5 WWE Hard Man Reputations That Were Completely Exposed

5.Taz

Taz was a textbook example of Paul Heyman's booking philosophy of accentuating a performer's positives and hiding their negatives. A simple approach, yes, but one that was rarely implemented as effectively as it was when it came from Heyman's pencil. Transforming Peter Senerchia from the anachronistic Tazmaniac into the shoot-fighting Taz was a stroke of genius. Unfortunately, by most accounts Taz began believing his own hype and genuinely thought he was some sort of super-hard tough guy. Sure, he studied Judo and had probably done a little grappling here or there in the past, but it wasn't like he was a Gracie or anything. It was an act. A convincing one, but an act nonetheless. Still, some of the guys backstage were genuinely afraid of Taz, who could be (self-admittedly) moody and antagonistic. His reputation as a hard man came to an end when he decided to confront Rob Van Dam a week after the 1998 November to Remember PPV. Taz wasn't happy with something that had happened during their match and when he got backstage he made it known that he wanted to fight RVD. When RVD got wind of this the following week, he walked up to Taz backstage and asked him to 'pick a hand' before slapping him twice across the face. Taz did nothing in retaliation. Also, it should be noted that Bob 'Hardcore' Holly said during a shoot interview that WWE removed Taz from Tough Enough because they were scared he would get his ass kicked. Taz was playing the in-your-face drill sergeant role but WWE apparently became convinced that someone would stand up to him and knock him out, so they replace him with Holly. Take that last one with a pinch of salt, mind.