Tazmaniac = Taz?

[Watson]

Hey I just read on Wrestlecrap.com about when Tazz was in a tag team called the Tazmaniacs in which he eventually became the sole Tazmaniac after the other guy (Chris Chetti's brother) left the promotion. I've seen clips of Taz as the Tazmaniac when he was doing the wildman thing but I never knew how he went from that gimmick to the Human Suplex Machine/One Man Crime Spree gimmick. So can someone fill me in on how that whole transformation took place? Did he just suddenly cut a promo talking about how he hated the wildman gimmick and thus became the "Orange and Black" Taz or did he just disappear for a while and then come back repackaged or did the change involve some kind of turn or match stipulation? What's the story? Anybody?

[Pepsi Man]

I'm probably wrong on this one, but I think he might have been gone for a bit (possibly due to injury) and came back as Taz.

Sadly enough, I know somewhere here in my room, I know I have the first ECW Magazine, and I know there's a good interview with Taz in it.

[The Mackem]

Isn't there something in the rise and fall of ECW where he gets injured in a tag match as Tazmaniac and he comes back after his injury as Taz.

[AareDub]

Yea, pretty sure it was an absence for a while, then just returned as Taz.

[KayfabeMan]

I believe that that was what happened. There was a span inbetween him playing both, as was said, and in his return he just came back to ECW as Taz, with a new gimmick.

Strangely enough, I remember attending one of the earlier ECW shows with Tazmaniac, 911, Chris Benoit, Hack Meyers, Whipwreck etc. - and having a really great time there. You've all made me think of that again, and now I must go look for my old polaroids :(

[LK]

Tazmaniac broke his neck in a tag team match involving Benoit and Guerrero. He was out for a year with the neck injury and when he reurned he said that he needed to come back with a different character, different image and a different style. So Taz was born.

[Kris P Lettus]

Tazmaniac broke his neck in a tag team match involving Benoit and Guerrero. He was out for a year with the neck injury and when he reurned he said that he needed to come back with a different character, different image and a different style. So Taz was born.

Pretty much..

He then went on to chase Douglas for the title and that lead to the creation of the FTW Title..

[Dave Youell]

They re introduced him by having a co commentator with Styles for a night, but they didn't let on to who it was until after the match/show. From there he started to talk alot more and got himself more over.

Incidently when he broke his neck, he was able to walk into the hospital on his own power to the shock of docters who were surpised he could move let alone walk

[Disturbed316]

Plus, I'm pretty sure it was a tag match with him and Eddie Guerrero vs 2 Cold Scorpio and Dean Malenko.

[Lamuella]

They re introduced him by having a co commentator with Styles for a night, but they didn't let on to who it was until after the match/show. From there he started to talk alot more and got himself more over.

Incidently when he broke his neck, he was able to walk into the hospital on his own power to the shock of docters who were surpised he could move let alone walk

In terms of sheer awesomeness, this is only topped by the Taz/Seinfeld story.

(He and a bunch of other ECW stars went to an audition to play a wrestler in a commercial Jerry Seinfeld was doing. The casting people asked the wrestlers what moves they could put Jerry into without hurting him. Most bulshitted and named a half million moves they could safely do. Taz said "I'm making no guarantees. If Jerry gets into it with me, he's kind of taking his chances")