Reason why Vince McMahon liked Superstar who had 174-match WWE undefeated streak

Former WWE official Jim Ross believes Vince McMahon liked Tatanka so much due to the fact that he was a WWE creation.

Tatanka debuted in Vince McMahon’s WWE in January 1992. Including WWE live events, he amassed an undefeated streak of 174 matches in a row during his first 20 months with the company. He performed for WWE until March 1996 before having another run working for Vince McMahon from January 2006 to January 2007.

Ross, who combined his commentary position with a role in WWE management in the 1990s, discussed Tatanka’s 2006-2007 run on his Grilling JR podcast. He said Vince McMahon “always had a soft spot” for the former powerlifter.

“I think Vince liked Tatanka. Tatanka was a Vince creation, totally manufactured in WWE. Vince seems to always have a soft spot for guys like that. I think that’s a good trait, quite frankly. But the issue is we overshot, at that point in time with no build-up, Tatanka’s value [undefeated run] and what he was going to mean to the audience when they saw him.”

@WWE #RoyalRumble 2006 @TripleH @NativeTatanka @reymysterio #Mercury #MNM @WWEUniverse @WWENetwork WWE Tatanka #WWE #WWEUniverse #WWENetwork #NativeAmerican #Tatanka pic.twitter.com/RCEmyExlQJ

— Tatanka (@NativeTatanka) January 29, 2021

During Tatanka's first WWE run, his televised undefeated streak came to an end against Ludvig Borga on an episode of WWE Superstars in September 1993.

Tatanka’s second spell working for Vince McMahon

Tatanka never held a title in WWE

Jim Ross reviewed the No Way Out 2006 pay-per-view on the latest episode of his podcast. The event saw Tatanka join forces with Matt Hardy in a losing effort against Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro (aka John Morrison).

Ross thought Tatanka’s partnership with Matt Hardy was “left-handed” because WWE fans wanted to see The Hardy Boyz together instead. Tatanka mostly competed in singles matches after his brief alliance with Matt Hardy ended.

Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to SK Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.