Blue Bloods

Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=The Blue Bloods
type=T


caption="Squire" Dave Taylor, "Lord" Stephen Regal, and "Earl" Robert Eaton in WCW (ca. 1995)
members=William Regal
Dave Taylor
names=Blue Bloods
William Regal and Dave Taylor
heights=Regal:
height|ft=6|in=2
Taylor:
height|ft=6|in=3
weights=convert|490|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
former_members="Earl" Robert Eaton
debut= 1995
disbanded= June 17 2007
promotions=WCW
DSW
WWE
trainer=
disbanded=|

The Blue Bloods was the name of a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling that consisted of "Lord" Steven Regal, "Earl" Robert Eaton, and "Squire" David Taylor, along with their butler Jeeves that operated in the late '90s.

In 2006, Regal (with his ring name changed to William) and Taylor reunited as a tag team on the SmackDown brand of World Wrestling Entertainment, without the "Blue Blood" name.

In May 2002, Taylor, Regal and Irish wrestler Dave Finlay opened the Atlanta Blue Bloods Wrestling Academy, a professional wrestling school. The Academy closed in 2005, after having trained wrestlers such as Chris Hero.

History

World Championship Wrestling

The Blue Bloods were formed in 1995 in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) by Regal after he split with his manager, Sir William and became a tag team wrestler. Regal recruited Alabama-born Bobby Eaton, renaming him "Earl Robert Eaton" and taking it upon himself to teach himself the finer points of the British lifestyle; including the Queen's English and proper dining etiquette.

The team feuded with Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) and the team of Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater over the WCW World Tag Team Championship but never got their hands on the titles. Soon they were joined by "Squire" David Taylor and a butler named Jeeves whom they openly abused. Eaton eventually left the group, leaving Taylor and Regal to feud with him.

Taylor and Regal continued to team together until Regal was released from WCW in 2000, at which point Taylor also left the promotion.

World Wrestling Entertainment

Regal went to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and by 2001, Taylor joined him in the company, acting as a trainer and wrestler in the Heartland Wrestling Association, a subsidiary of the WWF for a brief period before leaving the company. In January 2006, Taylor was hired by World Wrestling Entertainment to train wrestling students in their Deep South Wrestling (DSW) training territory, and on March 23 returned to the DSW ring to team with former partner Regal.

Meanwhile, Regal was being mocked and made to look foolish on "SmackDown!". On the October 20 episode he announced that he was sick of being a "laughing stock" on the brand and re-introduced the national audience to Taylor, who was joining him as a tag team partner. The two debuted as a team the same night, defeating the team of Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki easily. Though they had reunited, they used no parts of their previous "Blue Bloods" gimmick, instead becoming sadistic fighters, willing to go to just about any lengths for a win.

The team was quickly put into jeopardy, however, when in their second match Taylor suffered a (legitimate) torn meniscus in his left knee, leaving him injured and on the shelf for a number of weeks. Unable to wrestle, Taylor took a more relaxed role as something of a cornerman for Regal until he healed enough to wrestle again. While he was out, Regal began the opening stages of a feud with the WWE Tag Team Champions, Paul London and Brian Kendrick, by defeating both men in singles matches, and upon Taylor's return, they beat the champions in non-title tag team competition. Having proven their worth, they earned a title shot at December's Armageddon pay-per-view, but just beforehand it was changed to a fatal-four way ladder match also involving MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) and The Hardys (Matt and Jeff), during which both Taylor and Regal displayed a kayfabe fear of heights which prevented them from retrieving the belts and winning the match. In a subsequent regular tag rematch on "SmackDown!" Regal and Taylor came up short of winning the titles. The team split when Regal was selected by Raw in the supplemental draft on June 17 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/supplementaldraft07|title=2007 Supplemental Draft results|date=2007-06-17|author=Louie Dee|accessdate=2008-01-20|publisher=WWE]

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves:*Fireman's carry (Taylor), high knee strike to the opponent's exposed head (Regal)

References