Tag: Taz

Taz Announces Temporary AEW Commentary Hiatus for Shoulder Surgery

AEW commentator and ECW legend Taz is stepping away from the broadcast table for a while to focus on his health. After calling Tuesday night’s Title Tuesday edition of AEW Dynamite, Taz revealed on X that he’ll be undergoing total shoulder replacement surgery in the near future and will be “off for some time.”

The former ECW World Champion assured fans that this isn’t a permanent goodbye, closing his message with a simple promise: “See you soon.”

This isn’t the first time Taz has had to take time off for surgery. Around this same time last year, he underwent knee replacement surgery. AEW used an on-screen angle to write him off television then — an attack that set the stage for his son, Hook, to feud with Christian Cage and The Patriarchy. Taz returned to the company later that year, receiving a hometown welcome at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

This time, however, AEW has opted not to use a storyline to explain his absence, and there’s currently no word on how long Taz will be sidelined. The company’s schedule doesn’t include any New York events for the rest of the year, though Full Gear is set to take place just across the river in Newark, New Jersey, on November 22 — a show that could mark his eventual return if his recovery goes smoothly.

Taz joined AEW in its early days as a manager and transitioned to the commentary desk full-time in mid-2022, where his sharp analysis and signature sense of humor have made him a fan favorite. Most recently, this past August, AEW honored Taz with an induction into the Hall of Fame at Philadelphia’s iconic 2300 Arena — the historic home of ECW. In a classy move, Taz requested that the planned segment be kept off television so that airtime could instead go to AEW’s current roster.

For now, the Human Suplex Machine is focused on recovery, but fans can rest easy knowing Taz fully intends to return to the booth once his shoulder is healed and ready to go.

AEW Honors Taz at 2300 Arena With Low-Key Tribute Before Dynamite

AEW was set to celebrate Taz on this week’s Dynamite in Philadelphia, but plans shifted just before showtime. Instead of an in-ring ceremony at the legendary 2300 Arena, Tony Khan opted to honor the ECW legend in a more personal way—with a live video posted to social media just an hour before the broadcast.

The eight-minute clip featured Khan sitting down with Taz to reflect on the surprise announcement of his induction into the 2300 Arena Hall of Fame. While AEW had intended to acknowledge the honor on TV, Taz revealed he personally asked for the tribute to be scaled back, explaining that he didn’t want to take the spotlight away from the current AEW roster.

Even with the toned-down approach, AEW still made sure the moment carried weight. Khan confirmed that Taz’s Hall of Fame banner had been officially raised inside the arena before Dynamite went live on TNT and HBO Max, giving fans in attendance a chance to see the recognition firsthand.

The rest of the video saw Taz and Khan breaking down that night’s Dynamite card, blending the tribute with AEW’s usual hype for the show. It wasn’t the big in-ring celebration fans may have expected, but it was a fitting nod to a man whose legacy is forever tied to the 2300 Arena and its hardcore history.

Taz Set for 2300 Arena Hardcore Hall of Fame Induction During AEW Collision

AEW is paying homage to one of ECW’s most iconic figures. This Saturday, during AEW Collision at Philadelphia’s legendary 2300 Arena, Taz will officially be inducted into the venue’s Hardcore Hall of Fame.

The announcement came after this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite went off the air, where the AEW roster surrounded the ring in “Team Taz Dojo” shirts for a surprise tribute. The moment was capped off by AEW President Tony Khan, who praised Taz as one of the building’s all-time greats.

“After a great night here for the first ever AEW show in the 2300 Arena, I can’t think of a more fitting way to end it than to pay respect to the greatest legend in the history of this building,” Khan said, recalling how he wore a Taz shirt as a teenager attending ECW shows.

Taz carved out a legendary career during his six-year run in ECW, capturing the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice, the Television Title twice, and the Tag Titles three times. He also famously introduced the FTW Championship — a belt later revived in AEW in 2020. That legacy continued through his son, HOOK, who became the final FTW Champion before retiring the title in 2024.

According to Taz, the tribute caught him off guard, with his wife and son helping keep the surprise under wraps. On Saturday, his official Hardcore Hall of Fame banner will be raised inside the arena that defined so much of his career.

For a man once known as “The Human Suplex Machine,” the honor is another suplex-sized stamp on his lasting impact in professional wrestling history.

AEW Commentator Taz Underwent Successful Knee Replacement Surgery

During AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday, Tony Schiavone announced that color commentator Taz underwent successful total knee replacement surgery. Taz also took to X, noting that the surgery went well.

https://twitter.com/OfficialTAZ/status/1843780727965659418

Taz Signs Multi-Year Agreement With AEW

AEW has added another announcer to the team, this time being former WWE and Impact Wrestling announcer Taz.

The company shared a video on Thursday of Cody, Vice President of Business Strategy Chris Harrington and Taz signing the contract backstage at Bash at the Beach.

Taz says in the video that his people already looked over the contract and “the coin looks right,” so he and Harrington both sign the paperwork to make it official.

The ECW legend’s first appearance in AEW took place back in October as a guest commentator for AEW Dark. As we previously reported, AEW Dark will soon be moving to TNT now that WarnerMedia has extended All Elite Wrestling’s TV deal through 2023.

