Jim Ross on Grilling JR podcast recalled WWE’s burial of Tazz with the Game, Triple H. It was an attempt to make the latter the next big thing in WWE. Triple H, the then WWF champion faced the ECW champion Tazz on 20th April 2000 episode of SmackDown.
The match lasted a mere 5 minutes with Triple H pinning Tazz after delivering his signature finisher ‘The Pedigree’. Nothing seems wrong? Well, that is not what the viewers remember. Triple H’s wife Stephanie McMahon caused a distraction that allowed Triple H to take advantage.
Triple H was a talented wrestler. But it’s hard to ignore his rise of fame ever since his marriage with Stephanie. The power couple as the WWE universe calls them has pulled off a lot of controversies in the past.
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Even though WWE has always been able to create Superstars that have the power to pull in the audience to their shows, they have failed in other areas.
They have been on the limelight for quite a long period in the media for burying talents because of them failing to fit into the stereotypes created by the Chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Tazz fits right into that category. He was a raw talent, but WWE failed to utilize him to his full potential. The writers buried him with one single match, and ECW did not last long soon after.
Jim Ross on Triple H vs Tazz
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Jim Ross has been the voice of wrestling for over four decades. He is making it clear to the whole world that he is not a fan of WWE burying their superstars for their benefits. In the podcast, Ross can be seen talking about that night and how it helped no one but WWE. Ross stated:
“It didn’t do it any favors, killed might have been a strong word,” Ross said. “It didn’t help anybody except Hunter got a nice win in Philadelphia. Taz was so underutilized when we hired him in WWE. For whatever reason, he was never in political favor.
“Vince, in the beginning, was very much a Taz proponent, but he got unconvinced over time by the other opinions on the other side of the aisle“, Ross said on the podcast. He remarked how Tazz being short was one of the significant reasons why WWE chose not to give him the hype that other superstars received.
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Jim Ross believes Tazz could have been a more prominent talent had he got a chance. He also mentioned AEW signing Tazz and how he is doing a good job nurturing talents to reach heights he failed to.
Maybe, it’s time WWE changed their perspective on some issues, mainly regarding their superstars. Giving ample chances to wrestlers who deserve to be in the main picture might give the company an edge over their competitions.