Cody Rhodes announced earlier today that at this week’s AEW Dark tapings from Philadelphia, the legendary wrestler and commentator Taz will guest commentate the show:
https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1183065071032901633
https://twitter.com/OfficialTAZ/status/1183081862245310464
Taz not so long ago spoke about the possibilities of returning to the announce booth to the folks at Wrestling Inc on their WINCLY podcast. Below is an excerpt of what was said:
“It’s been several years since I’ve done commentary in pro wrestling and over time it’s something I’ve missed. 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.
The number one 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. 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. 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.”
As mentioned above, All Elite Wrestling emanates from Philadelphia next Wednesday for AEW: Dynamite. Matches announced so far are:
AEW Women’s Championship
Britt Baker vs Rhio (c)
AEW World Tag Team Tournament First Round
SoCal Uncensored vs Best Friends
Jon Moxley & PAC vs Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page
AEW World Tag Team Tournament First Round
Lucha Bros vs Jurassic Express
AEW World Championship
Philadelphia Street Fight
Darby Allin vs Chris Jericho (c)
Blake’s Take: For those that listen to Taz’s podcast (I occasionally dip in), you’ll know that he’s been in talks with a promotion for a while. Well AEW is that promotion. I like the idea of putting him on Dark. You have an experienced cohesive team for Dynamite, no need to rock the boat there. Hopefully, he’s not too rusty. Hopefully he can gain more eyes on AEW: Dark at the same time. As a fan, I’m happy that the Human Suplex Machine is back in the biz….even if it is for a red hot minute.