Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio
Guest: "American Heartthrob" Chaz Taylor
Date: 12/20/14
Hosts: Patrick Kelley & James Walsh
If you grew up in the early 90's, you had a fantastic era of wrestling to watch every week. Heck, with the GWF, it was even everyday! One of the bright young stars of the GWF was Chaz Taylor, son of big-man Tugboat Taylor. The high flyer had many classic matches for that promotion including a victory over Sean "Lightning Kid" Waltman for the Light Heavyweight Title and the famed Bungee Chord match.
All of this plus talk of Shawn Michaels' TWA, ECW, and the Taylor's Pro Wrestling Factory in Houston, TX which is up and running now make up a fantastic hour long interview with the "Love Machine" himself!
A YouTube video is posted below. MP3 to follow shortly.
CHAZ TAYLOR:
We had the pleasure of sitting down with "Teen Heartthrob" Chaz Taylor to discuss his family's Taylor's Pro Wrestling Factory in Houston, Texas as well as go over some key career highlights including the GWF and the Bungee Chord Match, working for Shawn Michaels, and also Extreme Championship Wrestling. We also discuss the new direction of the NWA and how they are putting themselves back on the map. A fun hour long interview well worth the listen/watch!
On his father Tug Taylor's health: Tug is going through some troubles with his health. He tries to help out at the school but can't physically get involved. Chaz says he's happy to announce that he had a hoveround wheelchair donated to him as a surprise gift after they donated time to a local charity. He says that much ahs been good for him as he can get around again.
On GWF being on ESPN Classic: Chaz says it is cool to be able to look back at what he did a lifetime ago on TV still. He says it is something he's proud of and the GWF days were some of his best. On being the "Teen Heart Throb": Chaz says he got the name because the girls would scream for him so it just came to be the name. He also went by "American Heart Throb" when pulling off a teen was more difficult.
On the end of GWF: Chaz says every time he'd get hurt, he'd return to a promotion just in time for it to be closing or the company would have closed before he'd be back in the ring. This happened with Global. He says the local ratings were still strong but the magic from the ESPN days were long over.
On working with Shawn Michaels in the TWA: A fun fact shared is that Shawn Michaels, despite being billed from San Antion, also came from the same town in Iowa that Chaz and Tug Taylor came from. So, they have that in common. He says he and Michaels got along great and he was helped a lot in the TWA as well as helped to train there. But, once again, an injury sidelined him. When he called Michaels back to return, Michaels basically said he was not involved anymore and that was that.
On his ECW run: Chaz loved his ECW run though wishes he had a chance to have worked there more. He says the same injury that put him out of TWA is what put him out of ECW.
On comparing the ECW Arena to the Sportatorium in Dallas: Chaz says he considers it an honor to have worked in both buildings. He says the buildings were a lot different but gave off some of the same vibes. He also says that he really enjoyed wrestling in the legendary Paul Boesch building in Houston.
On the Taylor Wrestling Academy: Chaz says the school is located in Houston and it is the best place to learn the ropes from true professionals who will teach you every aspect of the business.