Taylor Ashton Wikipedia

Taylor Marie Howard (formerly Ashton; born September 1st, 1984) is a third generation Canadian-American professional wrestler, actress, and model best known for her work in Ring of Honor Wrestling, where she competed under the ring name Taylor Ashton. She also appears for Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE), CHIKARA, Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), and SHINE Wrestling, and also competes for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in its' various territories. She previously worked for WWE and was a one time Divas Champion. She also won a Slammy Award for Rookie of the Year. She is the daughter of former ECCW wrestler "Hardcore" Michael Mayweather, and Valerie Ellison Ashton, better known as Valerie Victoria, the former WCW "Nitro Girl Velvet" and an independent wrestler who competed in various promotions on the West Coast. She is also the granddaughter of WWE Hall of Famer, the late Lillian Ellison, better known as the Fabulous Moolah.

Early Life

Taylor was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Michael and Valerie Ashton, the second of three children. She grew up with a lifelong love of wrestling, due to her grandmother being a WWE Hall of Famer and her parents being wrestlers on the independent circuit. In 1990, her father set up the Mayweather School of Wrestling in Las Vegas, where he first trained his children to wrestle and then trained wrestlers such as Victoria Lawson, Courtney Sky, and Brantley Martin. After that, she trained with Dave Finlay from 2002 to 2007. In 2003, Taylor got her start in pro wrestling when she joined Combat Zone Wrestling.

Professional Wrestling Career

Combat Zone Wrestling (2003-2004)

Throughout 2003 and 2004, Taylor worked for Combat Zone Wrestling as Taylor Mayweather, where she managed then-boyfriend Jimmy Jacobs. Her persona was characterized by black hair, heavy eyeliner, and skimpy clothes. In May that year, she also made a one time appearance for WWE when she was at ringside as Jacobs won a match against Eddie Guerrero via disqualification, followed by Guerrero giving Jacobs a follow up beating. She began singles competition in early 2004 when Alicia Kingston, the manager of Brantley Martin, called her a psycho and made fun of Ashton and Jacobs. The two women repeatedly faced off, their feud ending in late 2004 when Ashton defeated Kingston in an Unlucky 13 Staple Gun match, which Taylor states she still bears scars from.

Wrestlicious (2009-2010)

In early 2009, Ashton took part in the tapings of Wrestlicious, under the ring name Lady Luck, which began airing in March 2010. She debuted on March 1st in the first episode teaming with Maria Toro and Bandita defeating the team of Cousin Cassie, Tyler Texas and Charlotte. On the April 7th edition of Takedown, Lady Luck was one of the last two girls, along with Felony, standing in a 20-girl over-the-top-rope "Hoedown Throwdown" battle royal to determine the top two contenders for the Wrestlicious Championship. On the May 24th episode of Wrestlicious Takedown, Lady Luck defeated Felony to win the Wrestlicious Championship, becoming the inaugural champion.

Ring of Honor Wrestling (2007-2012)

Taylor made her debut in Ring of Honor in December 2007 as the love interest of Jacobs, whom she was back together with. He would write songs for her and sing them to her, and tried to convince her to join Age of the Fall. She refused at first, letting Jacobs pursue her, but finally agreed. On February 22, 2008, Jacobs introduced Taylor and Zach Gowen as the newest members of the group.

