10 Shocking Times WWE Pulled The Plug On Mega Pushes

8. Tazz

Tazz Kurt Angle
WWE.com

As revealed in an interview with WhatCulture.com's own Adam Wilbourn, Taz(z) knew the difference between over and too over by the time he'd grafted his way into WWE, and the response he received at the 2000 Royal Rumble was categorically a case of the latter.

'The Human Suplex Machine' had it all going for him. His reputation bolstered by the brilliant booking of Paul Heyman in ECW, the Red Hook native was on home turf inside the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden, received as such by the New York natives.

Larger than usual at the time anyway, the industry's audience were loyal and extremely plugged in to the scene - and Tazz' arrival spoke to the excitement that came with Monday Night Wars era talent trades. If only the WWE locker room had been so enthusiastic.

Mindful of the roar, Tazz connected the dots from the pops - he knew his experienced colleagues perhaps wouldn't be as willing as fellow newbie Kurt Angle was to put him over, and suffered the expected fate for his size when Vince McMahon finally rubbed away the original rose-tint about his stature.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.