Dave Taylor (wrestler)
| Birth name | David Taylor |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 May 1957 Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dave Taylor David Taylor Tim Shea |
| Billed height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Billed weight | 115.5 kg (255 lb) |
| Billed from | Queensbury, West Yorkshire, England |
| Trained by | Eric Taylor Jack Taylor |
| Debut | 1978 |
| Retired | 2012 |
David Taylor (born 1 May 1957) is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with World Championship Wrestling from 1995 to 2000 and with World Wrestling Entertainment from 2006 to 2007.
A third-generation wrestler, Taylor was trained by his father Eric Taylor (who held the British Heavy-Middleweight title for the 14 years 1953–67) and grandfather Joe. After winning several awards as an amateur wrestler, Taylor made his professional debut in 1978 under the ring name Dave "Rocky" Taylor.
Taylor eventually joined All Star Wrestling, making his terrestrial TV debut in 1987 when the company gained a share of ITV's wrestling coverage. In early 1988, he was tangentially involved in the falling out of Kendo Nagasaki and Rollerball Rocco when he and 'Ironfist' Clive Myers faced the duo in a televised contest in Croydon. Taylor was attempting, mid-match, to unmask Nagasaki and had nearly succeeded when Rocco intervened. Rocco attempted to pull the mask back down, but Taylor forearm-smashed Rocco, causing the mask to come off in his hands. As Taylor and Myers celebrated, Kendo fled to the dressing room and returned with another mask. Kendo's manager George Gillette blamed Rocco for the unmasking, igniting a major feud that would run on into the early 1990s.
Taylor defeated Dave Finlay for the All-Star British Heavyweight Championship in King's Lynn on 4 June 1991. He held the title for two years before losing to Tony St. Clair on 4 May 1993 in Croydon. After St. Claire vacated the title in 1995, Taylor entered a tournament for the belt, and defeated Marty Jones in the tournament final in August 1995 in Croydon. His second reign lasted until 1996, when he was defeated by Jones in Croydon.
In the early 1990s, Taylor began wrestling for the German Catch Wrestling Association. On 21 December 1991 in Bremen, he and Chris Benoit defeated Franz Schumann and Miles Zrno for the CWA World Tag Team Championship. They vacated the titles in June 1992 after Taylor suffered an injury and Benoit left the CWA to compete in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Taylor won the CWA Tag Team Championship on a second occasion on 18 July 1993, teaming with Mile Zrno to defeat Larry Cameron and Mad Bull Buster. Cameron and Buster regained the titles on 24 October 1993 in Hanover.
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