The group at this time had an open invitation for Austin Aries to join them, writing blogs and posting YouTube videos about and directed at him. Tammy Lynn Sytch had made a counter offer to Aries of her services (including offering money and sex) against him joining the group. On March 30, 2008, Aries left the ring with Taylor, who was going to 'convince' him, and it was implied that the two had sex. At this show Rain accompanied the group to the ring, as she has done in Full Impact Pro, because the show was in Florida. On April 19, Taylor left the group, siding with Austin Aries (kayfabe) romantically. She also convinced Aries to turn down the invitation into the group. Jacobs, heartbroken by Taylor leaving him, broke down in the ring to the chants of "Cry, Jimmy, Cry!" from fans and being covered with streamers. Later in the show Jacobs showed signs of a mental breakdown as he hit himself in the head with his trademark spike, to the concern of his fellow group members. The main event was changed as Jacobs pulled out. "The Vulture Squad" (Ruckus, Jigsaw and Jack Evans) were then beaten by the combination of Matthews, Black and Gowen (who replaced Jacobs). After the match, Jacobs called out Aries and the two brawled, before Aries was attacked Black, Matthews and Gowen. Jacobs went to attack Aries with his spike, but stopped when Taylor stood in front of Aries to protect him and begged Jacobs not to. On October 25, Jacobs and Aries then had an Anything Goes match where Jacobs won, but lost a Dog Collar match to Aries on November 8, after losing a large amount of blood. In a match set to end the feud, Jacobs lost to Aries in an "I Quit" match at Rising Above. During the match Taylor returned and almost threw in the towel for Aries, but Aries begged her not to. Taylor then prevented Tyler Black from throwing in the towel for Jacobs, forcing Jacobs to say "I Quit".

Singles competition and managing The American Wolves (2008-2011)

In October 2008, Taylor distanced herself from both Jacobs and Aries and debuted in singles competition as Taylor Ashton and began dyeing her hair red, losing to Daizee Haze in her first match. She made sporadic appearances for the rest of the year, jobbing to Haze, MsChif, Sara Del Rey, and Cheerleader Melissa. As 2009 began, she became involved in the ROH World Tag Team title scene when she began managing Kevin Steen and El Generico, the tag team champions at the time. When Steen and Generico began feuding with the American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) for the titles, Taylor was often the deciding factor in the matches.When she interfered in a non-title match and cost her team the match, Kevin Steen decided that the title match between he and Generico and the Wolves would not only have the tag titles up for grabs, but also her managerial services. On April 10 at an Ring of Honor Wrestling taping in a "Tables are Legal" match, Richards and Edwards defeated Steen and Generico for the tag team titles, also winning Taylor as their manager as previously stipulated. After the match, Taylor spit in Steen's face, telling him that she was happy Edwards and Richards had won, as she was glad to "get away from your fat ass." She went on to manage the American Wolves to successful title defenses against teams made up of ROH's top wrestlers including Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson, and against former champions Kevin Steen and El Generico at Manhattan Mayhem III in a submission match.

After Eddie Edwards broke his elbow in late September, she briefly stepped away from managing to pick up a string of singles victories over the likes of Amber Grayson, Brittany Anderson, Kimberly Elizabeth, and Sara Del Rey. On December 19 at Final Battle 2009, The American Wolves lost the Tag Team Championship to the Briscoe Brothers after Mark Briscoe pushed Taylor off the ring apron and distracted Richards and Edwards, allowing them the opportunity to take advantage and win the titles. In 2010, Taylor managed Edwards when he competed in a tournament to determine the inaugural ROH World Television Champion. He defeated Colt Cabana and Kevin Steen en route to the final, where he defeated his tag team partner Richards to become the inaugural champion on March 5. She was injured when Steen attacked her after his loss to Edwards, and suffered first a broken arm when she was thrown off the ring apron and then a concussion when Steen hit her with a steel chair. While she was out, Edwards and Richards took on Shane Hagadorn as their manager.

Taylor would return to ROH on November 12, aligning herself with Edwards this time as he won the 2010 Survival of the Fittest Tournament. She also returned to singles competition, earning victories over MsChif, Cheerleader Melissa, Brittany Anderson, Sara Del Rey, and Amazing Kong. In January, she was injured in a match with Kong after suffering an Awesome Bomb, again giving her a concussion. She returned from her injury in May, managing Edwards once again through his World Championship title defenses. On June 26 at Best in the World 2011, Edwards lost the ROH World Championship to Davey Richards. During the match, Taylor was inadvertantly injured when Richards moonsaulted onto her, breaking her left arm and fracturing her jaw. After suffering this, she decided to take some time off from wrestling to recuperate her injuries.

