#tazz ecw

[silentsanctummanga]

*laughs in Taz*

[machobusta]

Taz gets set for a ECW World Television Championship match against Chris Candido. Hardcore Heaven August 17, 1997

[aaronpullinteeth]

Someone on Twitter worked out that HOOK must have been conceived around the time of Heat Wave 98. So it's a very real possibility that Taz beat Bam Bam Bigalow and then went to father HOOK the same night.

Hell of a weekend.

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[joearlikelikeswrestling]

[abs0luteb4stard]

[phonyhulkamania]

Tommy Dreamer in a vintage Taz t-shirt.

[cassandraclown]

Wrestling twitter is so dominated by people who weren’t around when WCW and ECW were. They see Jade’s friends wish her good luck in the WWE and jump straight too then wanting to jump ship too. The actual politics and tampering, shot taking, real jumping of ships would make their minds melt. Imagine explaining why Mike Awesome (WCW) lost the ECW title to Tazz (WWF) at a house show only for Tazz to drop the title to Tommy Dreamer (ECW)

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE: January 2003

TALES FROM THE HOOK

With Tazz

Not Big Enough? Wrong!

Who’s dat jumpin’ out da sky?

The first time I saw Rey Mysterio wrestle was in ECW, when Paul Heyman brought him in. I had heard the name and knew he was a small guy, but when i saw him in the locker room, I was shocked. I was like, “And they call me short?”

I didn’t think much of him until I saw him wrestle. The fans were going berserk, and so was the locker room. I had never seen anyone wrestle like Rey Mysterio. That’s my memory of him–shock.

Rey Mysterio is an enigma. He’s in a world all his own. I can appreciate being undersized and being an overachiever. I can appreciate being a success when everyone tells you, ”You’re gonna fail.” I think that’s what Mysterio exemplifies–success. He’s a dynamo. He’s a piece of dynamite. The expression, “It ain’t the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” is what Mysterio’s all about, and it’s something that I’ve always prided myself in. 

Rey is not only a world-renowed as a great cruiserweight, he is known as a great in-ring competitor, period. On SmackDown!, he has clashed with all comers, including Brock Lesnar–all 6-foot-4, 295 pounds of him. Mysterio is beyond a cruiserweight. He’s a megastar. 

I respect him as a man, and I’m a big fan of his work. He just keeps coming, bell-to-bell; he’s non-stop action. You never know what this man is gonna pull out in that ring. Besides having a great look-bringing back the mask of the great luchadores of the past–he reminds everyone that if you’re gonna pick on the smallest guy in the room, be careful. He might just bite you in the ass.

In the old WCW, Rey was billed for a while, I believe, as the “giant-killer.” getting in there with giants like Kevin Nash. Here in WWE, I think our Creative Department could be a little more creative (they usually are) and come up with a better moniker for Rey Mysterio. And that moniker could be as simple as “Rey Mysterio.” His name alone–his look alone, his presence, his dominance in WWE in the short time he’s been here–is enough for people to figure out what he’s about. Being a WWE Tag Team Champion with Edge, taking on a guy like Brock Lesnar–who’s three times his size–and not backing down from him, that shows you what this guy is all about. 

Remember back on the Halloween edition of SmackDown! When Stephanie McMahon said that Brock was going to face Rey? Rey loved it. He was actually excited to get in the ring with Brock. He was looking forward to it. That shows the determination that Mysterio has. That just shows what the master of the 619 thinks about opportunity–he jumps all over it. 

Make no mistake, Rey Mysterio is not a man who’s 5-foot-6 and 165 pounds. Mysterio is 10-foot-10 and 1,000 pounds–and that's just the size of his heart.

[are-we-really-doing-this]

Ladies and gentlemen, if I may, allow me to introduce to you...

The Real Fans of ECW One Night Stand 2006

Aww, does someone wanna go home? Well too bad, the main event is just starting.

Honestly, best sign of the night and that is saying something considering your competition there. I mean they really thought of that ahead of time and I'd imagine they were right on the money.

Oh yeah by the way, I love this fucking guy.

I just liked this guy's jersey is all, and that other guy's overbite is cute.

All you need to know is that Ricardo is gay and this will be important later.

The fits are like 70% why I'm doing this in the first place if you couldn't already tell.

I did too bro, I did too. Also I still am not at all clear as to what "Meems" is. Memes in 2006 were called fads as far as I'm concerned and that sign is too professionally printed for it to mean nothing.

Omg what if we were girls together in the nosebleeds at an ECW show and you took a grainy video of it with your shitty digital camera and we looked at it together on the subway ride home.

Took me a minute, but that says "ARCHANGEL".

No seriously what don't you fucking love about this guy right here. I wish he had pierced nipples though.

I liked the framing of this guy's double middle fingers.

Another high quality bird and another very much not high quality video being taken that will no doubt fill up that shrimp dick SD card.

I like this guy because he's literally just me.

I liked the solemn look on this guy's face as he adjusted his hat with the random bird comically flying in from out of frame.

I figured we needed some good shots of the backs of people's heads and I'm only now realizing how fucking SICK that hockey jersey is, goddamn I want one.

Another very paralyzed looking young man, nice tee shirt though.

