Blue Bloods
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Blue Bloods | |
|---|---|
 "Squire" Dave Taylor, "Lord" Stephen Regal, and "Earl" Robert Eaton in WCW (ca. 1995) |
|
| Tag team | |
| Members | William Regal Dave Taylor |
| Name(s) | Blue Bloods William Regal and Dave Taylor |
| Heights | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) - Regal 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) - Taylor |
| Combined weight | 214 kg (472 lb) |
| Former members | "Earl" Robert Eaton |
| Debuted | 1995 - WCW October 20, 2006 - WWE |
| Promotions | WCW DSW WWE |
The Blue Bloods was the name of a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling that consisted of "Lord" Steven Regal, "Earl" Robert Eaton, and "Squire" David Taylor, along with their butler Jeeves that operated in the late 90s.
In 2006 Regal (with his ring name changed to William) and Taylor reunited as a tag team on the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment, without the "Blue Blood" name.
In May 2002, Taylor, Regal and Irish wrestler Dave Finlay opened the Atlanta Blue Bloods Wrestling Academy, a professional wrestling school. The Academy closed in 2005, after having trained wrestlers such as Chris Hero.
[edit] World Championship Wrestling
The Blue Bloods were formed in 1995 in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) by Regal after he split with his manager, Sir William and became a tag team wrestler. Regal recruited Alabama-born Bobby Eaton, renaming him "Earl Robert Eaton" and taking it upon himself to teach himself the finer points of the British lifestyle; including the Queen's English and proper dining etiquette.
The team feuded with Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) and the team of Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater over the WCW World Tag Team Championship but never got their hands on the titles. Soon they were joined by "Squire" David Taylor and a butler named Jeeves whom they openly abused. Eaton eventually left the group, leaving Taylor and Regal to feud with him.
Taylor and Regal continued to team together until Regal was released from WCW in 2000, at which point Taylor also left the promotion.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
Regal went to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and by 2001, Taylor joined him in the company, acting as a trainer and wrestler in the Heartland Wrestling Association, a subsidiary of the WWF for a brief period before leaving the company.
In January 2006, Taylor was hired by World Wrestling Entertainment to train wrestling students in their Deep South Wrestling (DSW) training territory, and on March 23 returned to the DSW ring to team with former partner Regal.
Meanwhile, Regal was being mocked and made to look foolish on SmackDown!. On the October 20 episode he announced that he was sick of being a "laughing stock" on the brand and re-introduced the national audience to Taylor, who was joining him as a tag team partner. The two debuted as a team the same night, defeating the team of Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki easily. Though they had reunited, they used no parts of their previous "Blue Bloods" gimmick, instead becoming sadistic fighters, willing to go to just about any lengths for a win.
The team was quickly put into jeopardy, however, when in their second match Taylor suffered a (legit) torn meniscus in his left knee, leaving him injured and on the shelf for a number of weeks. Unable to wrestle, Taylor took a more relaxed role as something of a cornerman for Regal until he healed enough to wrestle again. While he was out Regal began the opening stages of a feud with the WWE Tag Team Champions, Paul London and Brian Kendrick, by defeating both men in singles matches, and upon Taylor's return they beat the champions in non-title tag team competition. Having proved their worth they earned a title shot at Decembers Armageddon pay-per-view, but just beforehand it was changed to a fatal-four way ladder match also involving MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) and The Hardys (Matt and Jeff), during which both Taylor and Regal displayed a (kayfabe) fear of heights which prevented them from retrieving the belts and winning the match. In a subsequent regular tag rematch on SmackDown! Regal and Taylor came up short of winning the titles.