Return, alliance with Eddie Edwards, and feud with House of Truth (2012)

On the February 18th episode of Ring of Honor, Taylor returned to ROH, again siding with Eddie Edwards and this time his tag team partner Adam Cole in the feud against Davey Richards and Kyle O'Reilly, "Team Ambition". She challenged Richards to a mixed tag team match between herself, Edwards, Richards, and a female partner of his choosing. The following week, Ashton and Edwards defeated Richards and a returning Victoria Lawson. The next week, Ashton accompanied Edwards during his number one contender's match against Roderick Strong.

On the March 10th show, Taylor was humiliated by Roderick Strong and Truth Martini, who stripped her clothes off in the middle of the ring. She was saved by Edwards, Cole, and Lawson, forming an alliance between the two girls. Taylor also gave her help to Lawson in the matter of Miko Higurashi, Lawson's main rival. She suffered a slight concussion later that night while accompanying Adam Cole in his match against Michael Elgin when Elgin powerbombed her. On the March 12th ROH Video Wire, Taylor challenged Miko to a match on that week's ROH, which Miko later accepted. Prior to the show on March 17th, Taylor was offered a WWE contract by Lauren McMahon, but she declined. Later that night, she defeated Miko after delivering her finisher, "Die Beautiful". During the match, Miko locked her in the single leg Boston Crab. While Miko's partner Cassandra Delgado distracted the referee, Miko went to hit Taylor, but Roderick Strong, who was at ringside, interfered and pulled Taylor to the ropes, forcing Miko to break the hold. Taylor suffered a post-match attack from Miko, leaving her with a black eye, busted lip, and bloody nose.

Taylor began training Jim Cornette's daughter Kelly, but the young woman began trying to break Taylor and Edwards up. This caused an argument between the two women, and Victoria Lawson later berated Kelly for her actions. At Showdown in the Sun on March 30th, Taylor was in Edwards's corner during his triple threat title match, but was distraced by Truth Martini. After the match, she was held back by Martini and Roderick Strong while Kelly Cornette helped Edwards out of the ring, leading to the feud between the two women intensifying. The next night during Victoria's match against Miko, Taylor had Davey Richards's music played, distracting Victoria and allowing Miko to get the pin. This was revealed on the April 7th episode of Ring of Honor, Taylor pretending to apologize before attacking Victoria, ending their alliance and presumingly initiating her heel turn. On April 21st, Taylor was "sacrificed" by Jimmy Jacobs in the ring, but saved by Roderick Strong and Victoria Lawson. This gave her a reason for her inactivity due to her pregnancy.

She returned a week later, reappearing alongside Victoria Lawson and revealing to the audience the true story about her miscarriage. In a practice match against Emily Briscoe, she broke her elbow, which put her out for two and a half months. On the June 2nd episode of Ring of Honor, Victoria revealed to her that she had cheated on Davey Richards with Kyle O'Reilly, and they got into a fight backstage when Taylor threatened to tell Davey. Victoria chased her to the ring, where she was forced into telling Davey, then got into a fistfight with Taylor. Referees had to separate them, and then they again fought backstage before being restrained and threatened with being fired by Jim Cornette. A match was set for Best In The World between the two women.

At Best In The World, Taylor defeated Victoria after a sunset flip powerbomb from the top rope that sent both women through a table. After the match, Victoria announced she was leaving ROH.

WWE (2012)

On July 5th, Taylor received a tryout match with WWE, this time accepting. She faced Chelsea DiBiase at the FCW arena in Tampa, defeating her fellow third-gen Diva with a Shining Wizard, her new finisher she calls the "Ace of Spades". Ricky Steamboat, who oversaw her tryout, said that "Vince (McMahon) wanted to send Taylor to TV immediately." She recieved a callback a few days later, and her WWE debut was set for July 23rd, the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW. In her debut, she pulled out an upset win over veteran Ashley Levy after hitting Levy with her Ace of Spades finisher. The next week after brawling backstage, they had a rematch, which Taylor won after assistance from Chelsea DiBiase. Ashton and DiBiase began teaming together, calling themselves the TC Express. On the August 13th edition of RAW, Chelsea's arm was broken by Brock Lesnar after he put her in the Kimura.

