Shane Taylor says he wants to be professional wrestling’s next great knockout artist.
Ring Of Honor World Television Champion Shane Taylor spoke with Wrestlezone’s Bill Pritchard ahead of his title defense against Tracy Williams at Summer Supercard in Toronto. He has talked about knocking people down and out in his matches, treating each one like a fight. Taylor says he’d like to see winning by knockout gain more favor in wrestling, and said people like the excitement so it’s a goal of his to reintroduce it to ROH.
“Of course! This is combat sports. I grew up watching guys like [Chris] Hero do what they do and it surprises me in a sport like wrestling that you don’t have more knockouts, that’s what people like to see. Myself, I’m a huge boxing fan. I can appreciate not only great defense like a Floyd Mayweather but when people look at the excitement like a Mike Tyson or a Muhammad Ali brought to the ring, it’s because they put guys to sleep. That’s exactly what I do and that’s my goal. To not only let people understand that part of me and that mindset, but also reintroduce another style of winning matches to Ring of Honor.”
Taylor says he knows who he wants to be, and how he doesn’t want to be viewed by the wrestling audience. He says he won’t be providing any cheap fodder as a stereotypical black wrestling character, and wants to show people that he’s a fighter and will work for his family’s best interests.
“I want people to understand who I’m not first. Who I’m not is I’m not gonna be a guy who caters to their stereotypes of who I should be in a professional wrestling ring. Not in character, not when it comes to stereotypes of how black wrestlers should be portrayed. I’m not going to be anyone’s singer or dancer, I’m not going to shuck and jive, none of that. That’s what I’m not going to be.
What they’re going to see is a guy who’s been through hell to get to where he’s at and will go through even more to provide for his family. However I go about that is my choice, you can like it or you can dislike it. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is retaining my Ring of Honor Television Championship. What matters to me is collecting my checks. What matters to me is providing for my family by any means necessary.”
Taylor went on to explain that he does feel like some people have gotten away from the tired old tropes in wrestling, but he wants to lead the charge in making sure society gets away from that mindset and that it’s not just limited to wrestling. Taylor said people want something new, and you can only have so many “pimps and gangsters” before you get tired of it. He said he wants to make sure that they break the mold of what a black wrestler should be, and is working to “make sure that door stays open for the people coming after us.”
Check out the full interview below:
