Exactly How Good Was Taz?

Ricky Starks FTW Champion AEW Fyter Fest Team Taz
AEW.com

Taz was destined to do all of this.

He may not have appeared the most obvious choice to call WrestleManias as he drowned in WWE's political waters, nor put forth the persona of the funniest f*cker in the industry when he was a subhuman maniac with no boots and a painted face, but young Peter Senerchia was leaving ads in wrestling magazines looking for more people to shoot the sh*t about it with.

In that respect, his story isn't different from yours, mine or anybody that's taken a passing interest in pro wrestling at some point in their lives. Why, then, has Taz' journey within the industry been one of the stranger ones?

AEW-era him is, fittingly, Elite Tier Taz. An awesome broadcaster that can scare folk witless with threats (even if they're going to be carried out by other people) who also knows his way around some hilarious patter with his colleagues as long as they stay on his good side.

But at various times across multiple companies, there were questions asked if bookers and bosses were really getting the best of the 'Human Suplex Machine'. At times, he was a man with evidently so much to offer that powerful people seemingly didn't know how to get the best out of him.

Paul Heyman was the first...

CONT'D...

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 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 in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. 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 sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett