The End of the Road for Tazz

[Guest SteveyP93]

In an interview on wwe.com, Tazz basically says that his passion for in ring performing is gone, and has been gone for sometime. It is a very interesting read, and basically confirms our wonders about his declining performance ever since that awesome moment at the garden against Angle. It is likely that Tazz has wrestled his last match, and in a way I think that is sad. But in reality, he wasn't the same man he was in ECW, and his focus on the broadcast booth is probably the best move he could have made. Thanks for the in ring memories Tazz.

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

I hate to say it...but thank God for that. He was fun when he had cruisers and bump machines to kill themselves for him in ECW, but as soon as he got done with Angle at RR 2000, he was never ever entertaining again. This counts his broadcasting days too, he's funny 1 out of every 45 attempts, it's sad really.

[Guest Anglesault]

He was never all that good

[Guest Trivia247]

Pure and Simple even Though Taz could get over as a Juggernaught in ECW, in WWF with his size, no matter what intensity he brings he still wouldn't get the same respects he got in ECW. So the Most fierce wrestler in ECW turn into a Full Time Color commentator playing the Lawler to Cole's JR

[Guest jimmy no nose]

He was a pretty good in ring performer, not great, but good. I'd rather have him doing that than announcing. Oh well, maybe he'll improve at the booth or something.

[Guest Choken One]

It's for the good. Tazz was never ever going to be a considerable threat in WWE Wrestling. It was easy to get over at the Bingo Hall, which required him to toss around people and cross his arms.

 

I'd perfer Al Snow over Tazz anyday of the week but I think Tazz will be better suited for Broadcast anyways...and eventfully he'll become the WWE Trainer along with Snow and then he'll move onto the Merch design compartment (he designed most of ECW merch).

[Guest Shaved Bear]

well at least he set himself up for longevity in the business, hes alot smarter than other wrestlers, best of luck to him

[Guest Just call me Dan]

He's in no shape to wrestle and hasn't been for two years. The guy was awesome in ECW and I really anticipated his WWE career but it went down the toilet as soon as he feuded with Lawler. the guy quickly went from 3 way matches with Kurt Angle and The Rock to a strap match with The King. I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

[Guest Redhawk]

Tazz could have been a main eventer in the WWF. On a RAW shortly after the match with Angle at Royal Rumble, Tazz clobbered Rock with a clothesline while he was chasing Angle, and the crowd was totally into it. If Tazz was able to sustain a feud with Angle, who was one of the hottest heels in the company at the time, instead of moving on to Big Bossman, who knows.

[Guest papacita]

I think Tazz could've been over as a main eventer too, because since he came to the WWF in 2000, he always seemed to be over. No, the Path of Rage wouldn't work in the WWF, but they could've given him a stronger push than the one they gave him.

[Guest HoffmanHBK]

Tazz was good at what he did: beating up on guys and suplexing the shit out of them. He might be one of the least complete workers ever, but he entertained, and for that he deserves tons of respect. Thanks for the memories, Tazz.

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

I don't think Tazz has really been over since he wrestled Triple H as ECW Champion.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

He sure as hell was for that brief moment when it looked like he and Steve austin were going to just explode on eachother and have a nice match, and we all know where that went.

[Guest Trivia247]

The Feud with Austin Would have been the Keystone to Tazz's stay in WWE. Before that Invasion Bullshit when Austin beat up Cole with Tazz not around, you could see the Tazz Austin Angle develope, when He was all Pissed off at WWF New york making his threats towards Austin...then Invasion came, and Tazz became literally the whippingboy too Austin, and even their only match Austin Squashes him. Not one suplex.... But of course Austin was half crippled at that point, probably couldn't take it from Tazz, though he could angle... I Guess he Gets Injured worse by people he believes is BELOW him... Piece of Crap LOL

[Guest y2jailbait]

I think, just as he said in WWE magazine this month (Cheap Plug!), that his neck injury had something to do with him stepping away from the ring. He didnt have surgery, he had rehab. So the pain was obviously still there, and when you break your neck and dont repair it surgecally, you end up like Arn Anderson, Paul Orndorff and such. But he was tough enough (and younger) to overcome that.

 

He was a very good wrestling personality, and go stride for stride with most anyone that came through ECW, but in the WWF(e), he was somewhat given the national stage and couldnt grab ahold of the public attention for long as he did in ECW. His angle with JR and The King was good, but it was booked so one sided that it really made Tazz as a non threat. Well, heres to Taz, with probably the most obvious statement of his career.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

The guy sold a shitload of orange T-shirts, I'll give him that!

[Guest Ironman]

This is news?

[Guest Just call me Dan]

Nah, just a point that no one has really brought up or put much thought into that we thought we should discuss.

 

Too hard to fathom?

[Guest cabbageboy]

Well, to me Taz's career has been dead since Anarchy Rulz 1999. He jobbed to Tanaka and Awesome there (this was right when word leaked of his WWF deal), lost the title, and it shattered his unbeatable aura. Awesome punked him out in rematches, Sabu beat him as well, and finally RVD put the nail in Taz's coffin by squashing him at N2R 99.

