How does 50-50ing some of the most regular rails in the fucking world make you mediocre at street? He makes hard to skate street spots his bitch. I understand that your idea of street skating is flipping your board in and out of a flat ledge salsa dance combo, but how can you deny the shit he does? Ledges and handrails aren't the only facets of street skating.
And as for his transition skating: Tony hawk is fucking amazing on VERT, yes. But if you watch the DETAILS, the way Grant Taylor carries himself and handles concrete terrain, you might realize how much repetition and natural skill it takes to be that comfortable and gnarly in that respect. Doing a padded 540 on vert is completely different than gap to frontside grinding, say... a 17 foot concrete vert wall.