Dave Taylor Appreciation Thread

[The Gaffer]

I love that garb! The lo-fi aesthetic works a treat for him. "I'm English and I'm going to smack you about". That's all it needs to say. 

[SaitoRyo]

Always appreciated how much JBL put him and Regal over on commentary, too. I know JBL gets a lot of hate these days (most of it deserved) but he was really good in the 06/07 era. 

[DEF]

Funny I've just noticed this thread. I've just watched Taylor Vs the awesome Drew McDonald from FWA No Surprises 4. I loved him in his WWE stint. Always thought it was a shame he didn't get a better crack but to be fair he did probably seem both a bit vanilla and old to Vince. I thought he was cracking though.

[tiger_rick]

Cheers for posting that piece @JNLister, great stuff. Not seen it for ages but I remember loving Taylor's shoot. That interview is 24-carat too.

I don't think I've ever seen the Armageddon match where Mercury gets murdered. Will have to sort that.

[wandshogun09]

What happened with Dave Taylor and Tracy Smothers? I just watched the preview for his Highspots shoot on YouTube and when asked about a match with Smothers, Taylor goes ”We don’t have to go there, do we? He nearly killed me.” 

[IANdrewDiceClay]

3 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

What happened with Dave Taylor and Tracy Smothers? I just watched the preview for his Highspots shoot on YouTube and when asked about a match with Smothers, Taylor goes ”We don’t have to go there, do we? He nearly killed me.” 

I think he was just joking. They've been tag partners over the years. I think he was just putting over how tough Smothers was. Their match is on that DVD as an extra. They always say nice things about each other. They're both mad, so there has to be a gentlemans agreement they dont fight each other. One would have to die.

My favourite Dave Taylor moment is the story about Regal giving Van Hammer a good kicking at DDP's Christmas party. I dont even think Taylor was employed by WCW yet. But Hammer said something that offended Regal, so started laying the headbutts in. The best part is Taylor putting his drink down and standing next to the scrap with his fists up in case anyone tried to jump in. Like a rottweiler, protecting his owner. I dont even think Taylor knew what the fight was about, only that he had to make sure none of Hammer's mates jumped Lord Steven.

[Astro Hollywood]

The best Dave Taylor thing is the wacky conspiracy bit in Irvin Muchnick's Benoit book, painting him as the WWE's Winston Wolf, on clean-up duty and using a plate of luncheon meat as an alibi.

Quote

As far as newsworthy material, Chapter 10 is the highlight of the book. It reveals that minutes after the cops stupidly let neighbor Holly Schrepfer enter the house to corral the Benoit family's guard dogs, she encountered Dave Taylor and his wife walking down the block with a plate of cold cuts, almost as if they were going to a wake. There's nothing in the case file about this and the information was revealed in when the lawyers representing Michael Benoit (Chris's father) interviewed Schrepfer. Dave Taylor denied to Muchnick that he was there in phone interviews, claiming that he was in Texas for the WWE house shows and pay per view event even though he wasn't booked. No WWE records seem to indicate that he was there and wrestlers have refuted the idea that someone would fly to a tour of shows where he wasn't booked.