Shane Taylor: Notorious For Violence

(Photo Credit: RING OF HONOR/Roy Harper)

Just days before Shane “Notorious” Taylor kicks off a three-show swing through Texas, including stops in Dallas on January 24, Houston on January 25 and San Antonio on January 26, he sat down with The Wrestling Estate’s Sam Gladen to discuss growing up in Cleveland, his start in the wrestling business, teaming with Keith Lee on the independent scene and more.

For tickets and more information for Road to G1 Supercard – Dallas, click here.

For tickets and more information for Road to G1 Supercard – Houston, click here.

For tickets and more information for Road to G1 Supercard – San Antonio, click here.

All three nights of Road to G1 Supercard in Texas Jan. 24-26 will stream LIVE worldwide for HonorClub. Become a HonorClub member here.

Just to get started, why don’t you walk us through how Shane Taylor came to be? How you became a pro wrestler and where you cut your teeth?

Shane Taylor: “I initially started in Cleveland, Ohio. I was initially trained by Raymond Rowe and Jerry Meyers. Ray Rowe, of course if you’re familiar with ROH, NJPW or WWE right now, is one half of formerly War Machine aka The War Raiders. I started out in 2007, which is crazy to think about. Once I got connected with those two, they were very influential with not only my formation [as a wrestler], but the way I carry myself as well. Some of my earliest memories are just hanging with Ray in different spots – they were kind enough to take me with them all across the country. I did a bunch of independents for a long time, for about eight years in the Midwest/ East Coast area then I moved down to Texas in the late part of 2014 and started working with a lot of different promotions around here. The NWA, Wildcat and Louisiana which ultimately led to the tryout with ROH and here we are.”

I’ve been going through your CageMatch profile and YouTube over the last couple of days and saw a lot of stuff from my neck of the woods in the Dallas area. I saw that you were in a fairly successful team with Keith Lee for a few years. Walk me through what he was like in the locker room.

ST: “Aw, Keith’s the man. He’s one of the most laid back guys that you’ll ever come across but, at the same time, there is also an intensity to him. There’s an intensity to how he trains, how he wants to always better himself, not just at his craft, but at everything he does. He’s a talented singer, a talented football player. Everything he does he makes himself successful at. So, when you’re teaming with a guy like that, those qualities can’t help but rub off on you. So with that intensity in mind, that to me was just one of those perfect meshing between the two of us. As big as he is – he brought the intensity and the high flying – I brought my athleticism, my intensity, my striking, so together, we covered every base.

And for teaming really for less than a year, year and a half, we were able to turn a lot of heads and really make an impact with a lot of people. Make ourselves really one to see and when you say talent we saw some of the great tag teams that are out there. You had me and Keith vs. The Bucks or me and Keith vs. LAX or other great teams of this era. But who knows. Who knows what’s down the road, what’s going to happen in the future? I’m ecstatic to see the success that he’s having, that was the goal when we formed the team was to get jobs and make this careers so that’s what we’re doing.”

Which you’ve definitely done. When you went to college did you go for football or was that just a high school thing?

ST: “I actually went for wrestling. I was an amateur wrestler in high school and college. I got a degree in business management. You know, I’m not the kind of guy to work in a cubicle. My whole life if I could beat you up – you shouldn’t be tellin’ me what to do. So I had plans of managing and growing my own brand so that way I’m the boss. You know, I work for me. I always felt that that was the best way to go about it.”

Absolutely. It’s been widely documented that you come from Cleveland, one of the most violent cities in America. You’ve talked openly about your propensity for violence and your willingness to go there if needed and you mentioned how you wouldn’t be great in an office setting because of that. Was amateur wrestling and to a greater extent, pro wrestling, your way to give the violence and aggression a positive output so that you wouldn’t put yourself in any situations that you couldn’t easily walk away from? Kind of like if I’m going to be violent, might as well get paid for it?

ST: “Oh, of course, of course. There’s always that level to it for anyone who, I think, gets into sports. Especially for someone who suffered the amount of loss that I had suffered, that energy needs to be channeled somehow. You know, some people paint, some people do art, some people do sports. You know what I mean? I used to joke with Ray that violence is our art. Some people use Crayola and oil paints – we use people’s faces. I mean it is what it is. It’s no different for me than if you’re a boxer or a mixed martial artist. Violence as a whole gets a bad rap because a lot of people don’t understand it. Especially people who haven’t been around it to the level that guys like me have.

When you’re good at something, no matter what it is, there is an art form to it. It can be a beautiful thing when done correctly and done in its proper space. When you watch guys like a Floyd Mayweather do his thing – regardless of how you feel about the guy personally – when you watch the guy do what he does it’s violent, but it’s elegant at the same time. There is such technique to it that you can’t help but be in awe of what you’re seeing. So that same process applied to me, whether it was football or wrestling or track and field. Now it’s with pro wrestling. When you’re skilled at what you do, even as violent or barbaric as it may seem, there is an art form beneath it.”

Did you grow up a wrestling fan or was wrestling something that kind of came together as a plan when you got to college?

