Terry Taylor

[7.0] "Talented worker but no potential to be a top guy because he utterly lacked the entertainment or charisma factor."

[7.0] "A very clear example of wasted potential. A great technical wrestler who rightfully showed great promise during his time in the territories, but lost all chances of success after just one gimmick, and never recovered from that shame, and never achieving more success in the industry."

[6.0] "Terry Taylor was a good territory worker who got given the horrible Red Rooster gimmick in WWE. He was alright in WCW as the Taylor Made Man but failed to stand out. Good worker who didn't have the charisma to stand out in the large promotions but worked well in the territories."

[5.0] "Never should have gone to the WWF. He didn't have the right amount of charisma or the size and the look to compete with the larger than life cartoony WWF roster. Taylor was like a few NWA guys that came in for a cup of coffee or a year or two, did nothing of note and went back to a place where their style is more appreciated. Course everybody in internetland knows about the gimmick that many say killed his career. Honestly? He was never going to be IC or World champion in the WWF and doubtful he would make it as far as WCW champ in WCW. A lower midcard wrestler who could make the heels or baby faces look good. Some people say he had a negative attitude behind the scenes. Especially Jim Cornette who said he was a snitch for Vince Russo at one point (can't trust anybody that ferrets intel for Russo! ) The idea he was supposed to be Mr Perfect instead of Curt Hennig sounds laughable. I'm willing to bet either Vince McMahon or somebody in the front office said it kinda sarcastically or in joking, and Taylor immediately took them at face value. No question Curt Hennig was the right person to play Mr Perfect! Even without the Rooster gimmick, Taylor most likely wouldn't have gone farther than he did so I am not convinced he was robbed of his career by the gimmick. At best, Terry Taylor looked like Diet Ric Flair. Same hair style, same initial placement on his attire and even wore his knee pads in the same fashion!"

[7.0] "Extremely UNDERRATED talent. Terry Taylor was a great white meat babyface. He was over in that role in every territory/promotion he went until Vince Jr gave him the career killing Red Rooster gimmick."

[7.0] "Peaks and valleys: Not so high peaks - Red Rooster valleys. I love his Mid South white meat eye candy babyface, call it a guilty pleasure. After this things got a lil rocky for Taylor for a long time but at least in WCCW he was a big fish in a small pond and made the most of it. His WWF tenure was one long punishment for his demeanor behind the scenes and will forever haunt him. No one will ever have honest love for The Red Rooster, but lucky for him I DID like watching him lose during this debacle. Arguably his pinnacle was The Taylor Made Man along with his role in The York Foundation, here is where i feel he came into his own as a ring competitor and all of his WCW work around this time is recommended viewing (a bit of a hidden gem if you will). We also enjoyed the tag team with Greg Valentine, which didn't occur as often as I would have liked. He had a great looking gutwrench powerbomb, always kept in tremendous physical condition and I confess I have a soft spot for him. 6.75 rounded up."

[0.0] "An agonizingly boring wrestler with delusions of adequacy, and by all accounts one of the most ragingly and openly racist folks in modern wrestling history on top of it."

[6.0] "Yeah Taylor might have had that one really great match with Flair (and let's just face it: Flair made almost anyone look amazing, it's not a big feat) but he was really nothing worth mentioning even in his prime years. Could he have improved and gotten to a point where he could have been more? Maybe. Did the Rooster gimmick kill any chance of that happening? Pretty much, but I'd argue that worse gimmicks existed and said wrestlers got them over regardless of how bad they objectively were. The guy just wasn't much charisma wise and for all of his technical gifts, he was missing a real x factor to his style: just seemed kinda bland in what I've seen of him out there."

[6.0] "Was a good Wrestler in Mid South but in both WCW and more WWF was not used correctly. His career never really recovered from the Red Rooster Gimmick."

[6.0] "Solid, but nothing extraordinary. His work in the NWA and Bill Watts UWF was far superior to his WWF days. Was a decent ring technician, and had solid but not great matches. I loved his heel turn on Chris Adams in the UFW, and also his mini NWA feud with Buddy Landell when he played a face."

[6.0] "Taylor was a solid grappler who could competently play a face or a heel, work singles or tag and put on matches that made both himself and his opponents look good. He's also a versatile individual in various aspects of wrestling, having had notable roles in booking, scouting, training and even commentary in addition to his in-ring work. However, there was a specific reason he wasn't able to rise higher through the ranks during his in-ring career than he did, and it's rather sad that perhaps his greatest legacy among fans is serving as an example of how a bad gimmick (the Red Rooster during his WWF run) can irreparably damage a wrestler's career."

[4.0] "Taylor was a great worker and didn't get the run his talents deserve. And his creative efforts were really good as well. But he gets a low rating for failing the stooge test."

[8.0] "It is sad so many think of the "Red Rooster" when thinking of Terry Taylor. As a child I remember his time in the Mid South where he competed against Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship. Taylor was a very good wrestler whose in-ring career was ruined by his run in the WWF, but his life has benefited from his numerous jobs under Vince's banner."

[8.0] "Underrated Individual in wrestling. People will ask me who he is/was Terry Taylor? Well, he was a great wrestler with skill for his craft. One of the best underrated heels in wrestling. He had great runs in Florida, AWA, and NWA but when it came to WWF well that a hole other story. He had that cheesy gimmick of the Red Rooster which affected his career with a brutal feud with the Brooklyn Brawler. WCW was decent as he was in the York Foundation. He was better in WCW than WWF. WWF did not use him much of a wreslter. I liked his "Terrific" Terry Taylor gimmick he had in WWF in 1992-93. In the past he was a road agent for WWE (F) and TNA. Today he trains in NXT making some of the greatest wrestler in WWE."

[8.0] "It's really sad that Taylor was given one of the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time with his red rooster character in WWE. I guess it is due to his character which is often described as being a bit of a stooge. Taylor has worked in power in the front office of most of the big North American companies after his career, but he is not spoken well of by the talent doing the podcasts. Of course, I rate Taylor only on his in-ring wrestling ability. Prior to the Red Rooster career killing gimmick, Taylor was a very well respected baby face in the south. He was a very technically sound wrestler who could sell. Taylor's success increased when he made the heal turn. For awhile he was at the top of the undercard in both WCCW and UWF during their hay-day. Like many other wrestlers of his era, I feel very sad to see so many pathetic rankings for this guy. I wish people wouldn't rate wrestlers based on their worst day of their career. It is true that Taylor became a joke because of his red rooster gimmick, but that wasn't his fault. WWE paid more money than anyone and wrestling is a job these guys do to support their families. Taylor had an 8 year career as a very well respected wrestler before this."

[7.0] "I like Terry Taylor and I'm definitely a fan of his, but at the same time, I always felt bad for him because he was a very good in-ring worker without a doubt and he is one of the most well-known bookers ever in wrestling, but he never had the best wrestling career nor even had one of the best for that matter, and to make matters worse, as far as his in-ring wrestling career goes, I don't think most of the population of wrestling fans even recognize him for when he was in WCW as the Taylor Made Man or for any of his other work. I think most wrestling fans that have either heard of Terry Taylor or have actually watched him only remember him when he was the Red Rooster which in my opinion (and I'm sure many others), that was the start of him not having a great wrestling career to begin with. I think Terry Taylor deserved a lot better than that! Granted, he may not have been the most charismatic guy, he may not have cut the best promos ever, but Terry had a great look to him and like I said before, he was a really good wrestler, so he definitely had the potential to become better than he ended up becoming, but unfortunately he never really had a great opportunity to potentially ascend to those heights."