8 Essential Tajiri Matches

When Eddie Guerrero's nephew tag team partner Chavo Guerrero went down with a torn bicep right before a scheduled ladder match with WWE Tag Team Champions Team Angle - Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas - at Judgement Day 2003, WWE had a decision to make.

They could either call off the match (very unlikely), have Eddie forfeit the titles (also very unlikely), have Eddie defend the titles in a handicap situation (not gonna happen) or have someone come in to replace Chavito (also known as the sensible option).

Surveying the Smackdown locker room, the powers-that-be set on Tajiri, a logical choice. He was a similar size and worked a similar style to the Guerreros and, besides, he had the kind of wacky charisma that Latino Heat could effectively play off of. After winning the titles in that ladder match at Judgement Day, it was clear that further matches with Benjamin and Haas beckoned.

On the post-Judgement Day episode of Smackdown, Team Angle invoked their rematch clause but came up short when Eddie's lying, cheating and stealing caused Haas to be disqualified. It was a great match and the result meant there would be more tag team goodness in future.

On the May 29th episode of the blue show, Team Angle got their rematch. This time, the action was even better, with the fans super into Tajiri and Eddie, and it had another inventive finish. As Haas had The Japanese Buzzsaw in his Haas of Pain submission hold, the bell rang even though there wasn't a decision.

Thinking he'd won the titles, Haas broke the hold, allowing Eddie to throw one of the title belts into his hands then playing dead so that the referee thought they'd been decked with the gold again.

Tajiri was really starting to shine at this point, finally breaking out of cruiserweight purgatory to show just what he was capable of.