By 1999, Taz had reached every milestone there was in ECW—a World Tag Team Champion (3x), World Television Champion (2x), FTW Heavyweight Champion (2x), and World Heavyweight Champion (2X), Taz became the company's third Triple Crown Champion. In the fall of 1999, Taz signed with Vince McMahon's behemoth WWF because he felt that he had nothing left to prove and had "lost his passion" for ECW. But what if he hadn't?

Taz arrived in WWF with a huge push and high-profile victories before getting lost in the shuffle and battling for airtime in the already bloated Hardcore Division (you can read about our reimagined WWF run for Taz here). So here, we're going to take a step back and think about a scenario where Taz felt compelled to stay with the company that made him—a company which, had a few things happened slightly differently to give ECW a little more time, could have found itself riding high as the second largest promotion in the country, with strong TV ratings and solidly in the black financially for the first time.

This is Reimagined: Taz Stays in ECW.

By the last year of the twentieth century, Paul Heyman had grown Extreme Championship Wrestling from the "little promotion that could" into an organization that was on the cusp of being a legitimate contender with the two top promotions in the country, WWF and WCW. Best of all, the thing that might finally put them over the top, a national TV deal, was finally happening. Gone were the syndication deals that had ECW on amid infomercials and ads for 1-900 chat lines—Heyman secured a deal with TNN (formerly The Nashville Network), which was in the middle of a rebranding effort and trying to reach a younger, male demographic. It seemed a win-win for the network and the burgeoning promotion, but there ended up being challenges that even the brilliant mind of Paul Heyman would have trouble overcoming. One of those challenges was that executives at TNN were very impressed with ECW Heavyweight Champion Taz. Heyman told TNN that Taz had just signed a lucrative new contract that would keep him around for quite some time, but in reality, Taz and Heyman were working essentially on a handshake deal with no actual contract in place. When, shortly after the launch of ECW on TNN, Taz signed with WWE and left ECW behind (other than one final match at November to Remember to put over Rob Van Dam, and the historical oddity that was WWE-contracted Taz vs WCW-contracted Mike Awesome for the ECW World Title and subsequent loss to Tommy Dreamer), it left a bad taste in the mouths of TNN execs—one of several things that pointed Heyman and ECW down a rocky and ultimately short-lived path. TNN would end up cancelling ECW's weekly show less than halfway into their three-year contract. Could anything have prevented the ill-fated "island of misfit toys" from crashing and burning? Possibly, and quite possibly much of what could have saved it hinged on Taz.

Here's the reimagining:

Due to general unhappiness with the initial result, the first episode of ECW on TNN was pre-recorded. In actuality, it was a match from Hardcore Heaven the previous May, featuring Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn for Van Dam's ECW World Television Title. This episode serves as a good introduction to new fans of the promotion, and we will leave this be. The same goes for the second episode, featuring Taz defending his title against Yoshihiro Tajiri, plus an enthralling angle regarding the tag team titles. Taz vs Tajiri is a solid match, and a good chance for new fans to get a first look at the company's top guy and see just what "The Human Suplex Machine" can do. Episode three does not feature Taz, although it's an important episode in how it ties into our reimagining: Masato Tanaka takes on Mike Awesome, both of whom would participate in a 3-way dance with Taz for the title at Anarchy Rulz, and Rob Van Dam again defending his title against Jerry Lynn. Anyone who's seen Tanaka and Awesome work together know they never had a bad match, and RVD made Jerry Lynn look like a serious threat to win the title before a run-in from Lance Storm and Justin Credible resulted in a no contest. With the stage now set, our reimagining truly begins at the Anarchy Rulz pay-per-view.

The three-way dance at Anarchy Rulz (09/19/99) was initially a straight one-on-one match, with Taz defending against Tanaka. Taz invited Awesome into the fold early in the PPV. I would leave all three participants in the match, however, Taz would reign supreme, successfully defending his title against the (slightly) bigger Tanaka and the absolutely gargantuan Awesome in a brutal fifteen-minute match that leaves all three men battered and bruised. With new fans having just been introduced to ECW and Taz, I feel it would be of utmost importance to establish their champion as an absolute badass, especially if any new viewers make the mistake of thinking Taz's shorter stature meant he could not hold his own with the company's big men. 

Jerry Lynn also dropped the TV title to Lance Storm in the opening match of the PPV, but in true ECW fashion, he still looked strong in a fantastic match, which is good, as Jerry Lynn figures into our new timeline as the new challenger for the World Championship. In the next episode on TNN (09/24/99), Lynn cuts a promo stating that it took a sneak attack from The Impact Players (Lance Storm and Justin Credible), injuring Lynn before the PPV, and Dawn Marie cheating on Storm's behalf during the title match to beat him. Also, Lynn says, he has more than proven he is a champion, be it television or world. He sends a message to Taz that he is coming for him and becoming the new ECW World Heavyweight Champ. 

