Everything about Terry Taylor totally explained
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Terry Taylor (born
Paul W. Taylor III on
August 12 1955), is an
American retired
professional wrestler best known for his time in the
National Wrestling Alliance,
World Championship Wrestling, and The
World Wrestling Federation. Taylor is currently the Director of Talent Relations in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Career
Early career
Terry Taylor was a popular
fan favorite for much of his early career in the
Mid-South region and other
Southern professional wrestling territories in the
1980s. Taylor was originally selected to be part of
The Fabulous Ones tag team with
Stan Lane. Taylor was then bypassed by Florida wrestler,
Steve Keirn, for the position. Taylor then formed a tag team with Bobby Fulton calld the Fantastic Ones before he and Fulton split up and Fulton teamed up with Tommy Rodgers to form the Fantastics.
Taylor made his way to the Mid-South territory in January of 1984 and feuded with the team of Nikolai Volkoff and Krusher Darsow. Darsow would change his name to Krusher Khrushchev and he and Taylor would meet in the finals of a tournament to crown the first ever Mid-South T.V. champion, a match that Khrushchev would win.
National Wrestling Alliance
He made his way to the
NWA in
1985 and feuded with
"Nature Boy" Buddy Landel over the
NWA National Heavyweight Championship. Moving on to the Mid South Region in
1986, Taylor became one of that league's biggest stars and eventually defeated Freebird
Buddy Roberts for the Mid South Television Championship in September. This title was represented by a gold medal hung around the neck. It was later replaced by a conventional championship belt after the medal was thrown into a river. Later that year, he defeated
Ted DiBiase for the North American Heavyweight Championship, the Mid South region's top title at the time. He vacated the Television Title upon winning the NAHC. He also won the
UWF Tag Team Championship with "Gentleman"
Chris Adams in early
1987 before breaking up their "Dream Team" to begin a heated rivalry. After
Jim Crockett Promotions took over the
Universal Wrestling Federation (née
Mid-South Wrestling) later that year, Taylor (then the UWF Television Champion) initiated a dispute with
Nikita Koloff over the
NWA World Television Championship by stealing Koloff's belt, which led to a unification match of the two titles at
Starrcade 1987 which Taylor would lose before abruptly leaving the promotion.
World Class Championship Wrestling
In early-1988, Taylor debuted in
World Class Championship Wrestling, where he and Adams continued their feud, which lasted until early-June. Taylor did win the Texas heavyweight championship from
Matt Borne and defended the belt against Adams,
Kevin Von Erich, and others. Terry also held the tag team titles with
Iceman King Parsons for a short time. Taylor eventually departed WCCW when his feud with Von Erich was about to kick into high gear.
World Wrestling Federation
In
1988, Taylor signed with the
World Wrestling Federation. Debuting as babyface Scary Terry Taylor, he tag teamed with Sam Houston against The Conquistadors in his television debut. The Conquistadors pinned Sam Houston in the match and afterwards Taylor got on the mic and berated Houston for losing the match, beating him down turning heel. Taylor got Bobby Heenan as his manager and Heenan renamed him "the Red Rooster", a
gimmick which saw him don red tights and ring coat, and style his hair like a
rooster's
comb). Early in his Red Rooster stint, the
heel Taylor was portrayed as a
novice wrestler who couldn't navigate his way through matches without constant instructions from Bobby Heenan. Eventually, Taylor (who was actually a very talented wrestler) grew tired of Heenan's constant coaching and
turned against him, defeating Heenan in a thirty second
squash match at
WrestleMania V. Taylor became a
face as a result, though he retained the Red Rooster gimmick, and even began referring to his fans as "Rooster Boosters." He remained in the WWF until
1990. Warren Mickle did a gimmick similar in the independent league PHWF, just going by "Rooster" donning a rooster suit and sunglasses.
World Championship Wrestling
Taylor received a lesser
push in
World Championship Wrestling in
1991, when he became
Terrence Taylor of
The York Foundation. He
feuded with
Dustin Rhodes and
Bobby Eaton, and won the
WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championships with
Richard Morton and
Thomas Rich. Taylor was the senior member of the York Foundation throughout its existence. After the York Foundation disbanded, Taylor formed a
tag team with
Greg Valentine in
1992 and held the
WCW United States Tag Team Championship for three months.
World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling: Second stints
In
1993, Taylor returned to the WWF as "Terrific Terry Taylor." He continued wrestling as a heel. The "Red Rooster" gimmick wasn't referred to and Taylor, a perennial solid hand in the ring, was used primarily as an enhancement talent. He later did interviews before leaving for WCW again.
Taylor turned up in WCW again, wrestling as a face. He was featured in mid-card feuds for a while.
Announcing career
He left the business for a while before becoming an announcer for the
American Wrestling Federation (AWF) in
1994. A huge fan of legendary wrestling announcer
Gordon Solie, Taylor would often use Solie's famous phrases, pronouncing a suplex as a
soo-play and a clothesline as a
lariat.
Taylor returned to the WWF in 1998, doing interviews backstage. He lasted in this capacity for about a year, before leaving for WCW yet again.
During this stint in WCW, Taylor co-hosted
WCW Saturday Night with
Larry Zbyszko. He remained with the company until WWF bought it out in 2001, and left the business again for about a year.
Career as a road agent
Taylor later became a
road agent for
World Wrestling Entertainment after his wrestling career was cut short by injury. Before his injury, he was often a regional title holder and became a major contender for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship before leaving for WWE.
After leaving WWE due to friction with other employees, namely
Johnny Ace, Taylor began working for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in
2003. He is the current head of talent relations, and has worked as a road agent, trainer, and interviewer.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
Managers
Nicknames
- Scary
- Terrible
- Terrific
- The Mecca of Manhood
- The Taylor Made Man
- The Computerized Man of the 1990s
Championships and accomplishments
Border City Wrestling
Central States Wrestling
Continental Wrestling Association
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling | World Championship Wrestling
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling1
Mid-South Wrestling Association | Universal Wrestling Federation
NWA Music City Wrestling
Southeastern Championship Wrestling
World Class Wrestling Association
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Underrated Wrestler (1991)
- Most Underrated Wrestler (1992)
1The Mid-Atlantic promotion in which Taylor and Steiner won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship isn't the same promotion that was once owned by Jim Crcckett, Jr. and sold to Ted Turner in 1988. That promotion went on to be renamed World Championship Wrestling and was sold to World 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.
Personal life
On April 12 2004, Taylor had three vertebrae in his neck fused together. Two years later, on April 3 2006, Taylor underwent a three hour cervical fusion surgery in which his sixth and seventh vertebrae were joined. Following the second operation, Taylor announced his retirement from professional wrestling.
Terry is a born-again Christian and has appeared on some of the wrestling and religion shows that Ted DiBiase produces.
Terry and his family can now be seen advertising Splenda on a late-night infomercial, entitled "A Sweet Taste for Glory"
.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Terry Taylor'.
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