10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Dec 13)

3. The Orange Balloon Idea At Survivor Series '99

Debuting as a Kurt Angle-mauling suplex machine at Royal Rumble 2000 in Madison Square Garden wasn't a bad spot for Tazz. He came across as a total beast against Kurt, ended the Olympian's undefeated streak and seemed all set for a hot run (one that'd ultimately fail). That wasn't the original plan for the former ECW Champ.

He almost debuted at Survivor Series 1999. Well, sort of.

Bruce Prichard told on his podcast that one idea kicked around for the 'Who ran over Stone Cold?' angle involved Tazz. After Steve Austin had been mowed down and everyone rushed to his aid, the camera would pan in on a seemingly innocuous car in the background. Suddenly, the trunk would pop open and some orange balloons with '13' on them would float out.

No, the WWF weren't pre-empting Bill Skarsgård's run at Pennywise in IT, they were hoping to create intrigue for Tazz's imminent debut. Vince McMahon wasn't a fan of the pitch though, so it was cancelled and one hopeful writer was left more deflated than those balloons.