At this point, it goes without saying that everyone’s 2020 plans have changed. And even though we’re near the end, this year continues to throw curveball after curveball at us. For example, a number of Ring of Honor wrestlers recently tested positive for COVID-19. Unfortunately, this affected a number of matches scheduled for this weekend’s Final Battle event, including Shane Taylor’s scheduled Six-Man Tag Team Championship match with the Soldiers of Savagery against the reigning and defending champions the Mexisquad.
However, this setback isn’t going to deter the leader of Shane Taylor Promotions. Armed with invaluable experience, determination, and a chip on his shoulder, the former ROH World Television Champion still has some lofty goals for himself and his associates.
In our conversation with Shane Taylor ahead of ROH Final Battle, he discusses his plans moving forward, how he got to where he is now, and his aspirations to break records set by Jay Lethal and Samoa Joe:
GeekAnything: “Card Subject to Change” has always been a disclaimer in professional wrestling, but 2020 seems to be abusing it. This pandemic has changed the way every promotion runs its shows. How do you feel about the way Ring of Honor has been handling the pandemic compared to other wrestling companies?
Shane Taylor: Ring of Honor has proven to be ahead of the curve not only in our in ring ability and presentation but also in our response to battling Covid-19.
Ring of Honor didn’t fire anybody. They’ve continued to pay every performer including our overseas brothers and sisters who can’t even come over for the TV and PPV tapings. It allows us to just focus on training and taking care of our families. Now more than ever, the less you have to stress over the better.
GA: While the pandemic has affected wrestling as a whole, COVID has thrown a wrench in your Final Battle plans. You and the Soldiers of Savagery were set to take on the MexiSquad for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Titles until Bandido and Flamita tested positive. How disappointed are you that this match has to be postponed?
ST: Becoming a champion in Ring of Honor makes you a part of a lineage, a heritage, a history unlike any other. The list of Ring of Honor champions reads like a who’s who of the professional wrestling world and having that opportunity taken from you is devastating, of course.
I’ve been a Ring of Honor World Television Champion. So while I’m disappointed, I’ve been there before. What gets to me more is that Kaun & Moses won’t have their opportunity to become champions. A moment that they’ve worked so incredibly hard for and that we as a team have planned and strategized for. We want to be examples to our community and our peers and part of leading the way we want and having that platform is winning championships and establishing our legacies.
GA: After some epic matches with Kenny King and Brody King recently, you’ve continuously proven that you’re a key player in Ring of Honor. With your initial Final Battle plans altered, could we see Shane Taylor remind other ROH champions like Jonathan Gresham, Dragon Lee, or Rush of that fact on December 18th instead?
ST: If there’s ANY Ring of Honor champions that don’t realize that not only have I been a key player, but arguably the MVP of Ring of Honor for the last three years, then they’d better wake up and do so quickly. Every time I step in that ring, I do so with the intent of proving that I’m the baddest of all-time, that I embody the spirit of the same originals who helped pave the way for all of us in ROH. The guys told they weren’t aesthetically pleasing enough. The guys told you’ll NEVER be what they’re looking for. The guys told you’ll NEVER be a true star. I take that stuff to heart and every MOTN or MOTY performance I put on is a big middle finger to every hater, every naysayer, every executive, every person that doesn’t see who I am, what I’m all about, and what I’m here to do and capable of being for a very long time.
GA: Speaking of Kenny King, he was a mentor that helped shape you into who you are today. Now, you get to do the same for Moses and Kaun. What are some things that you learned from King and other mentors in or out of the ring that you have passed down to them? And what are the things they can only learn from you?
ST: There are too many lessons that I’ve learned from Kenny and Ray [Rowe AKA Erik of The Viking Raiders in WWE] in AND out of the ring to even begin to pick and choose. But more importantly, from their lessons, I think I gained confidence in myself and the resolve to be unapologetically me. Obviously, you have to be smart and not jeopardize your livelihood and ability to feed your family but also stand firm in your beliefs, stay steadfast in your convictions and be willing to take the consequences of those beliefs. I’m very outspoken about social issues, about injustices, about racial issues not only in my community but in professional wrestling and it’s because I want it to change. I’ll stand by that and I’ll continue to fight and make my voice heard in order to make that change.
GA: With 2020 coming to an end, what can we expect from Shane Taylor Promotions in the new year? What are some goals that the three of you hope to achieve in 2021?
ST: You can expect Shane Taylor Promotions to grow and dominate going into 2021. The World Six-man championships are still the goal. Kaun and Moses will carve out their legacies on my watch, but also the Ring of Honor World Championship is becoming an all-encompassing thought.
Only one other man has made the climb I’m trying to make, and that’s Jay Lethal. I want nothing more than to add my name to that list, to climb that mountain, and carve my name into it. It’s what drives me, and hopefully, after Final Battle, that’s evident to everyone in the back and everyone at home.
GA: Collaboration between wrestling companies seems to be the talk of the town right now, but ROH has been doing that with international promotions for years. If you could have an inter-promotional match right now, who would you want your opponent to be? Maybe another mentor vs student match with Ray Rowe? Or a showdown between former partners to show Keith Lee what you’ve become without him?
ST: I’d love to fight Keith. I’d love to fight Ray. Both of those men bring the best out of me… But there’s one guy that I think fans would love to see me fight and who I think we’re almost mirror images of each other mentally… and that’s Samoa Joe.
His Ring of Honor World Championship run was legendary and the day I win the ROH World Title is the day I set my sights on breaking his records.
GA: Finally, since our site is called GeekAnything, is there anything (aside from wrestling) that you consider yourself a geek of?
ST: I’m a huge fan of video games and of boxing. I could talk all day about the latter and the former brings me such peace that they’re a huge part of getting my mind right and focused.
You can watch Ring of Honor’s Final Battle on Friday, December 18th at 8:00pm EST on PPV, Fite TV, or HonorClub.
