.jpg) Taylor,c. 1987 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul Worden Taylor III (1955-08-12)August 12, 1955 (age 70)[1] |
| Alma mater | Guilford College |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Vero Beach, Florida |
| Debut | 1979[1] |
| Retired | 2006 |
Paul Worden Taylor III (born August 12, 1955) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler better known by hisring nameTerry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer inWorld Championship Wrestling, and theWorld Wrestling Federation. From 2003 until 2011, he worked as a road agent, trainer, interviewer and the director of talent relations inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling. Since 2012, Taylor has worked as a trainer in WWE'sdevelopmental territory,NXT.[1]
Terry Taylor was a popularfan favorite for much of his early career in theMid-South region, as well as theMid-Atlantic in the 1980s. Taylor was originally selected to be part ofThe Fabulous Ones tag team withStan Lane, but that role went to Florida wrestler,Steve Keirn.[3] Taylor then formed a tag team withBobby Fulton called the Fantastic Ones. After they split up, Fulton teamed withTommy Rogers to formThe Fantastics.
On June 7, 1981, Taylor won theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship fromLes Thornton at theRoanoke Civic Center, dropping it back to him in the return match thirteen days later. Also wrestled for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1981 and 1982.
Taylor made his way to Mid-South in January 1984 and feuded with the team ofNikolai Volkoff andKrusher Darsow. Darsow changed his name to Krusher Khruschev, and he and Taylor met in the finals of a May tournament to crown the first everMid-South TV champion, which Khruschev won. 45 days later, Taylor defeated Khruschev in New Orleans to begin his first of four TV title reigns. Taylor feuded with"Nature Boy" Buddy Landel over theNWA National Heavyweight Championship in 1985.[4] On March 13 of that year, he defeatedTed DiBiase for the North American Heavyweight Championship, the Mid South region's top title at the time.[5]
Moving back to the Mid-South region in 1986, which been renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), Taylor became one of the promotion's biggest stars and defeatedBuzz Sawyer for the UWF Television Championship in May. He won theUWF Tag Team Championship with "Gentleman"Chris Adams in early 1987, before breaking up their "Dream Team" to begin a heated rivalry.
AfterJim Crockett Promotions took over the UWF later that year, Taylor (then the UWF Television Champion) initiated a dispute withNikita Koloff over theNWA World Television Championship by stealing Koloff's belt, which led to a unification match of the two titles atStarrcade 1987, which Taylor would lose before abruptly leaving the promotion.[6]
In early 1988, Taylor returned inWorld Class Championship Wrestling, where he and Adams continued their feud until early June. Taylor won the Texas Heavyweight Championship fromMatt Borne and defended it against Adams,Kevin Von Erich, and others. Terry also held thetag team title withIceman King Parsons for a short time. Taylor eventually departed WCCW.
In 1988, Taylor signed with theWorld Wrestling Federation. He made his initial debut in ahouse show defeatingTito Santana on July 10, 1988 in Las Vegas, NV. Three days later he made his televised debut as babyface "Scary Terry" Taylor, he teamed withSam Houston againstThe Conquistadors on the August 1, 1988 airing ofPrime Time Wrestling. After Houston was pinned, Taylor got on the mic and berated him for losing the match, before attacking him and turning heel.[7] Taylor soon acquiredBobby "The Brain" Heenan as his manager and was rebranded "The Red Rooster", agimmick which saw him don red tights and ring coat and, later as a babyface, style his hair like arooster'scomb and strut like a rooster.[8] Early in his Red Rooster stint, theheel Taylor was described by Heenan as a novice wrestler who could not navigate his way through matches without constant instructions from his manager, despite objections from announcers such asGorilla Monsoon who would recall him showing considerable promise in matches prior to Heenan's involvement. The Rooster made his pay-per-view debut in the main event ofSurvivor Series '88, where he was the first wrestler eliminated from the match.[9]
On the January 7, 1989 episode ofSaturday Night's Main Event XIX, the Rooster lost a match toTito Santana due to being distracted by an argument with Heenan. Following the loss, Heenan slapped Taylor. Taylor, tired of Heenan's demeaning style of coaching,turned against his manager and attacked him.[8] He became aface as a result, though he retained the Red Rooster gimmick.[8] Heenan feigned wanting to make amends with Taylor onPrime Time Wrestling, but it was a set-up for Taylor to be ambushed by Heenan's new protege, long-timeenhancement talentSteve Lombardi, who Heenan reinvented as "The Brooklyn Brawler".[8] The two feuded, leading to the Rooster defeating the Brawler on the March 11, 1989 episode ofSaturday Night's Main Event XX and then defeating Heenan in a 30-secondsquash atWrestleMania V.[10][11] Taylor would then primarily be used to put over other talent. While he still earned victories against enhancement talent, he was usually on the losing end against established stars. He worked aprogram withMr. Perfect, losing to him atSummerSlam '89 and again on the November 25, 1989 episode ofSaturday Night's Main Event XXIV.[12][13] AtSurvivor Series '89, he was part ofDusty Rhodes's "Dream Team". Though Taylor was eliminated from the match, the Dream Team was victorious.[14] The Rooster's last pay-per-view appearance was as a participant in the1990 Royal Rumble match (replacingThe Widow Maker), where he lasted only two minutes before being eliminated byAndré the Giant.[15] Taylor left the federation in June 1990,[8] and "The Red Rooster" gimmick that he had used has left a long lasting very negative effect on Taylor's career as well.[16]
In 1990, Taylor returned to Jim Crockett Promotions, now renamedWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) following a sale toTurner Broadcasting System. Two months after signing, Taylor made his return in a win by disqualification over"Mean" Mark Callous.[17] He later re-debuted as "Terry Taylor" and unsuccessfully challengedArn Anderson for theWCW World Television Championship on several occasions, with most of the matches ending in time-limit draws.[18] In late 1990, Taylor began a short feud withMichael Wallstreet, which ended abruptly after Wallstreet jumped to the WWF.
In January 1991, Taylor took Wallstreet's place in theYork Foundation and a couple months later was renamed Terrence Taylor (It was customary for York Foundation members to use formalized versions of their first names and wear suits as part of the "business" gimmick).[18] Hefeuded withTom Zenk,Dustin Rhodes andBobby Eaton, and won theWCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship withRichard Morton andThomas Rich.[18] Taylor was the senior wrestling member of the York Foundation and either was a singles wrestler or teamed with fellow York Foundation members during its existence. The exception was atThe Great American Bash, when he teamed with"Stunning" Steve Austin in ascaffold match, losing toP. N. News andBobby Eaton. For a time in late-1991 to early-1992, Taylor teased a face turn by arguing with managerAlexandra York and the rest of the group.[18]
After the York Foundation disbanded, Taylor (billed as 'The Taylor Made Man') remained heel and formed atag team withGreg Valentine in 1992.[18] They held theWCW United States Tag Team Championship for three months.[18] He departed WCW in August 1992.
Taylor would make three appearances forEastern Championship Wrestling during September and October 1992. He would defeatLarry Winters and lost twice toTony Stetson.[19]
On September 21, 1992 Taylor returned to the WWF as a heel under the name "Terrific Terry Taylor" and continued to use his Red Rooster entrance theme but minus the rooster crows. His first match under this was when he defeatedJim Brunzell at aWWF Superstars taping in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[20] He was undefeated for his first month, gaining a series of house show victories over Jim Powers. In November he began a house show program withMax Moon, followed a month later with a series againstLance Cassidy.[17] Taylor was primarily used to put over other talent.[20] His most high profile match during this time was a loss toRandy Savage on the December 14, 1992 airing ofPrime Time Wrestling.[17] He appeared in the1993 Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated in 24 seconds byTed DiBiase.[21] He worked house shows in the spring against Typhoon, then became a broadcaster and backstage interviewer, wrestling his last on screen match on the May 22, 1993 edition of WWF Mania againstTatanka. Taylor would leave the company in August 1993 after his final match, which was a house show match where he lost toBrutus Beefcake in Sheffield, England.
Taylor returned to WCW again in September 1993, doing both commentary and in ring business. In January 1994 he teamed withErik Watts in a televised loss toPretty Wonderful onWCW Saturday Night.[17] Wrestling as a face, Taylor began a program with"Diamond" Dallas Page and defeated him atSuperBrawl IV on February 20. As in the WWF, Taylor began commentary work and teamed with Tony Schiavone on play-by-play forWCW Power Hour. After wrestlingThe Honky Tonk Man andTex Slazenger during the spring and summer, he ended his run with three straight victories overJean Paul Levesque on an August house show tour of Texas.
Taylor became an announcer for theAmerican Wrestling Federation (AWF) in 1994. A fan of wrestling announcerGordon Solie,[22] Taylor would often use Solie's famous phrases, pronouncing a suplex as a "soo-play" and a clothesline as a "lariat." He defeatedBlacktop Bully by disqualification on April 29, 1995 at an AWF event.
Taylor spent several years in WCW working backstage, as a road agent and a writer. Along with Annette Yother,Craig Leathers,Eric Bischoff andKevin Sullivan, he wrote content forNitro and WCWpay-per-views. He made his return to the ring on April 20, 1996 in Little Rock, AR when he defeatedSteve Regal[17] and would occasionally wrestle on house shows over the next two and a half years. His last match came on September 23, 1998, when he facedSteve McMichael in Utica, NY at a house show.[17]
Taylor returned to the WWF in 1998, doing interviews backstage and sometimes commentary on WWF television. As with WCW, he would occasionally wrestle on live events. His first match would be againstKurt Angle on May 15, 1999 in Baltimore, MD. His final match was againstJoey Abs on September 23, 1999.[17]
After conducting backstage interviews for a year in the WWF, Taylor returned to WCW yet again. He appeared in a backstage segment withKimberly on Monday Nitro on November 15, 1999. During this run in WCW, Taylor co-hosted and provided commentary forWCW Saturday Night withLarry Zbyszko. While in WCW, Taylor would also wrestle for theindependent promotions. He defeatedTom Prichard at the 2nd AnnualBrian Pillman Memorial Show on May 19, 1999, and on July 30, he lost toChris Jericho at the Mark Curtis Comes Home Memorial Show. He remained with the company until WWF bought it out in March 2001. His last on-screen appearance for WCW was as a company representative for a contract signing betweenBooker T andScott Steiner on the March 19, 2001 episode of Monday Nitro for their match that would take place the following week. On August 9, 2001, he defeatedBobby Eaton at 4th Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in a match refereed byRicky Steamboat.
In September 2002, Taylor returned to the now-renamed WWE as a road agent. Taylor lasted in this capacity until July 14, 2003, when he was released from his contract.
Taylor began working forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003. Prior to becoming Head of Talent Relations, he also worked as a road agent, trainer, and interviewer. His only match for TNA was on September 24, 2003, where he defeatedKid Kash. While in TNA, Taylor wrestled for independent promotions, notably teaming withCyrus in Canada for Ontario'sBorder City Wrestling and Manitoba's No Holds Barred promotions. On December 30, 2003, Tayor lost toSteve Williams in a match for the vacated NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title inGuangzhou, China. His last match was on November 25, 2006 defeating Adrian Lynch for PPW Bash At The Beach in Menasha, Wisconsin. On May 20, 2011, Taylor was fired from the promotion.[23]
In 2012, Taylor was re-signed by WWE to work as a trainer in itsdevelopmental territoryNXT.
According toPro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Taylor along withShawn Michaels taught the finishing class at theWWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes.[24]
On April 12, 2004, Taylor had three vertebrae in his neck fused together. On April 3, 2006, he underwent a three-hourcervical fusion surgery in which his sixth and seventh vertebrae were joined. Following the second operation, he announced his retirement from the ring.[25]
Taylor is aborn-again Christian[26] and has appeared on some of the wrestling and religion shows thatTed DiBiase produces.[25]
Taylor has two sons. His wife and their mother Trudy (née Davidson) died of cancer on July 14, 2011.[27]
1The Mid-Atlantic promotion in which Taylor and Steiner won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is not the same promotion that was once owned by Jim Crockett Jr. and sold to Ted Turner in 1988. That promotion went on to be renamedWorld Championship Wrestling and was sold toWorld Wrestling Entertainment in 2001. This current promotion, however, operates within the same region as the original and uses some of the same regional championships, primarily the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships.[52]
