In going through ECW’s major stars you have the icon who transcended being the ace, the ace who is at the top of the company and pushes it forward. Sandman was the icon, Tommy was the standard-bearer, and Taz was the ace.
The Human Suplex Machine
Starting out as The Tazmaniac, Taz ran a savage character that never really worked. It was just odd considering what he and ECW would become. Then again, The Sandman was a surfer. His style was proto-American strong style and it wouldn’t have been weird to see him put against The Steiners or “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.
He wouldn’t be caveman Taz for long. That 1995 year was pivotal for ECW as changes were made all around. The Sandman was no longer a surfer, Tommy Dreamer was no longer a pretty boy, and Taz was no longer a caveman. He was a dangerous suplex machine who could put his opponents to sleep.
What a difference two years makes, right?
Taz: The Ace of ECW
Wrestlers leaving the company was one of the constants of ECW. Important talent would regularly bounce of the company for better contracts. The three mentioned wrestlers stayed for most of the company’s run. One reason is that they were big fishes in a growing pond while they would’ve easily been small fishes in WWE and WCW—which proved true once ECW closed.
While Taz’s approach as a straight-up wrestler might have been somewhat out of place at the top of the ECW there was a fix for that. Taz was presented as a badass. A badass can wrestle roughly any style they want as long as they exude badassery. Despite being 5’9, he pulled it off out the gate. It worked as he just ran through competition or gave them the hardest fight they were going to get.
Because of this, Taz didn’t really need to mix it up in extreme matches much. However, when he did you knew someone was getting suplexed through something. Adding on his in-ring approach was him being hyper-aggressive on the mic. He was a New York guy down for a fight no matter who his opponent was, how big they were, or where they had been.
“The Human Suplex Machine” was a one-man crime spree who was often scheduled to fight. He also worked as a strong opponent against outsiders who weren’t going to do extreme bouts. While ECW could be messy as far as PPV went, he was that rising ace to replace Shane Douglas who held that role.
RVD as The Ace
It will be argued that Rob Van Dam was the ace of ECW. The thing to consider is that ECW went through several aces in less than ten years. Why? Because being the ace isn’t a permanent title. A wrestler will always be an icon once they hit that level but being the ace or the standard-bearer is something that can change and acehood can change quickly.
The other thing about being the ace is that you have to have been crown the World champion at some time. RVD was the ace of ECW 2.0 but towards the end of ECW 1.0, you could say Steve Corino or Justin Credible was the ace. ECW went through top guys regularly.
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