"THE
LONE GUNMAN"
JOHN TAYLOR
Nicknames:
"The Hitman Of HKWF", "The
Faceless Assassin" "El Pistolero Solitario", "El Tirador
Emboscado"
Age: 33
Height: 6'4
Weight: 244lbs
Hometown: Rapid City, South Dakota
Theme Music: "In The Event That Everything Should Go Terribly
Wrong" by Every Time I Die
Alignment: Heel
Gimmick:
Loner. Antisocial. Selfish, now beginning to lead a little towards egomaniacal. Cynical of others with high
hopes. Will avoid forming many, if any at all, personal ties within the
business. Secretive, will try as much and as best as possible to keep any
personal/family issues/history to himself. On the other hand, will not hesitate
to dig up dirt/past history on opponents. Will rarely trust anyone. Has little
time for those he sees as weaker, less intelligent, less capable than himself.
Seasoned veteran that has only recently began to reach his fullest potential. Is often
bitter/critical of youngsters/rookies that receive more opportunities and
executive attention than he did before.
Wrestling Style:
Generally mat-based technical with International Junior Heavyweight influences,
also perfectly able to adapt to a number of other styles in order to counteract
some of the more unorthodox CCW competitors. Won't
hesitate to cheat if opportunity beckons. He is skilled in martial arts and has
lots of experience in Japanese Puroresu and Mexican wrestling and fighting
styles. Mostly tries to stay grounded. Doesn't take many risks. Can become
obsessive at picking on opponents' weaknesses. When competing against
cruiserweights, he will take more chances and generally put on a more exciting,
fast-paced match.
IMPACT MOVES:
*Denotes moves used mostly against cruiserweights/opponents in and around his
own size or smaller
Running Shoulderbreaker*
Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex*
Overhead Belly-To-Belly Suplex
Cloak & Dagger*
Gordbuster onto top rope plants opponent standing on apron. Taylor follows
through with a swift, precise roundhouse kick to the temple knocking them onto
the floor. Taylor is known to pull out this move during Battle Royales.
High-Angled Release German Suplex*
Think Rob Van Dam. Occasionally executed from second rope.
Northern Lights Suplex w/ Bridge
T-Bone Powerslam*
i.e. Shelton Benjamin’s Finisher.
Vicious Reprisal
Stiff Brainbuster, setup for Swandive Headbutt.
Monkey Flip
Superkick*
Pinpoint Accuracy
Olympic Slam setup quickly into a Snowplow.
The Violence Of Silence
Taylor grabs opponent from behind in sleeper position, then executes a swift
crack of the neck. Often used in tag matches when bailing out a partner or if
interfering in a match, i.e. Taylor stalks victim from behind unbeknownst to
them, executes the move and escapes without attracting much attention.
Multiple Chop Blocks
Anywhere from three to ten, in quick succession. Used mostly against larger
opponents, with the idea being to frustrate them rather than to do much serious
damage. Depending on opponent’s reaction, Taylor may sometimes go straight for
the Silencer after connecting with a series of chop blocks.
Nip-up Hurracanra*
As performed by AJ Styles. Very rarely used.
Martial Arts Kicks
Targeted and precise, generally to the head or legs. Somewhat in the vein of
Tajiri, Ken Shamrock, Steve Blackman or Al Snow.
Fireman’s Carry Rolling Slam
As used by Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho.
Underhook/Overhook Suplex
As used by Kurt Angle.
450 Splash
Very rarely used. Has been known to pull this out when all else
fails and go for the win, e.g. at the end of the LotC 2004 Final.
SUBMISSION MOVES:
*Denotes moves attempted/used in most matches
Butterfly Lock
Camel Clutch*
Figure Four Leg Lock*
Reverse Figure Four Leg Lock
Crossface Chickenwing*
Cobra Clutch
Guillotine Chokehold
As used by Jamie Noble. Rarely used, but often pulled out for big matches.
Won GZW2K1 Light Heavyweight Championship from Hades Fiery with this move.
Alternative submission finisher.
Infiltration*
A string of varying submission holds on an opponent in quick succession,
generally to embarrass an opponent by proving his technical superiority.
Depending on match, can be simple or very complex. Taylor generally won’t hold
each hold long enough for opponent to tap out, but will usually finish with an
attempted Silencer.
Dragon Sleeper*
Front Facelock*
PRIMARY FINISHING MOVE:
The Silencer
Setup for regular Sharpshooter. Attacker steps over victim's
left leg with his right leg, grabbing said leg with his right arm in the
process. Differs from Sharpshooter in that attacker doesn't grab victim's
free right leg at the same time, opting to catch it between the thigh and calf
of his right leg whilst turning victim onto victim's stomach and fully locking
on the hold. When locked in, attacker should have victim's left leg secure
with attacker's right arm, and victim's right leg should be trapped inside
attacker's right leg, appearing to 'bisect' victim's own left leg. This
move will render victim's lower body completely immobile, with all the pressure
concentrated on victim's left knee area due to the other leg being
simultaneously trapped. Attacker's left leg should be free, allowing him
to secure and immobilise victim's right arm, if necessary to prevent victim from
reaching ropes. In general, if Taylor locks this in, he won't let go.
Set-Up:
This can vary, as Taylor will generally go for the Silencer whenever he can.
His preferred set-up is a swift toe kick to the opponent's shin, hooking
something of a drop toe hold as they fall, and rolling into the Silencer, one
leg already clamped down. Taylor will often use a dragon screw leg whip if too
tired to perform the more energetic modified drop toe hold. Once in a blue moon,
he will execute a victory roll from the top rope and move in for the Silencer.
IMPACT FINISHERS:
Swandive Headbutt
Aerial Finisher.
Shell Shock
Basically a sitout Dominator. Can be used as an alternate finisher as
sometimes Taylor will simply make the cover or else not let go of the gutwrench
and integrate the hold with a body scissors looking for the submission victory.
Samurai Bomb
Sudden, short, side-drop powerbomb in which attacker drops to his own knees as victim
comes crashing to the mat. Very much an out-of-the-blue finisher. Taylor will mostly go straight for a roll-up after
this move. Mostly used against Cruiserweights, although he will sometimes pull
this out on a larger opponent. Used by El Samurai of NJPW.
OTHER MOVES:
*Denotes frequent use
Short-Arm Clothesline*
Snap Suplex
Flying Elbow Drop
Fireman's Carry*
Spear takedown followed by dirty punches to the head (As used by HHH)*
Swinging Neckbreaker
Arm-wrench and hook kick a la Booker T
Suicide Dive to outside
High knee strike to face*
Top-Rope Double Arm Suplex*
Various heel trips/takedowns*
Knife-Edge Chops*
Victory Roll
Improvised strings of suplexes a la Tazz*
Front Face DDT
Single Arm DDT
All variations of gutbusters and back breakers*
Stinger Splash in corner*
Points To Note:
As Taylor is neither particularly strong nor particularly fast, neither huge nor
small, he frequently relies on using his opponents' speed, size, power, etc. to
his own advantage. For example, with a bigger opponent, he might trick them into a
test of strength type exchange, only to perform an underhanded low blow,
jawbreaker, etc. With smaller guys he tends to let them wear themselves out
first, before moving in for the kill.
From over a decade of experience, Taylor is well versed in submission manoeuvres
and it is rare to find a hold that he cannot reverse or at least escape from.
From his time in MCWO and HKWF, Taylor has a lot of experience against both high
flying luce libre styles and weapon oriented, hardcore styles. It isn't often
that he will use or attempt to use either, but he is capable of some of the
basics of both.
Whilst Taylor is not a “cheater”, per se, he has little moral objection to
bending the rules in his favour. He will rarely, if ever, blatantly cheat in
front of the referee, but will be quick to pick up on any possible advantage to
the referee being distracted. Is well known for holding illegal holds until the
count of four and nine tenths.
Frequently, Taylor will have to rely on his intelligence, especially if up
against a quicker or more powerful opponent. When facing an unfamiliar opponent,
he will always learn as much about them as possible, so as to be able to adapt
to their style, play up on their weaknesses, prevent them from playing up on
their strengths and whatnot.
Career Highlights:
GZW Lord Of The Coliseum 2004
CCW Unified Heavyweight Champion (GZW & HKWF World Heavyweight Champion
simultaneously)
HKWF World Heavyweight Champion
GZW World Heavyweight Champion
GZW Wrestler Of The Month: June, October 2004
GZW Light Heavyweight Champion
DCW North American Champion
XFWF World Heavyweight Champion
MCWO Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (2)
MCWO Junior Heavyweight Champion
Entrance:
The lone, gut-wrenching introductory guitar riff of Every Time I Die's "In
The Event That Everything Should Go Terribly Wrong" escapes the sound
system as the lighting in the arena turns to grey, giving the impression that
the entire arena is being captured through a black & white camera. As the
almost animalistic drum work and Keith Buckley's distant, inaudible vocals kick
in, the lighting turns to a "night-vision" style red. Shown on the
Zerotron are various clips of John Taylor competing against various wrestlers; some masked Mexicans, Asians, unknown Caucasians as well as the likes
of "Smooth Operator" Billy Bond, James "Monarch" Corbin, Hades Fiery, Pimp Bizkit and "El
Gambit" Santiago DeTouwce, amongst others. Both the GZW2K1 and HKWF World Heavyweight
Championship belts draped rigidly over either shoulder, The Lord Of The
Coliseum, "The Lone Gunman" John Taylor, steps out onto the stage to a
vicious amount of heel heat. Completely focused, he marches methodically down
the walkway.
Reaching the ring apron, Taylor slowly removes the title belts from his shoulders
and slides them into the ring under the bottom rope. Paying absolutely no attention to the hostile
crowd surrounding him, he ascends the steps before stepping slowly through the
middle and top rope. Taylor scoops up the belts and holds them high above his head,
to a less than enviable crowd reaction. Handing his prized posessions
carefully to the referee, Taylor throws a number of rapid punches and tugs at
the ropes, warming himself up as the
lighting returns to normal and his music slowly fades to silence.
Ring Attire:
Unmarked black/dark grey or camouflage tights, tucked in to a pair of short,
dark combat boots. Taylor will always wear a pair of well-worn, fingerless,
black leather gloves. This originated from his time working the more hardcore
style of HKWF, but he now wears them for custom and luck. Will usually tape up
his hands inside the gloves anyway. Also wears a plain pair of black elbow pads.