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Wrestling
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Tape Reviews
Taylor Matheny Shoot Interview
Posted by Brandon Truitt on Jan 12, 2004, 19:00
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Very light intro this week, as I'm devoting a lot of time to my DVD backlog, including a bunch of Ring Of Honor shows, The Shield season 2, and Return of the Living Dead.
The next shoot will probably be the Jim Cornette Q+A session from 1994 or the Highspots shoot with the late Crash Holly.
As always, you can feel free to Drop me an e-mail, read the archives, buy me stuff, or buy yourself stuff at Highspots.com.
Taylor Matheny Shoot Interview (2003)
Before I start, I�ll explain that Taylor was in Tough Enough 1 and was the runner-up to Nidia for the one women�s contract. By the next year, the contract situation was changed so that the two top choices would get contracts, which resulted in Jackie Gayda and Linda Miles (Shaniqua) getting contracts.
Also, going in, I�ll tell you that Highspots seems to have mastered this DVD ass backwards, as the first 30 minutes on the DVD take place after Taylor�s had a match in Japan and are supposed to be the second half of the interview. In the interests of my OWN sanity, I�ll do this in chronological order.
We start out with a nice video montage of her work in Japan, which is better than you�d expect given her Tough Enough background
Getting onto Tough Enough 1- She sent in a tape for her initial audition, which she almost didn�t do because she thought they were looking for people with some wrestling experience but she didn�t have any. She decided to do it after seeing the commercials for the show featuring some of the tapes that had been submitted, feeling that she had a shot if those were the ones being seen on TV. Of the 2000 tapes sent in, hers was one of the several hundred picked for a followup tryout in New York. Those were whittled down to about 25 semi-finalists, then the 13 who appeared on the show were picked from that group.
Her audition tape- She feels that hers wasn�t as animated or funny as the other ones she�s seen. She just stood there and talked to the camera, going down their list of qualifications.
Her gimmick name during auditions- She decided it was Golden for some reason.
We then get a copy of that audition tape. I�m not even going to bother recapping it as the gold standard, no pun intended, for the submission tapes has to be Chris Nowinski�s.
Finding out she�d made the first cut- She was excited because she�d been watching wrestling for a few years and thought it was something that she might want to get into. She was considering wrestling schools at the time but, since she had no ideas about which ones were legitimate, this ended up being a great opportunity.
What was she doing at that time? She was going to the University of Washington, where she was miserable at the time so going on the show was something she really needed.
One of the original choices pulled out because of something in the contract. What was that contract like? She didn't understand all the legalese but the gist of it was that you couldn�t say much about the show before those episodes were aired on TV and that the WWF retained the rights to bring them all back together, such as for the Reunion show they did.
People running Tough Enough-
Big John- Laid back, cool guy. Never heard of him before she was on the show.
Tazz- �Made me nauseated on a daily basis because I was so scared of him at first.� Once it got down to the final five people, he finally loosened up and they all had a good time. He wasn�t as hands-on as Al Snow but what he did came across well on TV.
Jackie- Very intense in the ring. Tried to come off as tough but she�s too nice. Always very friendly as well as a good trainer. At the end, they had a trainers vs. students match and Jackie gave her a nasty clothesline that nearly took her head off, but those things happen.
Al Snow- Her favorite. Very nice guy, like a father figure. Like a big sixteen year-old. He turned the final five like her into good wrestlers. He could be scary at times.
Tori- She looked up to Tori at first because she�d heard that Tori had been in Japan. Pretty quiet as a trainer but nice.
The house situation- They had a house provided to accommodate all 13 of them and had several SUVs for transportation. The phones were tapped and, if you said too much, you�d get a taped recording reminding them that it was going on TV. They were mic�ed all the time, even right before bed.
The camera situation- �They filmed everything.� They did have their time off but, generally, they were always there. All of the normal places (house, Trax, gym, etc.) were filmed on a regular basis but, if someone wanted to go someplace they normally didn�t go, the camera crew would have to come with them and wherever they went would have to sign a clearance for them to film.
Darryl- Goofy, nice guy. The problem was that he talked about himself too much and smelled bad. Nobody wanted to train with him because of the smell. He�s probably not a bad guy but certainly goofy. If he thought as highly of himself as it appeared on the show, he should have shut up because no one likes an arrogant ass.
Wrestling in the mud- Taz woke them up early in the morning, told them to get dressed in their worst clothes and boots, then drove them out to an animal farm. They weren�t sure what was going to happen until they saw two cones and some hoses softening up the ground for the mud pit. No one wanted to be out there but, once things started, they just went with it. She thinks she only got to go once, against Paulina.
