Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio
Guest: Shane Taylor
Date: 06/12/18
Your Host: James Walsh

SHANE TAYLOR : 

On ROH’s Texas tour this weekend on Honor Club:
“It is phenomenal. This Friday, we’re in San Antonio. Saturday, we’re in Dallas. Tons of great matches on both nights. Texas is my adopted home, me being originally from Cleveland, Ohio. It is tremendous to sort of represent Texas for a great promotion like Ring of Honor and really put that Texas spirit and pride on my back.”

On wrestling for many years before making it to ROH:
“Of course! There has always been a history and a legacy that comes with being in Ring of Honor. When you look at the tradition, the legacies, and the guys who have been here and the names that have been made here, it is an honor to be able to say that I am now representing the same company that they did.”

On being a big guy in ROH which does not have many big men:
“Not really because just about anywhere I go, I’m a bigger guy. Usually if I run into a guy bigger than me, that is when I go “OK, there’s a change of style here.” With the athleticism and the calaber of athlete we have in Ring of Honor, everyone presents such a unique style. Each person brings their own challenges.”

On why other weight classes have gained in popularity:
“I think we’ve reached a point in society where people have figured out that those smaller guys are just as entertaining. That they can go out there and provide a level of excitement and a level of competition that can garner support. In boxing, being a big boxing fan, not having that dominant American heavyweight is why other weight classes were able to fill that void where guys like Tyson dropped off.” He continues, “There is no bigger draw, as far as just hearing it, than hearing that, and being that bigger guy, I want to be able to make sure that stays true.”

On how becoming a father changed his life:
“My daughter is the turning point for me. As I was living in Cleveland, doing that growing up, I saw a lot of bad things – Drugs, gangs, violence. Even though my parents worked hard to keep me from it, when you’re in that environment, those things happen. I grew up doing a lot of things I shouldn’t have been doing and putting myself into spots I shouldn’t have been in. Up until she was born, that was still what I was doing and was my mentality. When she was born, it became crystal clear to me that something needed to change. What needed to change was how I went about things, how I approached things, how serious I took things. I didn’t want her to have to go through the things that I did, see the things that I saw. She hasn’t had to. As far as she knows, life is about life here in the suburbs of Houston and playing with her friends outside. That’s all she ever has to know. For me, there is no bigger joy than seeing her run around playing with her friends.”

On being the bad guy in wrestling when he’s a good guy in life:
“Oh, that guy is always there. That’s the dichotomy of who I am as a person. That’s the story I’m trying to tell with this character. Some people don’t get it. Others understand because they’ve seen it. Other people just want something quick that they can categorize in a box. That’s not who I am. Why I do things, when and how I do things, and how I weigh out those options is how I make that character. Everybody can relate to being in situations you don’t want to be in and having to do things that you’re not proud you have to do but they have to get done. Because, if you don’t do things, you don’t eat and your kids don’t eat. So, whatever you have to do, you have to do.”

On Keith Lee signing with WWE:
“I am overjoyed for Keith. When he decided to sign on with EVOLVE, I told him I was proud of him then. He’s been absolutely tearing the globe up going everywhere doing everything. I am incredibly proud of him. He’s like a big brother to me. I can’t wait to watch him on the Network and see the things that they do and that they accomplish.”

On if he wants a WWE run:
“I like what I’m doing. I have a lot of goals I want to reach in Ring of Honor and I don’t want to go anywhere until those are completed. But, again, there are a million variables that go with that. Time, business, money, opportunity, my family – of course. Obviously, everybody wants to have those big stages, those big moments – WrestleMania moments. But for me, and I told this to Jay Briscoe, there is something very cool about being the guy that sticks with one company and puts that company on his back and says, “We’re going to go as far as I can take you.” For me, there is something very, very cool about that. One of my goals, whether I stay there my entire career or not, is that people look back at my era in Ring of Honor – with all the talent that we have – and go “That was Shane Taylor’s era.” That was my era! That’s something I work hard for everyday.”

On his favorites as a kid:
“I loved Jake “The Snake”, I loved the Undertaker. Ron Simmons was great. Vader and Stan Hansen were probably the two stand-out influences for my career for being a big kid and being a big guy now, I know a six pack is probably not in my future. (laughs) Stan Hansen and Vader were two big, mean looking guys. I was like, “All right, I know how to fight. I can do that” Watching the matches that they had in Japan, I tried to bring an evolution of that style. That’s what I bring to the ring in 2018.”

On the incredible reaction during his match with Joey Daddiego recently:
“When you can get a crowd to go in a frenzy like that, that’s what you live for. This is why you put all the work in, this is why you train so hard, this is why you do the flights, this is why you do the miles. This is why you do all of that – To get that reaction and feel that energy. One of the things I pride myself on is having great matches with guys that are just starting out or if they’re veterans. I can have great matches with anybody. That match, for me, was a statement match for me. That match, in particular, was a goal of mine. I had a point to prove.”

On his high profile matches this weekend:
“Just like this weekend getting in the ring with Hurricane Helms, Delirius, and Burger (in San Antonio) and getting in the ring with Cody in Dallas. I told ROH officials I want to be the guy here. I want those chances. I want to hit home runs. I can’t do that unless you put me in the box to swing. I get to swing this whole weekend! (laughs)”

On All In:
“I think what All In does, and what Bullet Club does by proxy, is they present a very DIY punk rock style. They represent that sort of counter-culture to other promotions. People gravitate towards them because they feel like they’re the outcasts, they’re the rebels. They’re the guys who do things by their own rules. People can get behind that. When you have something like that, when you have a movement like that and you are able to capitalize like that, I want to say 10,000 seats sold in under 30 minutes? I want to say we were in Chicago, the last stop of the War of the Worlds tour, when they found out. I went up to all of them and congratulated them because that’s awesome! To stick your neck out like that and to have it pay off like that only means better things for wrestling, better things for them, and better things for ROH!”