The next week (10/01/99), Lynn squares off against Chris Candido. Taz stands at the entrance ramp to observe, eventually making his way to ringside as Lynn glares at Taz with every offensive maneuver he performs on Candido. Lynn pulls out a solid victory, but the celebration is cut short as The Impact Players show up and deliver yet another beatdown to Lynn. Taz remains at ringside and watches the beatdown, but neither stops the beatdown nor joins in.

Taz gets the mic on the next episode (10/08/99). He says he's impressed with Lynn's drive to be champion—and his ability to take a beating—but it's not going to be that easy. Jerry Lynn needs to prove his worth before he gets a title shot. Taz wants Jerry Lynn to face Sabu on next week's show. If he comes out victorious, Taz will get in the ring with him. Jerry Lynn appears at the entrance with a microphone. He agrees to take on Sabu but adds that if he wins, he demands Taz get in the ring with him. Taz grins, nods, and agrees.

In their match the following week (10/15/99), Lynn and Sabu have a war in which Lynn eeks out a victory. After the match, Rob Van Dam puts the boots on Lynn and hits a 5 Star Frog Splash on him. RVD, Sabu, and Bill Alfonso leave Lynn laying in the ring in the fetal position, clutching his ribs which are still injured from the beating he took from The Impact Players weeks earlier. Taz comes to the ring and stands over Jerry Lynn and tells him he's a man of his word, and he will get in the ring with Jerry Lynn next week—in a tag match. Taz will partner with Rhino, Lynn can choose whoever he wants.

Lynn shows up for the tag match (10/22/99) with Tajiri as his partner, and the four put on a great match, despite Taz's refusal to lock up with Lynn, tagging out to Rhino every time Lynn gets in the ring. Late in the match, with Rhino and Tajiri both incapacitated on the outside, the moment has finally come. Taz and Jerry Lynn square off across the ring from each other, and the lights go out. When they come back up, Taz and Lynn are surrounded by RVD, Sabu, and The Impact Players, who deliver a brutal beating to both men. Taz fights them off momentarily, but in the end, the heels leave the ring with Taz and Lynn lifeless to end the show. 

The next episode (10/29/99) opens with Paul Heyman in the ring, waiting to address the crowd and viewing the audience at home. He says no one has been put through the ringer more than Jerry Lynn has in the past couple of months. He's had a target on his back and Taz has made him jump through hoops, and Jerry Lynn is still alive and still waiting for his title shot. And while Taz has some pull as the champ, he's wrong about something: he doesn't call the shots, Heyman does. He's the boss, he signs the checks, he makes the executive decisions, and it's time to cut the crap—he's making it official, Taz vs Jerry Lynn for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship at November to Remember in a 30 minute Iron Man Match, with pinfalls and submissions counting as falls.

At November to Remember (11/07/99), Taz and Jerry Lynn put on a classic, full of impressive technical wrestling from both and nice high flying from Lynn. Taz catches an over-eager Lynn off guard early, locking in the Katahajime a mere six minutes in and scoring a submission. Jerry Lynn goes on the offensive, trying to wear down The Human Suplex Machine for the next twenty minutes, narrowly avoiding another Tazmission and kicking out at two-and-a-half following a nasty bridging German Suplex. After a lengthy aerial assault, Jerry Lynn wears Taz down enough to land the Cradle Piledriver for a three count with three minutes remaining. The time ticks away, with the bell ringing at the 30-minute mark tied 1-1. 

Heyman comes out and declares Sudden Death—the next pinfall or submission determines the winner. After a few minutes of back and forth, Taz narrowly escapes Jerry Lynn's attempt at another Cradle Piledriver and counters with a T-Bone suplex for the three count and successful defense of the title. Taz slings the belt over his shoulder and asks for a microphone as Jerry Lynn regains his composure and gets to his feet. Taz tells Lynn he likes very few people and respects even fewer. He doesn't know if he likes Lynn or not, but he definitely respects him. Taz tells Jerry Lynn if and when he wants a rematch, just name the time and place, because he earned it. He offers his hand, and Jerry Lynn deliberates for a moment before shaking it, forming a tentative alliance and finally evening the odds against RVD & Sabu and The Impact Players.

The theory behind this reimagining is that, had Taz stuck around in ECW, he would have been a great face for the company to new viewers. His persona was both familiar (tweener/antihero) and unique (wrestling/martial arts background instead of a brawler). Jerry Lynn was one of the strongest traditional babyfaces at the time, and the crowd would've easily cheered him on his quest for the title. Also, a Taz/Lynn feud would make TNN execs happy by a) keeping Taz as ECW's top guy, and b) having outstanding matches that lost nothing by being bloodless. A Taz/Lynn feud wouldn't need blood, tables, and foreign objects to be compelling. Heyman could back off the edgier material just enough to keep the suits happy and save the bloodletting and more titillating material for pay-per-views. With happy executives willing to give more support to the show, ECW on TNN could have easily lasted the full three years of their original contract—taking them through Vince McMahon's purchase of WCW and making Extreme Championship Wrestling the de facto #2 promotion in the country. If that had happened, who knows what could have been?

As always, we look forward to hearing your theories and how you would reimagine this scenario yourself.