Glass Hand Dissolving: Dave Taylor & Steven Regal

 

vs The Steiner Brothers (WCW 2/21/1998)

Some would say that the Steiners eat up the Blue Bloods in this match; I don't think that is inaccurate, but typically that kind of thing is said about guys who don't deserve to have so little offense. I think it would be malpractice if Regal and Taylor took much more of this match than they got; the Steiners are the champions, Regal and Taylor are nowhere close, and so the Steiners work this match in their best interest. I've said it before, but man, I don't like Regal. I wouldn't like him anyway, but I especially dislike him because he allegedly is great in matches like this, and boy, when I watch them, when he does his prancing routine, and pulls his faces, and works some hold that looks like shit, I just don't see it. I think in a technical sense, he was a great wrestler, but his presentation sucks and I'm going to pretend I like it. Taylor is fine here; he's like if Regal was good. 

vs Barry Darsow & Bobby Eaton (WCW 8/14/1999)

Another matchup of your WCW heroes; this time we've got Regal and his former Blue Blood teammate Bobby Eaton. I suppose if that's the lens, then this is disappointing because Eaton is barely in this; pretty much the entire match is built around Darsow being unable to tag out to Eaton. It's about 6 minutes, so it's not like it needs to be more than that. We get Regal making his dumb faces; we get him applying a submission that doesn't look like it would hurt, all the hits. The best thing about this match is the segment right before the finish, where Regal is just trying to keep Darson from tagging, just using his body weight to keep him out of his corner, and when it looks like he's going to fail, Dave Taylor sprints over and rips Eaton off the apron. That's it. That's the best part. 

vs Shane Douglas & Dean Malenko (WCW 9/11/1999)

There was nothing objectionable here; Regal had all of his worst mannerisms in check, but this was just a bit off. Things don't ever really look smooth; guys aren't exactly where they're supposed to be. Shane Douglas hits a cool-looking flying mare though; that's the highlight for me. Taylor, again, looks better than Regal in pretty much every way, including a big butterfly suplex on Douglas. I've been a bit hard on Regal and Taylor; I don't think they're bad, but I really just can't stand a lot of the Regal stuff, and in the grand scheme, it doesn't affect that much of the match, just my personal enjoyment. 

vs London & Kendrick (WWE 8/12/2006)

This is the first match where it feels like Regal and Taylor are properly cast. This isn't a team that's really set up to have a 50-50 match with teams on Saturday Night or a team that's well suited to get killed by the Steiners, but this is a team that is perfectly suited to ground a high-flying team, cut off the ring, and sell for a handful of big spots. They do that here; they ground London and Kendrick for the most part, and they eat a couple of big moves that the other partner has to break up the fall on. Regal goes out, maybe as a ploy to win the match or maybe to just get over the idea that he's a creep, and starts stalking toward Ashley Massaro. London and Kendrick come out to save her, and this gets a bit clunky. London hugs Ashley for a long time, and it doesn't really lead anywhere, and Kendrick rolls into the ring, eats a bit of a suplex, and Regal and Taylor win. 

vs Funaki & Scotty 2 Hotty (WWE 10/20/2006)

Man, this is not a good look for Scotty 2 Hotty. Regal and Taylor spend the vast majority of the match working over Funaki, to such a degree that Funaki doesn't ever really seem to get close to getting the tag. When Funaki finally tags out, he doesn't really earn it, Regal pretty much lets him tag out. Scotty 2 Hotty gets in the ring, eats a knee lift from Regal, a Suplex from Taylor, and that's it. It's a nice showing for Regal and Taylor, and as much as I love matches that establish and pay respect to the hierarchy, this is four guys at the bottom of the card, and two of them absolutely demolish the other team. 

Verdict

This is a fine team. I happen to particularly dislike one of the guys, at least a certain era of one of the guys. That's on me. I think even if that weren't the case, they are a team that just isn't put in a spot to ever do much anyway. I think the WWE stuff is much better than the WCW stuff chiefly because of how they are positioned.