As Kurt Angle stood in the center of the ring at Madison Square Garden
addressing 19,000 people, a 5-foot-9, 238-pound man readied himself
backstage.
This highly touted free agent was about to make his World Wrestling
Federation debut in Madison Square Garden in front of 19,000 screaming fans at the Royal Rumble, the first Pay-Per-View of the millennium. Tack on the fact that he was stepping in the ring against an undefeated Olympian, and it's easy to see why this was such a big moment.
The fans at the Garden sensed that this man might be Angle's mystery
opponent. Knowing of his past and his reputation, the fans started to chant
his name, as if they hoped their cheers could bring this man to the ring.
Suddenly, that orange symbol which had haunted the TitanTron for weeks once again made its appearance, to an ovation surpassing anything the Knicks have ever received in the Garden! Moments later, this specimen emerged from the locker room, his head covered with a ripped-up towel. The crowd went nuts.
Tazz had arrived!The 13-year veteran from Red Hook, Brooklyn, made quick work of the Olympic gold medalist, choking him out in mere seconds with his finishing maneuver, the Tazmission. Prior to that, the orange-and-black attack had assaulted Angle with his stunning array of suplex variations, known as "Tazplexes." As devastating as Tazz can be in an all-out brawl, he is just as dangerous in a tactical scientific contest.
As you may have figured out during Monday's RAW when he again choked Angle out, Tazz gained most of his notoriety in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). For years, Tazz was the top guy in ECW, notching numerous title reigns. His ECW career culminated on Jan. 10, 1999, when he finally won the ECW Heavyweight Championship. His eight-month reign set new standards for that organization.
Tazz's philosophy is simple: "Beat me if you can; survive if I let you." It's
a motto he has lived by from his days on the streets in Red Hook to his
tenure in ECW up to his current reign in the World Wrestling Federation. And it's a motto that Kurt Angle has learned all-too-well in the past week.
Tazz is here. And he's ready to shoot straight to the top of the World
Wrestling Federation. He's got all the tools; the only question is who's
going to be stupid enough to stand in his way.