 

Taz's career never really recovered from being jobbed out by ECW. He got a slightly decent initial run in the WWF by beating Angle, but once the Radicals signed he was doomed. The WWF had 4 guys roughly his size that were all better wrestlers, so Taz was quickly forgotten.

[Guest Army Eye]

Tazz would ALWAYS get decent pops, even when he was jobbed mercilessly to the biggest jobbers on the roster. You have to give him that.

 

I think he sucks as a commentator. I'd rather him be a JTTS still.

[Guest BifEverchad]

Well losing Tazz as a active wrestler is not that big of a deal really. I mean, when's the last time the guy wrestled on TV? Actually that brings another question to mind: when did Tazz ever have a great match in WWF(E)? The debut match with Angle was decent and I enjoyed his match against Al Snow at Fully Loaded 2000 for some weird reason, but did he ever have a memorable match in the WWF(E)?

[Guest Nezbyte]

Well losing Tazz as a active wrestler is not that big of a deal really. I mean, when's the last time the guy wrestled on TV? Actually that brings another question to mind: when did Tazz ever have a great match in WWF(E)? The debut match with Angle was decent and I enjoyed his match against Al Snow at Fully Loaded 2000 for some weird reason, but did he ever have a memorable match in the WWF(E)?

He wasnt given too much of a chance, though.

[Guest y2jailbait]

Hardcore Battle Royal

 

Tazz Vs. Rikishi on RAW

 

Tazz vs. Angle vs. The Rock from 2000, Feb.

 

Not really great, but thats pretty much the best of the worst.

[Guest Ironman]

He was never all that good

...

 

You're not a ECW fan or have seen any of his best matches, have you? Yeah, shut the fuck up.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Hardcore Battle Royal

 

Tazz Vs. Rikishi on RAW

 

Tazz vs. Angle vs. The Rock from 2000, Feb.

 

Not really great, but thats pretty much the best of the worst.

If any WWE reporter/backstage guy/fan sees that those really were his highest profile matches, and doesn't understand why he's not motivated anymore, I'm going to scream. I swear, every time I saw Austin beat on Tazz last year during the inVasion storyline I couldn't wait to see Tazz just explode on him one day, but it never happened...

 

And Tazz is a pretty decent announcer. I enjoy him more than Lawler; I really liked it on Sunday Night HeAT when he did his "old announcer" voice for some reason. Of course he's not perfect, but he can only get better. I'd love to see him design some shirts I'd actually want to buy and wear too.

[Guest saturnmark4life]

Tazz is the best wwe announcer at actually CALLING MOVES, so i don't mind him in the booth. I agree he's been in awful shape the past year, and he enjoys announcing. He was over any time he was an active wrestler, bottom line. Even the start of this year when he was with spike, he was over. So it's evident they could have pushed him successfully, whether you like him or not.

[Guest Steviekick]

This is the odd thing...from his WWE.com interview, he basically said that he was unmotivated to wrestle/work in the ring any more. It's kind of funny how someone can come into the company at the top of his career and totally lose all desire to perform in around 2 years.

 

I think Tazz lost his desire to wrestle after being so horribly used during his WWE stint. If he was pushed as a credible midcarder, I'm sure he'd still be wrestling today.

[Guest Ripper]

Anyone that can even pretend to say that Taz wasn't over right after and during Tough Enough 1...a little before Invasion in the MC beatdown angle, and MASSIVELY over during the Invasion angle(the crowd was ready to blow a gasket for him to beat down Austin...the fued was RIGHT there...then he got squashed) and during the tag title run(the crowds were marking for him and Spike). The guy was terribly misused.

[Guest nl5xsk1]

Tazz as a main-eventer? I don't think so.

 

But Tazz as a mid-card level bad-ass? Yes, definitely, as he's capable of throwing someone around with a dozen different suplexes (Tazz-plexes) or choking them out with a Tazzmission. And his size shouldn't have (wouldn't have?) counted too much against him, I mean he was believable fighting against Bam Bam Bigelow.

 

Plus, back in ECW he used to do bumps like going through the rampway and through the ring, and also get thrown through windows. He should have been used to make the hardcore title mean something, rather than just the 24/7 joke that it became. If the title was defended like a real title, with real matches against Raven, Snow, Saturn, etc. it might mean something more now. (and by real matches I mean keep them in the ring for the most part and only go away from the ringside area for occasional big bumps.)

[Guest y2jailbait]

This is the odd thing...from his WWE.com interview, he basically said that he was unmotivated to wrestle/work in the ring any more. It's kind of funny how someone can come into the company at the top of his career and totally lose all desire to perform in around 2 years.

 

I think Tazz lost his desire to wrestle after being so horribly used during his WWE stint. If he was pushed as a credible midcarder, I'm sure he'd still be wrestling today.

Well, He's always said that the reason he became sucessful in this business is because unlike some others, this wasnt his dream. It wasnt the end all be all of his life. It was a way to make some quick money, and it turned out to be a career. So to see him lose desire isnt all that surprising.