Going to the Bahamas- That was during the middle of the show, as Kurt Angle surprised them at the house and let them know they were getting a few days vacation in the Bahamas. A lot of what they did was pre-planned, so it wasn�t very restful, and they were also nervous about what was going to happen when they came back considering they�d been off their training for a few days because of the trip. They got a lot of crap for going but it wasn�t like anyone was going to turn it down. �It was just part of the show.�
The fire in the house- She had lit a scented candle in the house but had it on the floor because there wasn�t a coffee table to put it on. She left the room for a second but, in the meantime, Josh Matthews and Maven started wrestling around there and accidentally knocked the comforter onto the candle, starting the fire. Luckily for them, she�d left a glass of juice near there which they poured on the flames. The carpet was discolored, the bed coverings were a total loss, and the bed itself was singed, but it could have been much worse.
Getting to go to a Pay Per View, a RAW, and a Smackdown three days in a row- First, they went to Providence and ended up in the front-row of a Smackdown. She�d never been anywhere near the front of the crowd before, so that was cool enough on its own but it got better because some of the wrestlers would acknowledge them because they knew Snow was training them. Later on, they did the three-day run where they went to Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Chicago. They helped set up the ring and crowd barriers at RAW and watching the rest of the crew set up all the lights and so forth. When they were at the Pay Per View, Al was pointing out specific things for them to look for in the match and trying to explain the psychology.
Was there ever a point where she thought about quitting? Not seriously, because she loved and hated it at the same time. Once it got down to her and Nidia, there was absolutely no way she was going to quit.
Was there anyone who quit or was cut that she was sad to see go? Shadrick for one, mainly because he was a nice, funny guy. Paulina leaving was another one, as she was friendly and would make sure the rest of the girls were all right. Greg leaving also hurt because he�d had a great chance to win it all before he got hurt.
Chicago- They went to a party at a club and were drinking. She thinks part of why she came off bad was that she doesn�t drink much but had a lot that night and ended up getting sick. She�d never had a crush on Maven but she was in a joking mood that night so, when Maven was trying to get her to kiss him, she did it as a joke. They went to Chris Nowinski�s parents� house the next day for breakfast but she couldn�t enjoy it because she was so sick from the night before.
Wrestlers she met around that time-
Triple H- He scared the Hell out of all of them. He was the first one to drop in at Trax and was one of the biggest names to do so. They didn�t know what was going on but were scared to death. Trips then brought them into the ring and gave his famous speech about what it takes to be in the business, which Taylor says is probably what scared off quite a few people.
Stephanie McMahon- Really cool and down to earth. She, Nidia, and Paulina went out for lunch one day.
Pat Patterson- Funny guy. They had to make him dinner and she thinks they probably did a bad job of it but that Pat was too nice to say so. She wishes they�d got to spend more time with him. She thinks in hindsight that Pat wanted them to show him their creative side but that everyone was too nervous.
Kurt Angle- He came in and told his story of transitioning from amateur wrestling and the Olympics to pro wrestling and that he didn�t take it seriously at first, which was why he turned down the WWF�s first offer to him.
Hardy Boyz and Lita- It was probably her favorite day because she was a big fan of their high-flying stuff. They heard all about how the Hardyz had started out in North Carolina with a bunch of other people in the WWF now and that Lita thought it was all a joke the first time she saw it but really loved it once she saw a different side of it.
Mick Foley- Cool guy. She didn�t know how big and tall he really was until he showed up. They�d heard a lot about him from Snow beforehand because of all the running jokes the two had.
Steve Austin- They didn�t know what was going on because they�d seen a limo from the second floor but no one had heard anything. It turns out that the doorbell was ringing but no one who heard it had answered it. When they finally opened the door, it turned out to be Austin. She adds, as an aside, that they�d tried the doorbell several times throughout the show and that it never worked whenever they�d tried it. Austin was cool when he talked to them.
Ivory- One of the coolest girls she�s met in wrestling. She wishes that Ivory had been one of her trainers. She�s still down to earth and hasn�t let what she�s done affect her. Very fun-loving and nice.
Going to Titan Towers- They worked out in the gym there every day. They�d occasionally see Stephanie and Shane McMahon in the gym as well as some of the wrestlers who lived in the area. They also had to go in and talk to Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn at the end of the show.
Vince McMahon- It�s intimidating to talk to him but he also seems very nice. She doesn�t even remember much about what was asked but gives examples of the general �Who did you get along with� and so forth questions. (Seems like Vince was trying to get a feel for how to fix the show for Tough Enough 2.)