After signing the documents in the video, Taz says, “Looks like I’ve joined a revolution … again.”

Watch Taz sign his contract below.

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1217838923050881027

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

CM Punk Films Test Material For WWE Show Earlier This Week, More Names FOX Brought In To Try Out

The rumblings on CM Punk and WWE continue.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported how WWE has an impression that Punk wants to be back with the company, but right now it’s nothing they are counting on to happen. This report comes after it was revealed in the summer how Punk’s representative went to FOX to try and push Punk as a co-host of the new “WWE Backstage” studio show on FS1. WWE was not interested in Punk for that role, and it was officially announced this week that the show will be hosted by Renee Young and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.

In an update, multiple WWE sources have confirmed to PWInsider that Punk was at FOX Studios earlier this week in Los Angeles to discuss a potential on-air role for the WWE Backstage show on FS1, which premieres on Tuesday, November 5 at 11pm ET.

There’s no word yet on what all went down at the meeting, but Punk did do some on-camera testing. Renee was also present for the meeting.

It has not been confirmed that Punk has signed a deal to work on the show. We’ve noted how FOX brought in several WWE and non-WWE personalities to Los Angeles this summer to try out for the show. Taz and WWE Hall of Famer Sean Waltman were also brought in several times over the past few months to try out, according to PWInsider, and it was also reported that Paige and Rey Mysterio were considered. There’s also no word yet on which personalities will be used along with Renee and Booker.

FOX has experimented with different versions of the show and how it will be presented, ranging from 3-5 personalities hosting a panel discussion. A final decision on the format had not been agreed on as of earlier this week.

As noted, FOX will be taping the series each week, not WWE. Punk would technically be working for FOX and not WWE, if he signs on to be a part of the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Taz Getting Hand Surgery Today

Image result for taz wrestler

PWInsider reports that former ECW and WWE star Taz is currently getting surgery on his hand today. The surgery is going to try and repair some nerve damage he’s had due to loss of feeling and muscle atrophy, which has caused him trouble in gripping with his right hand.

Taz previously had some nerve damage in his neck during his wrestling career, which has now moved down to his hand. According the report, surgeons will plan to go through his wrist to try and revive some of his nerves. Taz will likely miss several episodes of his radio show due to the procedure.

Source: 411Mania

TNA Provided An Update On Mickie James & Other Reactions About Controversial Angle From Impact

TNA Wrestling provided an update on their website about Mickie James following the controversial storyline from Wednesday night’s episode of Impact Wrestling, where James Storm pushed Mickie James onto the train tracks. Many suggested that Mickie had been killed off and it go a lot of negative attention online including Jim Ross and TAZ. Below is a video of the the angle form Wednesday’s  Impact:

 

TNA issued the following statement:

“On Impact this past week Mickie James thought she was coming to Nashville to meet with Country Music Executives, to further her already amazing music career. The “meetings” were set up by Mickie’s friend, the leader of The Revolution, James Storm and all seemed to be on the up and up.

That is until Mickie James got to Nashville, Storm was there to greet her and told Mickie the real reason he invited her to Music City, USA and it had nothing to do with music. Storm revealed he wanted Mickie to join The Revolution, to which Mickie was not only taken aback, but wanted nothing to do with joining The Revolution.

Then Storm walked Mickie James to the train station ant that is where Storm, for whatever his reasons are, knocked Mickie James onto the tracks. While Storm’s actions are despicable and boderline criminal, we have reached out to Mickie James  and have not yet gotten comment. We also reached out to security at The Nashville Star Train Station who were first on the scene after James Storm left and they were able to tell us that Mickie briefly blacked out and showed symptoms of a concussion. Mickie was tested and passed all concussion field tests. Mickie was emotionally disturbed following the events.

We will do our best to keep everyone up to date and we wish Mickie a very speedy recovery. We will be following up with Mickie James to see if she plans on filing criminal charges with Nashville PD.”

Here is what Jim Ross had to say about the storyline on his blog:

“I’m a big fan of both Mickie James, who was on our talent roster when I was in WWE, and James Storm whose work I’ve always enjoyed a great deal but the creative that they were provided Wednesday night regarding the train was undesirable and completely unrealistic and had me feeling embarrassed for two, very good talents. I do like the direction of Storm becoming a deranged character with scary tenacities but the train business did that few favors.”

The Jim Ross @JRsBBQ Twiiter account tweeted the following:

TAZ tweeted:

 

Taz Is Gone From TNA

TNA’s John Gaburick announced that Taz and TNA have parted ways. This comes after the news of Taz missing a voice-over session in Nashville due to being upset about late paychecks from TNA.

Taz

Issues Between Taz & TNA

We noted before that Taz missed a recent TV taping but it was a TV taping he missed but a voice-over session in Nashville to record commentary for the Impact episodes that have been taped.

PWInsider reports that there are issues between Taz and TNA. Taz has removed all references to TNA from his Twitter page. The reported TNA pay issues apparently led to Taz refusing to fly to Nashville from New York for the voice-over session.

Source: WrestlingINC.com