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Dustin Howard, better known as Chuck Taylor, is a gaijin wrestler of American origin. He actively wrestles in Dragon Gate USA, its sister promotion EVOLVE Wrestling, and CHIKARA Pro Wrestling.
Career[]
Early Career[]
Howard was trained by Brandon Walker at the Old School Wrestling Training Academy in Hardin, Kentucky at age 15. However, he would not be able to wrestle in his home state until he was 18, which was the age requirement for wrestling licenses there. In the meantime, he managed to work in Tennessee and Illinois. It was in the then-newly restarted Chaos Pro Wrestling in Brookport, Illinois that he met and helped train the man who would become his rival, Ricochet.
After changing his name to Chuck Taylor, he came to prominence through CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, where he made his debut on June 24, 2006 with a first round victory over Ricochet in the Young Lions Cup IV tournament. It was not long before Larry Sweeney recruited him as a member of the Kings of Wrestling stable, specifically teaming with Icarus and Gran Akuma to make up Team F.I.S.T. Taylor would further build up some momentum by winning the first ever Rey de Voladores tournament on April 22, 2007, followed by winning the next Young Lions Cup tournament.
Meanwhile, he achieved a major accomplishment by winning the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship on September 30, 2006 from Toby Klein. His first reign would last one day shy of being exactly one year before losing it to Mike Quackenbush. He would win the title back on May 3, 2008 defeating Claudio Castagnoli in the finals of a one-night eight-man tournament for the vacant belt. His second reign would only run just less than two months, losing the belt to Dingo on June 20, 2008.
In addition to CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, Taylor has also found a home on the west coast with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla following a successful debut on August 30, 2008 over Candice LaRae. He would start up a popular tag team combination with Kenny Omega known as Men of Low Moral Fiber, trying to harass or force El Generico out of Reseda, California while also coming close on a number of occasions to dethroning the Young Bucks as the PWG World Tag Team Champions. After Omega left in early 2010, he would form The Fightin' Taylor Boys with Ryan Taylor and Brian Cage, the latter becoming Brian Cage-Taylor, immediately after they teamed together for the first on September 5.
Dragon Gate USA[]
Chuck Taylor would make his Dragon Gate USA debut at Enter The Dragon 2010 on July 24, 2010, winning a four-way freestyle over Adam Cole, Arik Cannon, and career rival Ricochet. He would win another four-way freestyle on the next show, September 25, but was shocked to be passed over by CIMA to be a member of WARRIORS International, giving the spot to Ricochet. Taylor lost a singles match to CIMA the following day, yet he would maintain a winning momentum.
On October 29, following his winning a third four-way freestyle, CIMA invited him to join WARRIORS International. However, Taylor shocked everyone by declining. Later that night, he, Johnny Gargano, and Rich Swann attacked CIMA and Ricochet. They announced that they were forming their own stable called Ronin. They followed this up by winning their frist match together the next night over Ricochet, Genki Horiguchi, and Austin Aries.
Ronin was intended to be heels. But their personalities and charisma won over the fans instantly. Coupled with the shocking turn made by WARRIORS to become Blood WARRIORS, Ronin found themselves turning face right away. Taylor and Gargano participated in the tournament to crown the first Open The United Gate Champions, but lost in the final round to Masato Yoshino and PAC.
For the next several months, Ronin feuded heavily with Blood WARRIORS. This was loosely expanded upon when they accomplished one of their goals by earning a tour to Japan in March 2011. Furthermore, Taylor was seeing success in the DGUSA sister promotion EVOLVE, where he had been either at or near the top of the leader board from the beginning.
However, for all of his success, Taylor was slowly taking a backseat to his partners. Gargano was flourishing as a singles wrestler while Swann was earning more Japan tours. This came ahead on September 10 and 11. On the first night, Taylor won a four-way freestyle in which the winner earned his group any match of his choosing. He intended for Gargano and Swann to challenge for United Gate, but on the next night, Gargano announced his intentions to challenge for Open The Freedom Gate Championship instead. Taylor was not interested in going for United Gate and instead used his right to challenge for Freedom Gate before Gargano.
Taylor would be unsuccessful in his challenge against YAMATO on November 12. He was frustrated, particularly when he had pinned the champion only for Gargano to admit to the referee that YAMATO's foot was on the rope during the pinfall, forcing a restart. Following the match, Taylor stole the belt and ran out of the arena. The next night, Gargano defeated YAMATO to become the Open The Freedom Gate Champion. Although he teased hitting his partner with the belt, Taylor seemingly put his differences aside and handed it over.
Nevertheless, Taylor was becoming more increasingly frustrated. He and Gargano were scheduled to challenge for United Gate on March 30, 2012, but CIMA slightly injured his neck the night before, forcing him and Ricochet to vacate the belts. Taylor took this as winning the titles by default, but Gargano insisted on earning them the right way and they had a match against Ricochet and Masato Yoshino to determine the new champions. After losing, Taylor finally snapped and attacked Gargano and CIMA. Following the show, he proclaimed that Ronin was over.
The Gentleman's Club[]
Taylor immediately formed a new group called The Gentleman's Club, loosely based from the series of Internet shows he has been making. He also engaged in feuds with his former Ronin members, first with Gargano for Freedom Gate, than with Rich Swann for respect. Furthermore, he continued to garner success as he went on to secure the highest rank on the EVOLVE leader board before the records were sealed going into the tournament to crown the first EVOLVE Wrestling Champion.
Unit History[]
- Ronin (2010-2012)
- The Gentleman's Club (2012-Present)
Arsenal[]
- Finishing moves
- Awful Waffle / Omega Driver (Leg hook belly-to-back suplex lifted, twisted and dropped into a piledriver)
- Cross Crab (Single leg Boston crab with a knee to the opponent's back)
- Sole Food (Inverted stomp facebreaker, sometimes from the top rope)
- Signature moves
- Cross–Armed Double Knee Backbreaker
- Elbow Drop, with Theatrics
- Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex followed by a Kip–Up
- Somersault Suicide Dive
- Springboard into either a Back Elbow, a Missile Dropkick, or a Moonsault
- Standing, Running or a Jumping Big Boot
- Turnbuckle Powerbomb
Other Wrestling Information[]
- Entrance themes
- "Hey Sandy" by Polaris
- "Faithfully" by Journey
- "Blue Monday" by Orgy
- "Iteration" by Wiggly of Trap Door
- "Don't Die Digging" by The Graduate
Championships and Accomplishments[]
- Chaos Pro Wrestling
- CPW Global Championship (2 times)
- CHIKARA Pro Wrestling
- Campeonatos de Parejas (1 time) – with Johnny Gargano
- Young Lions Cup V
- Rey de Voladores (2007)
- King of Trios (2009) – with Icarus and Gran Akuma
- Combat Zone Wrestling
- CZW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- EVOLVE Wrestling
- Breakout Star (2010)
- EVOLVE MVP (2010)
- Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
- IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- IWA Mid-South Women's Championship (1 time)
- Insanity Pro Wrestling
- IPW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Old School Wrestling
- OSW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #161 of the 500 Best Singles Wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
- United States Wrestling Organization
- USWO Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Slacker J
Lucha de Apuesta Record[]
| Wager | Winner(s) | Loser(s) | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | Fire Ant and Soldier Ant | Chuck Taylor and Icarus | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | May 24, 2009 | Double Hair vs. Mask Match |