On the August 20th edition of RAW, Lauren McMahon announced the creation of the first-ever Divas Tag Team Championships, saying a tournmanet would be held with the final at Night of Champions to crown the inuagural champs. Taylor and Chelsea were supposed to be the first team, but Christina Guerrero replaced Chelsea as Taylor's partner. The two would defeat Leah Jameson and Brittaney Kanellis to advance to the second round of the tournament. In the second round, they defeated AK47 (Amber Perez & Kelly Foster), moving into the finals. At Night of Champions, they faced the Twisted Sisters (Nysha and Kryshna). During the match, Taylor hit Christina with one of the title belts, allowing Kryshna to hit her with a superkick and pin her, giving the Spanish Divas the tag titles. After the match, Chelsea DiBiase checked on Christina, effectively ending the TC Express and initiating Taylor's heel turn. On the November 19th edition of RAW, Taylor defeated Roxanna Savage to win her first Divas Championship after hitting her with her new finisher, a modified Glam Slam she calls the "Royal Flush".

Heel Turn and Alliance with The Shield

On the November 19th edition of RAW, the NXT Rookies known as The Shield (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns) ran into Taylor and the friendship between Taylor and Rollins was revealed. They were seen watching her Divas title match and Rollins congratulated her backstage afterwards. Taylor got into an altercation with Dolph Ziggler and Christina Guerrero on the November 26th RAW, and afterwards faced Ziggler in a match. The referee was knocked out during the match and the Shield attacked Ziggler and Christina Guerrero, after which Taylor pinned Ziggler to get the win. At the TLC pay-per-view on December 16th, the Shield intervened in her Divas title match, attacking Christina and Roxanna Savage and giving Taylor the win by disqualification. She began wearing all black gear, going along with their signature of wearing all black. She also wore a white shield monogrammed on her wristbands. Taylor was awarded the Rookie of the Year Slammy Award prior to her WWE departure.

Taylor was released from her WWE contract on December 20th, 2012, after WWE bigwigs found out she appeared at a Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) show in late November, and that she wrestled Angel Williams (formerly Angelina Love) in a winning effort. She was stripped of the Divas title and her angle with the Shield was cut from WWE television, as was her feud with Christina Guerrero.

Return to Ring of Honor (2012-2013; 2015)

On the December 22nd, 2012 edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Taylor was seen in the crowd during Emily Briscoe's match with Alicia Kingston. During the match, she got into a verbal confrontation with Alicia, her longtime CZW rival. Taylor slapped Alicia, the crowd cheering for her. She and Emily then hugged, signaling her return to ROH and her face turn. After the match was over, she flipped off the camera, saying "Fuck you, WWE", which was later edited out of the show.

Taylor made her official in-ring return to ROH on May 18th, 2013, when she was part of a triple threat match also involving Emily Briscoe and a returning Victoria Lawson to determine the inagural ROH Women's Champion, which Briscoe won. The next week, as Nigel McGuiness was announcing that Mark and Jay Briscoe would face each other at Best In The World 2013, the American Wolves and Taylor interrupted, which led to a brawl between the four men, Taylor, and Emily. This led to Nigel setting up a non-title match between Taylor and Emily later in the show, which Emily won. Taylor attacked her after the match, turning heel. On the June 1st edition of ROH, Emily challenged Taylor to join in the tag match between the Briscoes and the Wolves, which would take place on June 8th, making it a six man match. Taylor accepted, then challenged Emily to a match at Best in the World 2013. Nigel McGuiness saw the tension between the women, and set up a title match between them for Emily's championship later in the show. Emily won, and after the match accepted Taylor's challenge for Best in the World. At Best In The World, Alicia Kingston, the special referee, hit Emily with a Spear, allowing Taylor to hit Emily with the Sin City Special and win. On the July 13th, 2013 episode of ROH TV, Emily got another title shot, but lost after Alicia hit her with the title belt.

The angle was abruptly ended after Taylor discovered she was pregnant and had to take time off from wrestling. No timetable was set for her return and she presumably left the company.

