The Secret History Of ECW | Wrestling Timelines

December 19, 1995 - It’s Taz

The former Tazmaniac evolves into his final form at Holiday Hell where, inspired by a brief partnership with the Steiner Brothers - who, like Steve Austin, Sid, and Brian Pillman, made a brief stop-off in Philly between jumps to the other major - he further implements a scary suplex-based style. He makes it look like he’s dumping his opponents directly onto their heads. He had slowly phased out his anachronistic savage Tazmaniac gimmick throughout ‘95, but everything formally changes here. He squashes Koji Nakagawa in a matter of minutes, making him tap with the Tazmission choke, and tells the fans to f*ck off after verbally burying Sabu.

This sparks the famed “no-touch” rivalry between the two men, in which Paul Heyman creates an unbearable sense of anticipation for years. This is almost too effective a promotional device.

Drawing influence himself from the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Taz, entering the ring with a towel over his head, becomes one of the single most influential wrestlers of all-time.

Taz changes the very dramatic construct of pro wrestling with his pioneered use of the tap-out. Previously, wrestlers had verbally communicated a submission to the referee, often shaking their heads vigorously to convey their pain. The clarity of the tap-out - subsequently used as a taunt by fans - is significantly better.

Watching a wrestler’s hand hover over the mat as they fight against giving up evolves into something as suspenseful as the near-fall. For this innovation alone, Taz deserves induction into any Hall of Fame. One of the best WrestleMania matches ever, Shawn Michaels Vs. Kurt Angle from 2005, doesn’t take its place in the pantheon without Taz’s genius.

Taz also does graphic design for ECW. For his understated white-on-black designs, he also deserves millions and millions of dollars in royalties. He creates the blueprint for the iconic nWo and Austin 3:16 tees.