ST: “I’ve been a fan essentially my whole life. You know, growing up we didn’t have a lot of money, but what we did have was a lot of family. And each house would get one pay-per-view a year. So whichever house had it we would just walk there. So, watching Royal Rumbles or Mania’s at cousins’ places or my house was how we sort of got all of that out as well. We would be counting down the days until we got to go over to our aunts’ houses to go and watch the pay-per-view. There was so much energy. Everyone was hype, everyone was happy and excited regardless of what was going on outside of the house. That was always a good time. You know, we’ll forget everything, we’ll forget who got shot, who got laid off, we’ll forget who’s doin’ what. For these two hours, it’s just us in this world. At its best I think that is what wrestling does for people. It allows you to escape some of the things in life that bring you down.”

Who were “your guys” growing up? Who made it appointment viewing for you?

ST: “Ron Simmons for me was one of the best. A guy that was the first recognized African American world champion in our sport to be able to do that without playing on a stereotype. Not to be a thug or a pimp or any of those things. To see that as a kid was so powerful to me, to see that it was easy to do, well not easy to do, but possible to do with hard work and putting your all into this. Other guys I loved were Vader and Taker, just their presence and the way they did things. No one, except maybe Stan Hansen, looked tougher than Vader and no one looked scarier than Taker. Not guys who you wanted to be walking down an alley and see coming at you. To me those were some of the guys that I liked to see, the agility, power, strength and size. Overall the performers they were had me in awe.”

I wanted to get into New Japan with you, as a lifelong wrestling fan, someone who has a deep appreciation for the sport and the art form. What was it like getting that call initially for ROH, but also knowing you would work with NJPW?

ST: “I haven’t had the opportunity to work in Japan yet. I had a one on one with Hirooki Goto, Evil. I worked a six-man with KES and Suzuki. I had a one on one with Scurll, who’s over there a bunch. But that’s another thing that I would love to check off my list, you know? Experience that warrior spirit and the battle of wills. The overall appreciation for the sport. That atmosphere is second to none. I, personally, would like to check that goal off the list before I’m done. For me, this was the perfect place to do it. The partnership between Ring of Honor and New Japan is there, so I think it’s just a matter of time really.”

Definitely. I have to say I am excited at the idea of seeing you one on one with a guy like SANADA or EVIL but EVIL in a Korakuen Hall setting or something to that degree.

ST: “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. I would love a match with Suzuki one on one. There are a lot of match ups that I would be really excited about.”

Streaming LIVE NEXT THURSDAY for #HonorClub at 830/730c!@theDALTONcastle @Twin_Thing_One & @Twin_Thing_Two vs @shane216taylor @SussexCoChicken & @jaybriscoe84 at #RoadToG1Supercard: Dallas
Tickets: https://t.co/2tUwQojCCu
Info: https://t.co/Ss0wKfj8z0 pic.twitter.com/sKvGFtBDlX
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) January 18, 2019

Recently at The Wrestling Estate, we did a fantasy draft where we basically blew up the existing promotions and pieced together our new dream sets. So say that happens tomorrow, you know Vince comes out and says “We’re done. We’re closing the doors.” and the promotion boundaries no longer apply. Who would you most want to lock up with?

ST: “We talking one on one?”

Anything, one on one, six-man, you can book yourself into the Rumble if you want. It’s all up to you.

ST: “Okay, if I had a one-on-one match, it’s going to be me vs. Raymond Rowe. If it’s a tag, it’ll be me and Keith vs. Rowe and Hanson. Multi-man match not using the guys I’ve already mentioned would have to be myself vs. Ishi vs. Suzuki and maybe Goto. As far as a guy I think I could go out there and really tear the roof off with would be Gresham or maybe Jay Lethal or Kenny King. All of those guys are just so talented and extremely dedicated to what they do, so for me, those are the guys that I would want to get in there with. Luckily for me, with all those guys but Rowe, Keith and Hansen, right now it’s possible.”

Shifting gears back to this weekend and the series of Road to G1 Supercard of Honor shows you’ve got lined up – you’re scheduled to appear Thursday in Dallas. Obviously it’s a sort of homecoming for you and that’s very exciting; however, you’ll be teaming with the Briscoes vs. Dalton Castle and the Boys. But about a year ago you were feuding with Jay Briscoe in the lead up to Gateway to Gold and the Briscoes don’t seem like the “forgive and forget” type. Is there any trepidation stepping in the ring with them Thursday night?

ST: “None at all. I know what the Briscoes are capable of and they know likewise. I feel that this is just business. So, I want to win. I want my check. They want to win. They want their check. The only way to do that is to work together. None of us are in the business of leaving money on the table, so I assume that as long as they hold up their end of the deal, I’ll hold up mine and around and around we go.”

Fair enough. I’m just saying once the three count ends, that check has been cashed. You may want to be looking over your shoulder, you know?

ST: “If that’s the case, ya know what I mean, then it is what it is and I’m not worried. Us Cleveland guys are hard to get rid of. Payback will be a mother, if you know what I mean.”