcers getting humiliated

[Hypnosis]

Jun 28, 2022 14:58:03 GMT -5 EZ: Brainy Bae said:

Between this and HHH beating up JR it was the golden age if you're into announcers getting humiliated

Christian Cage on a future Dynamite:"Hey JR, it's been a while since you've taken a beating.  Want to keep talking shit about me for what I did to Jungle Boy some more?"

[wendytorrancev1]

Jun 28, 2022 14:52:48 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

Jun 28, 2022 7:51:08 GMT -5 wendytorrancev1 said:

It seems after Tazz's feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler (one match at Summerslam 2000 where he was defeated by a candy jar and one match where he got over King the next month at Unforgiven), they didn't have much for Tazz to work with. I know he teamed with Raven with very little/limited success and then Raven went and did his own thing while Tazz just wallowed in lower midcard hell. He was unceremoniously dispatched from the Rumble in short order in 2001.

After the whole "Austin beatdown saga", he feuded with Christian for like three seconds where he won their first match on Sunday Night Heat, and then lost the rematch on Raw because Christian low blowed him to get out of the Tazzmission. A humiliating defeat, indeed. That was his last match (that I know of) in the company was and it was absolutely a cluster, compared to Dean Malenko's last match in the company a few months earlier (where he beat Scotty 2 Hotty clean).

I don't know who Tazz pissed off in the back, but they didn't forget ostensibly lol.

That Christian match wasn't his last match. Actually he ended up having the best stretch of his run there right after that as him and Spike beat the Dudleyz for the tag titles shortly after that. It was really the only time in his run where he was actually booked decently strong as Spike would usually get beat up and then Tazz would get the hot tag and get the win with the Tazzmission. It was pretty short lived though as it only lasted from December until when they lost the belts to Billy and Chuck in February. It felt pretty random at the time as they were building good momentum at the time. It was close to Mania and they ended up doing a four way for the tag titles on that show so I guess they felt the Hardyz, Dudleyz, and APA needed to be on the card more with them all being higher on the company totem pole so Tazz and Spike ended up getting left out in the cold as a result.

Looking at Cagematch his last televised match was actually a win on Raw against Mr. Perfect during his failed comeback run. Then he got sent to Smackdown during the first draft but never wrestled a televised match on the show as he just did house show matches for three months before switching to commentary full time.

Thanks for the correction. I could have sworn the match against Christian was sometime in February 2002 due to it being around the "tantrum" Christian era and that's why Tazz and Christian got into it in the first place because Tazz was making fun of him throwing temper tantrums and Christian caught wind of it. I really don't remember much from this era as it was that weird transition time where I stopped watching it completely, so I may have my dates mixed up. I only really remember Wrestlemania X8 from 2002 and shortly after that the brand split happened which made me stop watching it regularly. I stopped for good around summer 2002 when my boyfriend at the time and I broke up. 

I just remember Wrestlemania X8 was kinda underwhelming (IMHO, nowhere near as good as the previous two Wrestlemanias), but I only remember Tazz losing to Christian before that and I didn't see him again after that. LOL. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention.

[Jindrak Mark]

Other than RVD, Tazz was like the only Alliance guy fans were cheering. They were desperate for him to stand up to Austin and popped every time it was teased but Austin would easily kick his ass every time.

If Austin flat out refused to work with the likes of Jeff Jarrett and Billy Gunn, it doesn't surprise me that he wouldn't want to have a competitive match or feud with someone as small as Tazz.

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

Jun 28, 2022 15:58:01 GMT -5 wendytorrancev1 said:

Jun 28, 2022 14:52:48 GMT -5 ThankGodForSidJustice said:

That Christian match wasn't his last match. Actually he ended up having the best stretch of his run there right after that as him and Spike beat the Dudleyz for the tag titles shortly after that. It was really the only time in his run where he was actually booked decently strong as Spike would usually get beat up and then Tazz would get the hot tag and get the win with the Tazzmission. It was pretty short lived though as it only lasted from December until when they lost the belts to Billy and Chuck in February. It felt pretty random at the time as they were building good momentum at the time. It was close to Mania and they ended up doing a four way for the tag titles on that show so I guess they felt the Hardyz, Dudleyz, and APA needed to be on the card more with them all being higher on the company totem pole so Tazz and Spike ended up getting left out in the cold as a result.

Looking at Cagematch his last televised match was actually a win on Raw against Mr. Perfect during his failed comeback run. Then he got sent to Smackdown during the first draft but never wrestled a televised match on the show as he just did house show matches for three months before switching to commentary full time.

Thanks for the correction. I could have sworn the match against Christian was sometime in February 2002 due to it being around the "tantrum" Christian era and that's why Tazz and Christian got into it in the first place because Tazz was making fun of him throwing temper tantrums and Christian caught wind of it. I really don't remember much from this era as it was that weird transition time where I stopped watching it completely, so I may have my dates mixed up. I only really remember Wrestlemania X8 from 2002 and shortly after that the brand split happened which made me stop watching it regularly. I stopped for good around summer 2002 when my boyfriend at the time and I broke up. 

I just remember Wrestlemania X8 was kinda underwhelming (IMHO, nowhere near as good as the previous two Wrestlemanias), but I only remember Tazz losing to Christian before that and I didn't see him again after that. LOL. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention.

According to Cagematch Christian was still European Champion when he fought Tazz so things were still going well for him at that point so therefore there wouldn't be reason for him to be throwing tantrums. Although I could be wrong and maybe it did start by then and was maybe more something to do with him being a whiner due to him being jealous of his "brother" Edge or whatever. IIRC though I don't think the crybaby stuff started until he lost the belt to DDP which was like late January or early February I think.

[The Rick Jericho]

Jun 28, 2022 17:02:46 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

Other than RVD, Tazz was like the only Alliance guy fans were cheering. They were desperate for him to stand up to Austin and popped every time it was teased but Austin would easily kick his ass every time.

If Austin flat out refused to work with the likes of Jeff Jarrett and Billy Gunn, it doesn't surprise me that he wouldn't want to have a competitive match or feud with someone as small as Tazz.

Beatdown 1 when Tazz defended Cole and wanted him to apologize for attacking him. In MSG. The fans were ready at least for Austin to take a tazmission submission. Taz could've been rebuilt so easily that night.

But it was not to be....