Taz Discusses His Potential Return To Commentary, What He's Looking For In A Promotion

Since leaving Impact in 2015, Taz hasn't been affiliated with any wrestling promotion as he's been busy with his own radio show and podcast. But he flirted with the possibility of returning to wrestling commentary on social media recently and he was asked why he decided to comment about a potential return when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.

"It was accidental. It was just a quick interaction on Twitter and I try my best to interact with people who follow me. I just answered the person's question?it's been several years since I've done commentary in pro wrestling and over time it's something I've missed," admitted Taz.

"Anybody who listens to my podcast, they're not super-shocked as I talked about this in one of my shows about a month ago that I missed commentary. Then it just blew up and truth be told, it was a part of my career that I loved. No matter if it was for WWE or TNA ? when I went to TNA it was a hot property back then. Then I got to meet Mike Tenay and we became really good friends.

"I had a lot of fun doing it and when I transitioned from the ring to the commentary desk, it was actually a hard thing to do. I didn't want to do it but Vince McMahon felt it was the next chapter for me."

As someone who is proven on the commentary desk, Taz would likely have options to choose from if he was to return to the booth. He was asked what he would look for in a promotion if he was to return to commentary.

"The No. 1 thing is credibility in the ring. To me, there needs to be talent. When I say credibility, I don't mean star talent. I mean guys and girls that can go in the ring; that are athletic and their intensity is there," said Taz.

He then talked about being blessed to call great matches during his career. He mentioned the physicality of Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero and how he feels like he shines on commentary in matches like that.

"I don't want a situation where it's a young wrestler that is a little green and is making mistakes in the ring. Now, if I can't call out that mistake or call out that they are sloppy, then it hurts my credibility as a broadcaster," stated Taz. "If I do bring forward to the audience what this guy or girl can't do, then it's a negative and I'm bashing the talent which is a no-no in my book. I'm hurting this person's brand or future potentially.

"The first No. 1 thing is that the in-ring product is strong every match. With the WWE you're gonna get that right out of the box because you're not getting to SmackDown, Raw or NXT without them being strong in the ring."

Taz was then asked about the last wrestling company he worked for, Impact, and if he'd return as a commentator.

"I'm very happy for them and their TV deal with AXS. I just think it's great for wrestling?The more the merrier. It's great for the business, for fans, for talent, for referees, for announcers. When I worked for TNA it wasn't Anthem. It was Dixie Carter so I can't speak [on their current management]," said Taz.

"You have two guys in the office doing commentary with Josh [Matthews]. They are the office and you're not gonna have a four-person booth. So I don't know if that's the place [for me].

"I don't wish ill will on them. I hope they do great."

With Rob Van Dam in Impact and Tommy Dreamer also working there, Impact has lots of former ECW guys in the fold. But Taz said he doesn't regularly talk to any of the former ECW guys and there being former co-workers within the company isn't a selling point for him.

"To me it's about the right fit at the desk," stated Taz. "For Impact it would be very difficult because of the logistics of who they have at the desk with Josh. I'm good [laughs]."

He was then asked about ROH and if that's a place that would intrigue him.

"I'm not looking to go company by company and break down [their commentary teams]. I'd rather not do that because it hurts my business," stated Taz. "I've had offers from a couple of promotions and it just wasn't the right fit at the moment for those companies. Maybe there's not a right fit anywhere. I think eventually it will work out. Maybe not now, maybe in a month or three months. Maybe I'll lose the bug? But I don't think that will happen as I do have a passion and I do miss it."

He then noted that he recently did alternative commentary for the MLW match between Timothy Thatcher and Davey Boy Smith Jr and how much he loved it.

"Even though I haven't made money from a wrestling company in a lot of years from actually being in the business, I cover the business since I left on a daily basis," said Taz. "So I'm on top of all of the creative and storylines. I'm a communicator by trade and this is what I do ? I broadcast.

"I feel if I got back into the game now as a color analyst, it's gotta be a place that's willing to let me apply my trade as I like in terms of breaking down the physicality. I'm a guy who drew money, won a lot of matches, lost a lot of matches. I've done everything in the business and I have three decades in the industry. To me, I've done it all and I bring that to the table. It's not just a guy who was pretty cool on commentary on SmackDown."

Taz then brought up commentators like Troy Aikman in the NFL and Alex Rodriguez in MLB. They were stars in their respective sports so they bring credibility to the broadcast booth and he says he does the same with wrestling.

"Humbly, I think I do it better than anybody today," stated Taz.

Taz's "The Taz Show" can be heard 2-3 times a week and is available at https://www.radio.com/taz-show.

Taz's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of today's episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Taz discusses his potential return to pro wrestling commentary, what he's looking for in a promotion, working with Vince McMahon in his ear, two-man versus three-man commentary teams, AEW vs NXT, NXT's debut episode on USA and more.

You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.