Taylor announced via Twitter that she would be making an appearance for Ring of Honor in 2015. She returned on the July 18th, 2015 episode of ROH TV, filling in for an injured ODB during the eight person tag team match between The Briscoes, ODB, and Roderick Strong & Jay Lethal and the House of Truth.

Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE)

On November 24th, 2012, Taylor faced Angel Williams at an FWE show, defeating her with the Die Beautiful, again using her ROH finisher on the independent circuit. After being released from WWE, she was booked to appear on their No Limits show on February 16th, 2013, where she faced longtime rival and sometime friend Victoria Lawson to determine a new FWE Women's Champion. She has been added to the roster page as a full time member, along with Lawson. At No Limits 2013, Taylor defeated Victoria to win the vacant FWE Women's Championship after Angelina Love interfered on behalf of Taylor. After the match was over, Ashton and Love turned heel, then announced the formation of a tag team between them labeled the Hollywood Hotties. On June 21st, Taylor defeated Reby Sky to retain her Women's Championship. During the match, Taylor's Hollywood Hotties partner Angelina Love interfered, hitting Sky with a chair behind the referee's back. That gave Taylor the chance to hit Sky with Sky's Twist of Fate finisher for the win. Taylor later dropped the title to Sky and left the promotion, also ending her Hollywood Hotties team.

In January 2015, it was announced that Taylor would return to FWE at it's "No Limits" event on February 7th. At 'No Limits', Taylor faced FWE Women's Champion Candice LeRae for the title, losing after LeRae hit her with her 'Heartbreaker' finisher, a modified Gory Bomb.

SHIMMER

In April 2013, Taylor appeared at WrestleCon, which took place during Wrestlemania weekend in Secaucus, New Jersey. She debuted for SHIMMER on the Volume 53 iPPV on April 6th, where she lost to MsChif after falling victim to a Code Green. On April 13-14, she took part in the SHIMMER DVD tapings, defeating Mercedes Martinez in a singles match before losing to Sweet Saraya and then Kellie Skater the next night.

Taylor returned to SHIMMER on March 28th, 2015 during Highspots' WrestleCon, as part of the live Volume 71. She also appeared for the Volumes 72-75 tapings on April 11-12th in Berwyn, Illinois.

SHINE Wrestling (2013-2015)

At SHINE 6 on January 11th, Taylor defeated Allysin Kay with the Royal Flush, but was beat down after the match by the Valkyrie stable (Kay, Taylor Made, April Hunter, Rain, and Ivelisse Velez). On February 22nd at SHINE 7, Taylor defeated Emily Briscoe, and both women were attacked by Valkyrie again. This led to Taylor and Emily challenging the stable to a tag team match at SHINE 8, where Valkyrie was able to select which two members of their team faced off with Ashton and Briscoe. Taylor and Emily defeated Allysin Kay and Ivelisse Velez at SHINE 8 after Emily delivered a top rope piledriver to Kay. At SHINE 9, Taylor took part in the first qualifying round of the SHINE Title Tournament, which will end at SHINE 11 in July. She defeated Rain with a Royal Flush, even after interference from Taylor Made and Ivelisse Velez. On May 24th at SHINE 10, Taylor teamed with Heidi Lovelace and Solo Darling against Sojo Bolt, Sassy Stephie, and Jessie Belle. They lost after Stephie pinned Lovelace with the Kiss My Sass. At SHINE 11 on July 12th, Taylor defeated LuFisto, Mercedes Martinez, and Nikki Roxx in a SHINE Championship Tournament qualifying Fatal Four Way match, but was defeated in the semi-finals by Rain. She wrestled her last match for SHINE before beginning her hiatus on August 23rd at SHINE 12, defeating Shanna with the Sin City Special.

She wrestled her return match on June 28th, 2014 at SHINE 20, wrestling Ryan Shayne. Taylor won, defeating Ryan with her new finisher, a forward somersault three-quarter facelock jawbreaker she calls Starstruck. Taylor was announced for SHINE 25 on March 6th, 2015, and she faced Jayme Jameson at the show, defeating Jameson with her Sin City Special finisher.