This guy literally had to beat people off of him to get that shirt just to throw it back at Cena and I think that's beautiful.

I have to appreciate the high emotion of this image as John looks on in disappointment as his shirt is thrown back for something like the fifth or sixth time.

I should add, I'm pretty sure that is a backstage pass around his neck because Tazz at this time says he recognized him. Also hey look, my favorite guy ever. And fuck the Mets too.

Just in case you needed a reference for how I looked the first time I saw this match.

It appears we have found the illegitimate brother of Henry Rollins as well as the third Gallagher brother, Joem, the one who needs to fall asleep to the silky smooth tones of Clutch or else still pisses the bed at night. Also hey look it's THE sign of the night. You didn't really think I'd forgotten it, did you?

Quick, spot the Van Dam in the soup of Motorolas, Sonys, hot bodies, and dank, sweat-misted t shirts.

Oh Rob Van Dam, oh Rob Van Dam, wherefore art thou Rob Van Dam?

Together again at last. I know I know, the sex was probably incredible BUT, I just wanna know, you think he had the spinner belt on while hitting it from the back? Cuz I do.

Bro, I know you're excited, but give the happy couple two feet, please.

Truly the renaissance painting of the night, all the bodies hanging off his, basking in his glory, AND he has his babe. Could it get any better? Hold onto your fucking ass, bitch.

I FUCKING TOLD YOU. AHAHHAHAHA, RICARDO IS GAY BIATCH, DEAL WITH IT. LOOK AT HIM, LOOK AT HIS STUPID GAY FACE. AHAHHHAHAHA.

[machobusta]

Taz enters the arena for a ECW World Television Championship match against Chris Candido. Hardcore Heaven August 17, 1997  

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

The Outlaw Championship: The Story Of The FTW Championship

In honor of ECW Legend, ‘ The Human Suplex Machine ’, Tazz’s birthday today , I wanted to take some time and write this article about the FTW Championship. This article explains what the championship really is and how it was used before it was retired this year .

The FTW ( Fuck The World ) Championship was created by Tazz in 1998 , to be used as a part of storylines in Extreme Championship Wrestling. However, it was used as a championship in order to drop storylines that involved wrestlers who were out of action due to an injury . The FTW Championship was used when Tazz and Al Snow missed Wrestlepalooza 1998. Nevertheless, it was also used when Shane Douglas, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, was out of action due to suffering an elbow injury and battling a severe sinus infection. The championship was also used as a hardcore championship with “ FTW Rules ”. This means that there are no disqualifications, and no count outs. Weapons could also be used during a match with those rules .

The FTW Championship was also known as the Brooklyn Championship and was introduced by Tazz at ECW’s ‘ It Ain’t Seinfeld ’ show on May 14,1998. As a part of the storyline , Tazz was angry due to not being able to have a match with Shane Douglas for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Douglas refused to face Tazz. Thus, he was sidelined due to an injury . Tazz declared himself the ‘ real ’ ECW World Heavyweight Championship before unveiling the FTW Championship to defend. He would say that the ECW fans would love the message he sent with the championship. The message was meant for society. Therefore , Tazz believed that the FTW Championship was more important than the actual ECW World Heavyweight Championship. It was considered ‘ illegitimate’ by ECW Management.

Tazz only lost the championship one time one December 19,1998. He lost it in singles competition against Sabu. Tazz felt that he would defeat Shane Douglas in a future ECW World Heavyweight Championship match , therefore , he felt that he no longer needed to be FTW Champion. He would become the FTW Champion again at the Living Dangerously Pay Per View in 1999. He would unify the FTW and ECW World Heavyweight Championships after defeating Sabu in a Title Vs Title Match. The FTW Championship was retired the same year as he began defending the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. The FTW Championship would not be included in the assets of ECW that were sold to WWE in 2001 as it is personal property of Tazz, who owns the rights to it.

The FTW Championship was be revived in All Elite Wrestling in 2020 with Tazz rewarding it to Brian Cage, the wrestler he was a manager for. This would happen due to Cage not being able to face AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley , who had to quarantine due to his wife , Renee, testing positive for COVID. Tazz would also start providing commentary after being signed to AEW . As it was in ECW, it wasn’t considered a ‘ legitimate’ championship by Tony Khan and AEW management. Other FTW Champions in AEW include Ricky Starks , Jack Perry, and Tazz’s son , Hook. Chris Jericho would become FTW Champion after beating Hook at AEW Dynasty and rename the championship, the ‘ For The World ’ Championship, as a part of his Learning Tree gimmick.

Hook would win the championship his father created back from Jericho and the original meaning behind the championship would be reinstated . Hook retired the FTW Championship on September 25,2024 at AEW Grand Slam after defeating Roderick Strong. He would embrace his father with a hug after winning the match and return the championship, where it would be retired .

My Final Thoughts:

I think that the FTW Championship is a huge staple in the history of pro wrestling. It showed that you didn’t need a company championship to be a champion. Tazz will forever be a legend just for creating this championship. I am also happy knowing that a new generation of fans got to know what the title is due to AEW . So, happy birthday, Tazz!

Love You All,

- Kay

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[joearlikelikeswrestling]