For the past four or so years, I’ve been anticipating the day when I wake up, check the internet, and see rumors that independent wrestling star Chuck Taylor has signed a WWE deal. It hasn’t happened so far, and for the life of me, I don’t know why. He’s consistently one of the most entertaining guys out there, and he makes himself hard to ignore. When he’s not wrestling, maybe he’ll be posting an episode of The Gentleman’s Club, his hilarious and wildly inappropriate web series. One of the recurring characters is a gay, sentient pile of swamp moss. Quite simply, the man knows how to entertain.
Naturally, I was very excited to see that Taylor finally posted his mini-documentary of his travels to China. He and about twenty other wrestlers (including Johnny Gargano, Chikara’s Fire Ant and Silver Ant, Mia Yim, Ivelisse Velez, and Rousey-chop recipient Biff Busick) made a historic excursion in November, when EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA made a four-show tour of China, eventually wrapping up in Beijing’s MasterCard Center. The entire 38-minute video is available right now on Chuck’s YouTube channel, where you can also find all the episodes of The Gentleman’s Club. If you’re free during your lunch break or something, check it out!
My favorite parts:
- Incessant awkward close-ups of Trent?, Taylor’s frequent tag-team partner
- The general antics of Rich Swann, a.k.a. “SPACE HOMIE” MIKE SMITH
- Taylor’s tone-deaf covers of “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”
- AR Fox’s hot new single, “Iced-Out Panda Dancing in China”
- Adorable Chinese schoolchildren swarming the strange American wrestlers
- Taylor shotgunning Chinese beer like it’s the easiest thing in the world
China was not ready for them, I guarantee it. Also, I absolutely love the camaraderie on display here. If you don’t want to party with the EVOLVE/DGUSA roster by the time this video is through, I don’t know what to tell you. If any of these wrestlers make their way through your neck of the woods, please make an effort to support them (and independent wrestling in general).