Conversations with her parents- They just wanted to see her to do anything else because they thought there would be better futures in almost anything else. It didn�t help that they�d turn on the wrestling shows at the times when the women would be walking around in bikinis. She wishes they�d been more supportive, as they wanted to see her happy but didn�t seem to grasp why she was so interested in being a wrestler. She still wrestles, but not as often, and she�s going to go back to school soon.
The time between the last taped show and the live final episode, what was she doing? Just working out because there were no facilities for her to get in the ring in Seattle, where she lived.
The final episode- She was flown out there in August, a month before the final episode, and was given a lot of in-ring training that wasn�t filmed. All five finalists were told that they had to be prepared because the two winners would be on TV right after the final episode, which didn�t exactly happen. (Officially, I don�t think Nidia�s had a WWF match, although she�s been in bikini contests and did wrestle in OVW while she was there. Her role as Jamie Noble�s trashy girlfriend does work for her though.)
Was she feeling good about her chances at that time? Yes, very good.
The announcement of the winners- She was nervous by that time and she thinks she may have been preparing herself in case she wasn�t chosen, although she thought for a long time that she would win. She was crushed when Nidia won and cried a lot but was pissed at the same time. She wasn�t enjoying herself for a while after that.
Why do you think Nidia won? She�s got a more interesting look and has more of a model figure.
What do you think you�d be doing if you won? She never saw herself as getting into the business to be a valet like Nidia, although she�d do it if she was offered the position. If she�d won, she figures she�d be a wrestler instead.
The difference between her season of Tough Enough and the other two- She figures they made it a lot harder on the people involved, as she says the optimal fitness tests the people in the second season did �looked like Hell.� On the other hand, her group was the guinea pigs because they were the first group and the other groups got an idea of what to expect going in.
Independents in the US- It�s made her appreciate the kind of head start she got by being in Tough Enough. She has fun wrestling but she�s not sure if she can make a career of it.
Getting contacted by ARISON- Al Snow had trained someone at his school in Ohio who had gone on to work for the company. Al told her about the girl and put her in contact with her after she lost the Tough Enough contract. She found out that ARISON did not give the foreign talent the kind of rough treatment that Tori had gotten when she was in Japan. She went there for three months and learned a lot.
Jessica- Her ring-name is Bionic J and was trained by Al. She went to ARISON once, hated it, gave it another try, and is now in a monster heel position there. She�s very tough but became good friends with her. Very nice person.
The Japanese style and her preparation to work it- She flew into Japan and had three days to train before the first show. They did calisthenics, bumps, rolls, stretches, etc. then were thrown into a match. She�s thankful that she was in a 6-woman tag match with Melissa and Bionic J for her first match, which helped her adjust to the style.
Communication- Jessica taught herself Japanese, so she played translator for everyone. A few of the Japanese girls knew English as well. Many of the other ones knew some broken English. She had at least one match with someone who knew no English and it fell apart very quickly and they were unable to make much of it due to the communication barrier.
Is the Joshi style very physical? Yes, it�s very bump-intensive. �They�ll give you drop-kicks that�ll give you breast cancer.� She got knocked around quite a bit while she was there, and it didn�t help that Japan works a style in which you work the opposite side of the body than in the US. (I�m not 100% sure, but I think that the US works the left side of the body while Japan and Mexico work the right side of the body.)
Being put over in the first match- At the time, she didn�t realize how big of a deal it was for them to be put over Yoshida. She knew that Yoshida was obviously very good but didn�t know her position in the company. She feels in hindsight that they were being established as an American invasion force that were going to make a splash, which is why they were put over a top Japanese face so early in the tour.
Baby A- She�s MUCH smaller than Taylor, as she�s only 4�11�. However, she�s VERY good. Very fast and strong. Her size allows her to pull off all kinds of moves that few others can.
Tamada- They�d work a day or two before the match to learn each other�s moves. Tamada would also show her how to do take some of her signature moves. Very fun to work with.
Her first title shot- It was for a Junior belt against Fujita, which she feels was one of her best matches on the tour. It was a good match because Fujita used to be a gymnast and did a lot of high-flying spots. They got to work on a lot of stuff for a few days because it was taped for TV.
Michiko Omkai- She hits the hardest out of any of the women she faced. She�s one of the biggest faces in the company and very good in the ring. They had a few matches together, both singles and tag, and Omkai lays in her blows. She also critiques her opponents afterwards and will comment on and improvements they�ve made.
Who is the head of ARISON and did she have contact with them? The president is Rossi Ogawa, who came to all the matches and took care of her and Melissa. Nice guy.
Did she see the company�s competition? From what she�s seen, ARISON is probably #3 behind GAEA and All Japan Women. GAEA has a reputation for being very stiff and it appears they do a lot of hardcore stuff from the photos she�s seen. All Japan seems a lot more like ARISON and they have used a lot of the same talent. She saw the GAEA Girls film before she went over and was scared to go until Jessica assured her that she wouldn�t get the kind of harsh treatment dished out in the film.