Absolute Intense Wrestling (2013; 2015-present)

At Absolute Intense Wrestling's (AIW) Girls Night Out 8 on March 1st, 2013, she defeated Allysin Kay to win the AIW Women's Championship, later losing it back to Kay when she became pregnant and had to stop wrestling.

On March 20th, 2015, Taylor returned to AIW for "Gauntlet for the Gold", wrestling Candice LeRae. On April 24th, Taylor appeared at the "Make Em Say Uhh" event, where she defeated Mickie James. On May 22nd-23rd, she participated in the JT Lightning Invitational Tournament and also appeared at AIW's Girls Night Out 15 on May 23rd.

National Wrestling Alliance (2015)

In 2015, Taylor began appearing for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in its' various territories. Her first mach was on February 6th, when she competed for NWA Southern All Star Wrestling, defeating Crazy Mary Dobson. On February 21st, she appeared for NWA Branded Outlaw Wrestling and defeated Barbi Hayden.

CHIKARA

On January 25th, 2015, Taylor made her first appearance for CHIKARA, escorting her husband Chuck Taylor to the ring for his Chikara Grand Championship match against his former F.I.S.T. stablemate Icarus, which Chuck lost.

Boston All-Star Wrestling

In December 2013, Taylor began plans to start her own wrestling promotion and training school, named Boston All-Star Wrestling. She scouted rookies and selected eight girls to start training, but her plans were put on hold after she decided to return to wrestling in mid-2014. At this time, there are no indications as to when the promotion will start up.

Other Promotions (2013-present)

After returning to the independent circuit, Taylor appeared for nCw Femme Fatales, SHIMMER, SHINE Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW) on a regular basis. She also competed for Northeast Wrestling (NEW) and New York Wrestling Connection.

In April 2013, she appeared at WrestleCon, which took place during Wrestlemania weekend in Secaucus, New Jersey. At the SHIMMER Volume 53 iPPV on April 6th, she lost to MsChif after falling victim to a Code Green. The next night at the Dragon Gate USA show, she accompanied boyfriend Chuck Taylor and The Gentlemen's Club to Chuck's match against Brian Kendrick, making her official debut for DGUSA. She also appeared (along with the rest of The Gentlemen's Club) at ringside when Orange Cassidy faced Jon Davis. She also took part in meet-and-greets and autograph signings on all three days. She appeared at WrestleCon again in March 2015, appearing for SHIMMER on March 28th as part of the live Volume 71.

On May 31st, 2013, she lost to Jessicka Havok on Girl Fight Wrestling's inaugural show. The next night at Squared Circle Wrestling, Taylor won the Girls Grand Prix 2, defeating Courtney Rush in the quarter finals and Nikki Roxx in the semi finals before beating Allysin Kay and Jessicka Havok in a 3-way, no DQ, no count out match with two Die Beautifuls.

At ACW's 2013 American Joshi Queen of Queens tournament, Taylor defeated Su Yung in a first round match, defeated Athena in the semi-finals to win the Anarchy Televised Championship, and then lost to Angel Blue in the final match, losing the title.

Taylor also completed her first European tour in January 2013, losing to Rebecca Knox for Fight Factory Pro Wrestling on January 25th and defeating Natalie Rae for Scottish Wrestling Entertainment on the 26th. She returned to Europe in May, defeating Rae for a second time in ICW: Fierce Females on May 4th. She also took part in the Queen of the Ring tournament for Pro Wrestling: EVE Queen of the Ring on May 25th. After first defeating Alpha Female in the quarter finals, she then defeated Kasey Owens in the semifinals before losing to Shanna in the finals. The next night at Alternative Wrestling World in Wolverhampton, England, she got her revenge when she defeated Shanna.

She was scheduled for a one month tour of Japan in August 2013, where she was to compete in Ice Ribbon, REINAxWorld, and JWP. It was later canceled after she discovered she was pregnant.

Other Media

In November 2016, Taylor announced she was writing her autobiography, to be published in August 2017.

