10 Awesome WWE Moments That Went Absolutely Nowhere
8. Tazz Defeats Kurt Angle (Royal Rumble 2000)
Kurt Angle was nearing his obnoxious best by January 2000. A natural in the ring and on the microphone, his 'Olympic Hero' shtick was getting over huge, and he'd already emerged as a white-hot prospect. WWE built him up with an undefeated streak gimmick for a couple of months. It led to the Royal Rumble, where he cut a textbook heel promo on the New York crowd ahead of facing an unannounced opponent, who, like many had predicted, was former ECW Champion and hometown boy Tazz.
The Olympian's undefeated run ended in just over three minutes. Passing out in his opponent's Tazmission finisher, Angle gave Tazz an almighty rub, suggesting a big push for the newcomer. A great debut, but the follow-up? Piss-poor.
He continued on a steady path, but only for a few weeks. Triple H defeated him on an episode of SmackDown, he failed in his attempts at becoming Intercontinental Champion, and had already been relegated to feuding with announcer Jerry Lawler by summer. Tazz then became the Alliance's whipping boy during the Invasion angle, before settling into a color commentary role in 2002, having retired from wrestling just two years after his hot debut.