During his first reign with the FTW Championship, Taz’s only defense came at ECW Heat Wave 1999, where he defeated Big Bam Bigelow via submission to retain the gold. This bout is regarded by many as one of the last great matches of Bigelow’s career.
“Everybody knows that there’s no way a f*** from Pittsburgh can beat up a man from Brooklyn. So what I got right here, I am the world champion, and I have the proof. You can call it the Brooklyn Title or the F*** The World Belt!”
On December 19th, 1998, Taz defended his title for the second time in a three-way bout against Sabu and Justin Credible. Sabu emerged victorious in this contest.