10 Greatest Paul Heyman Creations
5. The Human Suplex Machine
When Peter Senercia entered Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993, he did so as the primal Tazmaniac - a savage character with facepaint, wild hair, and a furry one-strap singlet. The Tazmaniac wrestled predominantly as a tag team practitioner throughout his early career, until a serious neck injury put him on the sidelines for the latter half of 1995.
Upon his return, Tazmaniac was no more and the wildman had been replaced by the rechristened Taz character. Taz was presented as a shoot fighter with a more physical style, reliant on suplexes, strikes, and chokes. The revamp saw Taz rise to the top of the promotion as a fearless badass, eventually leading him to the ECW Championship on two occasions.
The new direction allowed Taz newfound acclaim in the industry resulting in memorable feuds, championships, and PPV main events. The success saw Taz eventually targeted by the World Wrestling Federation and allowed him to reach the pinnacle of the sports entertainment world in 2000.
It's hard to imagine WWF hiring Taz in his original form as the primitive painted barbarian. With the repackage a direct result of Heyman's influence, a large part of his success can be attributed to Heyman's creativity.