Retro Wednesday: Does Tazz Trust "Stone Cold" Steve Austin?

2001 was such a great year for the WWE. The heat of the McMahon-Hemsley era, coupled with continued tension built between Vince McMahon and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin made for weekly "must-see" TV.

In March of that year, Vince McMahon shocked the world by purchasing World Championship Wrestling (WCW), even broadcasting both Raw and Nitro simultaneously to make the colossal announcement.

Witnessing the same fate, Paul Heyman's financial issues, along with the inability to maintain a lucrative TV deal caused the demise of his company, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) the same year.

In the summer of 2001, both defunct promotions were revived as an alliance to end WWE, in which the group of combined superstars from both WCW and ECW (recent superstars from both promotions, as well as notable alumni) were aptly named The Alliance. At first, they were supposed to be a babyface group. However, with the audience refusing to buy in to the cause, they quickly turned heel instead.

On July 22, 2001, WWE had a full PPV that pitted the company against The Alliance, named Invasion. In the main event, coined the "Inaugural Brawl", The Alliance defeated WWE as a result of Austin re-establishing his WrestleMania 17 heel turn from months before after "bringing the old Stone Cold back"?a request made by Vince McMahon.

Leading to the traditional multi-person tag match scheduled for Survivor Series, there was much suspicion that Austin would turn on The Alliance and defect to the WWE. In a segment on an episode of Smackdown, Austin called The Alliance to the ring and assured them that he can be trusted. Reluctantly, the members of the group obliged in believing him.

Except one person?Tazz.

As a result, he was called out and humiliated by Austin. Despite The Alliance agreeing to trust Austin, they still left him alone in the ring during the attack on Tazz, much to his disapproval.

This was undoubtedly one of the funniest segments during the Alliance era. Although the group only lasted a few months, they left an indelible mark in WWE history.

Were you a fan of The Alliance? Sound off below.