WWE: 10 Famous Wrestling Streaks That Had A Botched Ending

9. Kurt Angle's Surprise Opponent is Tazz!

The only Olympic Gold Medalist in WWE history was on an undefeated streak of several weeks coming off of his debut against Shawn Stasiak at Survivor Series 1999, and it appeared as if Kurt Angle could sustain that streak for several weeks- if not months or years- to come. With his amateur background, his three "I's", and ability to mix styles into his already solid moveset, Angle was set to be a top-midcard heel based on actual ability. That nearly ended at the 2000 Royal Rumble, when Angle was booked to face a mystery opponent; that mystery opponent would end up being former ECW World Champion, Tazz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZ6JauK8m0 Tazz was a legitimate badass, whose nickname "The Human Suplex Machine" was earned as he seemed to invent new ways to throw opponents over his head as the match went on. Built like a bulldog, Tazz needed a strong showing to introduce himself to the WWF (although the chanting of the fans in Madison Square Garden at the Royal Rumble before Tazz even entered the arena showed that many were already familiar.) Tazz defeated Angle via submission/choke-out in just over three minutes that night. Surely Tazz would be the one with the big push afterwards... Of course, that wasn't the case. Shortly after the Royal Rumble, Angle would be booked to win both the European and Intercontinental Championships on the way to WrestleMania 2000, losing both without being pinned at the show. He'd go on to win that year's King of the Ring, and by October he'd defeated The Rock for the WWF World Championship. Tazz, in the meantime, would go on to pin WCW wrestler Mike Awesome to win the ECW World Championship again, only to lose to WWF Champion Triple H during his 10-day reign (Tazz would lose the ECW Championship in short-order to ECW mainstay Tommy Dreamer.) From the point Triple H pinned Tazz's shoulders to the mat onward, his standing in WWF fell, and by SummerSlam he was losing to part-time wrestler/full-time announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler.