The Taz Show
Episode 654: Backstage Catering Love in a Huge Taz Hall
Release Date: February 4, 2019
Recap by: Samantha L. Sayre
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recorded on Super Bowl Sunday for release after the game. Bringing this up because of the Halftime Heat special by WWE. Taz feels it will be interesting action coming with awesome talent. He thinks it is a great idea to do this during halftime show because a lot of people don’t watch halftime performances or even main stream sports. This is a total lay up because it doesn’t cost them anything. Their talent, their arena at Full Sail and their network. He is looking forward to it.
-Taz finally hit 10,000 followers on Instagram. Nothing fancy, but thank you. Taz has been working on it for about a year or two.
Instagram Questions/Topics
Did you enjoy the cateringfood that WWE provided for you?
-Most of the time yeah he did. Certain venues had better food than others. Milwaukee had best food. It was like a wedding feast. Baltimore would be over like rover. They always had local cuisine like crab. Madison Square Garden would have Italian. WWE would always have a full gambit of food for different diets of carbs, clean living food or proteins. Don’t go near the dessert station if Vince or Stephanie are in the room. Opening yourself up to their ridicule because of the shape they are in.
-Catering in TNA was sometimes good and sometimes drop city. Sometimes they gave you a ticket where production ate at a certain time and wrestlers at one time. Taz hated that because he wants to eat when he wants to eat. A lot of time wrestlers ask for Styrofoam containers to get food to eat during or after the show especially if they were on a diet to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. Usually you could at least get coffee anytime.
Not all top talent of every era can compete in every era. Which wrestlers could stand the test of time and compete in any era?
HBK, Angle and Savage definitely in their prime. Also Ricky Steamboat and Bret Hart. A lot of the talent could. As for Ric Flair, Taz isn’t sure of his classic American style today because of the high flying aspect, but he definitely could on the mic. Sabu and RVD could excel in any time. Taz says with suplexes coming back in this era that he might have been able to. Whole bunch more could be added if he had the time to think.
Taz, the way you cover wrestling and sports are real and unfiltered. The only other platform that does this (in this fan’s opinion) is Barstools. Could you see yourself collaborating with them?
-Interesting. Taz is a fan of their content and the way they cover sports. Taz had very light talks with them to pull back the curtain years ago. It didn’t come to fruition because it is such a big company. He would be down with a collaboration, but Taz says they don’t need me. They are doing great. Just don’t think it will ever happen.
Will Halftime Heat become a yearly event?
-Yes. Taz thinks it will again because it just makes sense at the Performance Center. There isn’t a cost to it. Pretend for argument’s sake that next year WWE does it again at Performance Center, how cool would it be to see Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins or Becky vs Sasha during halftime streaming live? WWE doesn’t have to use NXT talent. It’s good that they are though.
With two PPVs before WrestleMania, is WWE starting to build Brock vs Seth and Ronda vs. Becky too early?
-Taz says flat out no. Never too early to build towards a major match. Taz has no problem if they would have started two months before now. Taz and Sabu were built up for a year. They never touched in 1995 and it worked.
Do you buy Munchkins for Moose on Fridays?
-No, Taz doesn’t. He doesn’t buy Moose anything because Moose buys him nothing.
Do you think WWE trolling us with all the heat and possible departures?
-Trolling could be happening for sure. Definitely, Taz says, something fishy going on especially with Dean Ambrose. Something is not right about it. Short answer is no. Taz doesn’t think they are trolling the fanbase. But if you can call trolling really working then they are. WWE’s job is to work the audience about things like this.
Who would you have liked to wrestle during your prime, but never got a chance to work with?
-Brett Hart. If both of them were in their prime, Taz said he would have enjoyed it for sure.
How far out from a big event like WrestleMania does the creative team start developing angles or matches? When is that knowledge shared with the talent?
-Story arcs that peak at WrestleMania started very early when Taz was there (but could have changed) about 6-8 months out. More towards 8 months. Angles are planted before you know it.
-WWE don’t share things with talent until right before it is shared with the audience. They would have to be a top talent that was totally trusted to share earlier. Someone like the Undertaker would know way ahead of time, but mid-carder might know about 3-5 weeks before WrestleMania.
Taz, we all know you are a mark for Big Brother, but what other shows do you watch?
-Taz says he’s a dinosaur and doesn’t watch much streaming like Netflix other than Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He’s a Seinfeld mark so he watches them in bunches. Other than that he watches live sports for work, Big Brother and the WWE Network.
What does the future hold for Dean Ambrose?
-Too early to tell what the future holds. Need to see a little more. Dean is scheduled for live shows. Taz’s instincts are telling him that it is a work. He will be doing something with Nia Jax. Triple H will make sure he gets the best of Dean Ambrose.
Should wrestling add more matches with enhancement talent in order to make the PPV events more special? We seem to see the same matches in PPV that we see on TV.
-Taz agrees 1000% and he means it sincerely. It is unfortunate for these guys and girls that are working hard in the ring. A lot of it is stale and it isn’t the talent’s fault, but it is the bookers’ fault. Taz is an old school believer about having enhancement talent in the ring to learn from the experienced workers. You see a lot of this used in NXT. Triple H uses the pushed talent against brand new talent to teach.
How would you book Elias for WrestleMania? It seems a lot of people are upset that he is doing an angle with Jeff Jarrett, but they don’t realize he is getting a rub from Jeff Jarrett.
-Taz doesn’t agree that Elias is getting a rub from Jeff Jarrett. A lot of people don’t remember Jeff Jarrett and he thinks WWE is using him and Road Dogg to build Elias. It isn’t a rub, but something else cool to do with the guitar and singing.
-Taz may not have him wrestling at WrestleMania if he was booking, but he would have him to make an appearance since he is an attraction. Taz doesn’t care if he wrestles or if he wins a championship, but when he sees him in that spotlight then Taz pops because he enjoys him.
Do you think Gronk will become a wrestler when he retires from the NFL and will he be any good?
-Rumors are that he won’t be a part of the WWE anytime soon, Taz read somewhere. Taz doesn’t feel like the WWE needs him or that fans really care about him. Taz doesn’t think he would be any good and is indifferent about it.
With both the women and tag teams’ divisions being light on talent on both shows, do you think they should put all the women on one show and the tag teams on the other?
-No, Taz doesn’t have a problem right now with it.
Do you think Ronda vs. Becky should close the show at WrestleMania?
-Yeah, Taz does. It will be refreshing. Becky can carry Ronda in the ring and they have enough steam on it. Taz feels if you end WrestleMania by putting the belt on Becky that you blow the roof off. If WWE is planning on having Ronda go over then no, don’t end with this match.
Will the WWE ever create a physical Hall of Fame? Where would it be?
-Taz thinks they will. He has heard Vince himself talk about creating a physical one. Taz doesn’t know what the hold up is because lord knows they have the money. The scuttlebutt is that it will go in Orlando, the vacation capital of the world.
Are you watching Celebrity Big Brother?
-No, Taz isn’t. He doesn’t care about the B-list celebrities that just want some air time. The rules are different too.
Are you a fan of the number of championship straps that WWE has?
-Taz is fine with how it is now. He doesn’t think they should go back because it makes them look like they are second guessing themselves. It gets more wrestlers over.
Would you have given up house show money to have your weekends off?
-NO! That’s where most of your money comes from. It would be nice to be off weekends, but not to give up the house show money.
Facebook Questions
What are your thoughts about current US title situation?
-R-Truth was furious about how Nia Jax attacked him at the Rumble. The finish was very intriguing. Taz would have ended it with Shinsuke and not brought Rusev out for another match. Happy for R-Truth, but thinks he needs to drop the title quickly.
Why can some wrestlers keep their names and some have to change them?
-It is usually a legality thing. If you want to use your real name and it is a marketable name then you can use it. Taz said it was a big thing for him to use his name. WWE strongly suggested he add an extra Z because legally it is what they had to do. Taz was ok with it. With brand new people, they prefer you not use your real name because they eant to own it.
How much input does a wrestler have over his merchandise?
-Taz had language in his contract that allowed him to have control over his t-shirt and he helped to design it. If it’s third party merchandise, then you have no control, like the wrestling figures.
Rating: 9/10
Recap: I personally really enjoyed the podcast. I always learn something from listening to Taz answer questions. He really tries to give you the inside information and pull back the curtain as a wrestler and announcer.
Samantha is a long time wrestling fan from WV. She quit watching during college and the first part of her career, but now is back full force. One of her goals is to be a host on one of PWTorch’s WWE or All Elite Wrestling post-show podcasts. Check her out on Twitter @Sam4413
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