Jericho asks Taz about his debut in WWE. Taz points out that he was booked like a killer in ECW and when he transitioned to WWE he assumed he’d be presented in the same fashion. Shortly after arriving in WWE, McMahon talked to Taz about his suplexes, pointing out that it looked as if Taz was injuring people with those moves. Taz pointed out that this was his job, so he didn’t see what the issue was.
McMahon wanted to repackage Taz and have him work from underneath as a babyface, but Taz admits that he couldn’t sell to save his life, so this made it difficult for him to work as a sympathetic babyface.
Taz informs that debuting at Royal Rumble 2000 in Madison Square Garden was the greatest moment of his wrestling career. However, at the same time it was a very bittersweet moment for him as he walked to the ring to a thunderous ovation. He knew in that moment that his ovation wasn’t generated by WWE, and somehow he knew that this was going to create problems for him.
He admits that he cried like a baby prior to leaving ECW. It was very difficult for him to make that transition, and his relationship with Paul Heyman deteriorated during this time. Taz and Heyman had a verbal agreement on a new deal, even though he was suspicious as to whether Heyman would ever be able to pay him the terms he agreed to. Having to call Heyman to tell him that he signed with WWE was one of the hardest things he’s ever done. Luckily, their relationship has mended over the years and he speaks with Heyman from time to time.
Taz talks about the origins of his character in ECW. He points out that Heyman was the master of hiding a talent’s weaknesses enhancing their strengths, and Heyman certainly did that with him. He points out that he was only brought into ECW originally to get Sabu over but after that he asked Heyman for more dates. Before he knew it he was an ECW regular.
