Shane Taylor discusses his AEW Rampage debut and his match at ROH Final Battle.
Taylor appeared on AEW TV for the first time on the December 2 episode of AEW Rampage. There, he confronted his former tag team partner, Keith Lee, and challenged him to a match a ROH Final Battle. Taylor, a former ROH World Television Champion and ROH World-Six Man Tag Team Champion, will team up with JD Griffey to face Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland).
Speaking on Knockouts and 3 Counts, Taylor discussed his debut on AEW Rampage. When the hosts noted that it was overdue, Taylor described how he didn't blame AEW, as there was an influx of talent in the wrestling world when ROH went on hiatus after Final Battle 2021.
"This is the thing about wrestling. You can’t really blame them. They’re going with the best options that they feel they have available at the time when you have a situation like when ROH closed down, there was a bunch of releases from WWE as well. It’s this surge of talent that you didn’t expect to have fall into your lap, and you sift through however you can. You go with the best options that you feel as though you have available, as with any group, any company, any sport. You have a whole bunch of free agents that come in, you’re gonna go with the most notable first, and then work your way through the whole group. So it was a matter of timing, it was a matter of opportunity. It just so happens that it’s lining up right now. To sit here and think about what could have been, what should have been, makes nobody any difference. It doesn’t do anybody any good. It doesn’t make anybody any money," Taylor said.
Taylor turned his attention to his upcoming match at ROH Final Battle 2022 and stated that it will be his "Jay-Z moment" because he intends to reintroduce himself. He made it clear that he plans to show everyone who has been a fan of him what he can do, and he's also determined to prove himself to people who aren't familiar with him.
"My job now is now that I have this, now that we’re in this tag team match, myself and JD Griffey against Swerve in Our Glory at Final Battle, my job now is to go out and do what everybody who’s been a fan of me for years knows that I can do, and to now show whoever doesn’t know who I am, like we said before, this is my Jay-Z moment. Allow me to reintroduce myself. Let me show you why I am Shane T, the baddest champion you’ve ever seen, the baddest of all time, why I am every bit the guy that I say I am," Taylor said.
Given the way his team with Lee previously ended when his partner left ROH, Taylor compared the Final Battle match to a game where one gets to play a team that traded them away. He stated that he's excited and motivated for the opportunity, and he's also looking forward to facing Strickland for the first time.
“Now for me, it’s like that team that traded you. You get to play them again, and you didn’t think that you were gonna get that chance. So now we’re here. Now we’re at a point to where we can get the matchup that people have been talking about for years, that nobody thought was actually gonna happen, and now we get to deliver that live on pay-per-view. So I’m incredibly excited. I’m incredibly motivated. I am looking forward to not only stepping in the ring with Keith, but stepping in there with a good friend of mine in JD Griffey and stepping in there for the first time with Swerve Strickland. For whatever reason, we’ve never competed against each other, so now we get to do that. There’s so many emotions in this match, there’s so much to draw from, there’s so many great stories to tell, and I’m excited, man. It’s an opportunity to open a lot of eyes and close any mouth that has anything to say," he said.
Keith Lee previewed the tag team match and noted that he's looking forward to competing in his home state. Check out his comments here.
Ian Riccaboni recently stated that ROH HonorClub might return soon. Click here to see what he had to say.
In an interview, Tony Khan addressed criticism regarding the introduction of new talent on AEW TV. More information is available here.
Check out the updated card for ROH Final Battle here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
