3. Taz Recalls Vince McMahon Wanting Him To Face Brock Lesnar, Says Vince Called Him A Terrible Businessman

During a recent edition of The Taz Show, ECW Legend Taz recalled a story of Vince McMahon offering him a match against Brock Lesnar and him refusing to do that match and Vince’s reaction to it. Below is what Taz said:

“Vince McMahon approached me about working with Brock at Madison Square Garden while I was a commentator there. I’m over there doing the commentary for the WWE at the SmackDown table several years ago. And Brock was just cooking up before, and basically, they were really building Brock up as this killing heel machine. This was before this whole suplex city thing they have going on. And I was, I don’t know what year this was, could have been 2006 or something like that. Somewhere in that world, 2007, something like that. Maybe 2005; I’m horrible with years.

So, it was earlier in the day, it was probably around 3pm, and we’re at the arena. I’m sitting at the announce desk, and some guys are in the ring just working out, loosening up, stretching out, who’s doing this, who’s doing that. I’m doing some prep work, like I always do. Michael Cole is over there twiddling his thumbs, doing nothing. And I’m doing all the prep work (God, I wish he could hear this. He might listen to the show. I should text him, because he would flag on me, because everything I just said was a little bit of a lie [laughs]).

So, I’m sitting there with Cole, and he’s writing stuff up, and Vince walks by, he’s just watching and checking on some of the people who are working out. He was talking to some of the agents, they were doing a rehearsal or something. So Vince slips over to my area, at the announce desk, and he’s like, ‘Hey, uh, can we talk for a minute?’ And I thought I was going to be fired. So I walk over there in the corner with Vince, and he goes, ‘Listen. This is big. You ready?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah. I’m ready. What’s up?’

He goes, ‘You and Lesnar do something at the Madison Square Garden. I’d be great. You would come back, do a match at the Garden, we’ll plug it, push it.’ I go, ‘Vince. No thank you. I love Brock, I love you, and I love the company, but I can’t do it. I’m banged up, I got a lot of numbers to my body. I’m just, physically, I’d be too risky for me to do.’ He goes, ‘No, I know that. We’ll work around it, we’ll do business.’ I told him, ‘Vince. I’m not what I was. I can’t go be what I was, and I don’t want to put myself at risk.’

“And he was cool, then he goes, ‘I understand, but, you know what? I never knew you were this terrible as a businessman. Just horrible. What is wrong with you?’ He just started ripping me. ‘You don’t even know how much I was willing to pay you!’