The men�s promotion vs. the women�s promotions in Japan- The women�s organizations are completely separate from the men�s organizations for the most part. She only saw one show while she was there that had men�s and women�s matches on the same card. The men�s shows she went to, such as All Japan, New Japan, Zero One, and Toryumon, all drew bigger crowds than the women�s shows. She�s heard that GAEA�s shows draw big numbers, but that it�s supposedly because GAEA only holds one show a month as opposed to touring an having plenty of small shows.
Her favorite promotion to watch while she was over there? Toryumon, which was cool on several levels because Ultimo Dragon and his Toryumon guys would occasionally train with them.
Money in Japan vs. money in the US- She probably makes more by working US shows, but that�s because she�s not a big name yet in Japan. They aren�t allowed to set up a gimmicks table in Japan, which hurts her income because that�s an easy way to make money at the US shows.
Japan vs. the WWE- Japan is more match-oriented while the WWE is more entertainment-oriented. There are interviews after the match but she doesn�t think that the drama element is handled in the same fashion that they are in the US.
Imitation of the WWE in Japan- Outside of one girl doing the People�s Elbow in a match, there wasn�t much of one. When she went to a show in Japan that had US workers doing the US style, the crowd didn�t like it as much as the Japanese style matches. That may have been dependant on the wrestlers, though, as they popped hard for Goldberg.
All Japan bringing in Goldberg- Everyone was stunned. He went over on some of AJ�s top guys and did some of his very short matches.
Media attention for ARISON- Samurai TV covered them often. A lot of wrestling magazines did as well.
A typical week on tour in Japan- Monday through Friday would see two hours of training, an hour break, do two more hours of training, and you could do whatever you wanted after about 2:00. Considering how hot it was over there, she�d mostly just shower and chill out after that. The shows were scheduled irregularly and they could have one a week or a five day bus tour of shows.
Does she prefer Joshi style or WWE style? She prefers to mix it up. It�s hard to choose one style because a Joshi style match isn�t fully understood in the US and a WWE style match would be laughed at in Japan. The Joshi style doesn�t put as much of an emphasis on faces and heels. She likes how the Joshi style�s moves a lot
Has there been any kind of WWF contact since the Tough Enough Reunion show? Before the Reunion show, they did Fan Axxess at Wrestlemania. There hasn�t been anything since, though. If they ever called, she�d be happy, although she�s not waiting on them.
Has she gotten contact from any other US-based promotion? No, although she�s talked with Jeff Jarrett about other things.
The future of Tough Enough- She agrees with Triple H in part when he claims that the show is �too inside�, but feels that everyone already knows about it anyway so what�s one show going to change. She wouldn�t be surprised if there was a Tough Enough 4 but isn�t sure if there really should be. The personalities seen on the show tended to paint what characters people had afterwards, which worked out for Chris Nowinski �since he was a prick on the show� and he�s now a heel in the WWF. For everyone else, it tended to be counterproductive because they all acted nice and would tend to become babyfaces.
Nidia- She�s done a great job with the role she�s been given. Maven was always seen as the face of Tough Enough for the longest time, although Nidia�s starting to make a name for herself now.
Maven- He�s been hurt for a while but that they�ll probably push him.
Chris Nowinski- He�s good and it wasn�t a surprise that he�d get brought up to the WWF.
Josh Matthews- She, Josh, and Chris had worked a show shortly before she went to Japan. At that show, Josh said that he�d done a tryout camp but that nothing seemed to come of it. Since then, he�s been hired to do commentary and interviews for the WWF.
Does she watch the WWF product? Sometimes, although she mainly reads about it more.
Was there anything filmed for Tough Enough that would be a good story? There were a lot of little things, such as the challenges every weekend, and one of them was doing yoga with Tori. �If you wanted to see Darryl try to ball up and bend backwards�, it would have been hilarious.
Her website- www.taylorstuff.net, which has message boards, e-mail to contact her at, etc.
Taylor vs. Baby A- Taylor wins with a backslide. Certainly more hard-hitting than any matches involving other Tough Enough contestants� unless Bob Holly was involved.
Thoughts- It�s a nice, interesting look at the Tough Enough program and women�s wrestling in Japan. Unfortunately, it�s not a particularly long shoot and, with Joshi being largely ignored by many US fans and the Tough Enough franchise�s uncertain future, these are not subjects that will appeal to everyone. Tough Enough and Joshi fans should consider this shoot Recommended while everyone else should consider this a Recommendation to Avoid.
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