Taylor has posed for both Playboy and MAXIM, as well as appearing in Flex with Emily Briscoe in January 2013. While a part of WWE, she was an active part of the Be A Star campaign, and has posed for the NOH8 campaign, which supports the overturning of gay-marriage-banning Proposition 8 in California. She is also an advocate of ASPCA and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Taylor will be featured in the upcoming Ring of Honor DVD "Women of Honor", where her entire feud with Victoria Lawson as well as other matches will be showcased, and is also the focus of her own ROH DVD, documenting her journey from a member of Age of the Fall up until her final match at Best In The World 2012 against Victoria Lawson. It was released in January 2013, titled 'The Age Of Ashton: The Taylor Ashton Story". She has also taken part in Fantasy Women Battles, portraying the 'Demon Queen from Hell' and appearing alongside Katarina Waters (TNA's Winter/WWE's Katie Lea) as well as other actresses. She was also the subject of an interview with The Wrestler magazine.

Taylor also appears for New England Female Wrestling, Magnificent Ladies Wrestling, and Lexie Fyfe's Slammin Ladies promotions that film custom matches that customers order and design, as well as Amber O'Neal's ArenaChicks promotion, which films direct-to-DVD matches.

Along with Emily Briscoe, Taylor appeared as a guest on Colt Cabana's podcast, The Art of Wrestling, on episode 147. She was also featured in Episode 56 of Ringbelles' Women of Wrestling podcast.

Taylor served as hostess for the Wrestling Cares Association’s inaugural Race For The Ring tournament on April 27th, 2013 in Los Angeles. Twenty five percent of each ticket sold went to the Scott L. Schwartz Children’s Foundation to support children affected by cancer. She will return as the hostess for the second show on June 29th, 2013 in Gardena, California.

Taylor also began working for the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory as a trainer alongside Chuck Taylor, who assists head trainer Mike Quakenbusch along with Fire Ant, Green Ant, Hallowicked, and Ophidian.

Taylor appeared alongside former TNA Knockout Thea Trinidad (Rosita) in the horror movie “Army of the Damned”. The movie’s IMDB profile described the movie’s plot as “a reality TV show goes horribly wrong when a group of small town cops respond to a call that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, domestic disturbance.” The movie, which also features former WWE Superstar Tommy Dreamer and ‘N Sync member Joey Fatone, is scheduled for a 2013 release. She is also appearing in “A Bet’s a Bet”, which will also be produced by Woodhaven Production Company, who oversaw production of Army of the Damned. The movie also co-stars Eric Roberts, SNL’s Kenan Thompson and Stacy Kiebler‘s former beau Geoff Stults. The movie’s IMDB profile lists its synopsis, which reads, “A Bet’s A Bet tells the story of Vince, New England’s most successful divorce attorney. To Vince, life is one big competition, and losing is unacceptable. This also applies in his dating life with his love ‘em and leave ‘em approach. Then Vince meets Jane, who is beautiful, successful and also extremely driven. Together they enter into a series of entertaining wagers with each other where the winner gets to decide the fate of the loser. After all, ‘A Bet’s a Bet!’ Not much is known about Taylor's role in the movie, but IMDB lists her character by the intriguing title of “Hot Mess”.

Personal Life

Taylor is the second of three children, having an older sister named Melanie and a younger sister named Valentina. After graduating high school in 2002, Taylor attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she majored in Graphic Arts and Design. She graduated from UNLV with honors in 2007. She trained as a wrestler all during the time she was in high school and college, first with her father and mother and then with family friend Dave Finlay. Taylor has also trained and competed in jujitsu, ballet and gymnastics. She also began training in mixed marital arts in 2013, looking to add to her repotoire. She currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts.

Taylor is currently married to fellow wrestler Dustin Howard, better known as Chuck Taylor. They began dating in January 2013, and Howard proposed to her on May 27th, 2013 at their Boston apartment. They got married on July 4th, 2013 in Boston. She was previously in a relationship with Eddie Edwards for two years. They got engaged in June 2012, but Taylor broke it off in November 2012 after not seeing Edwards but once since joining WWE in July. She states that they remain friends. Taylor began dating Edwards in October 2010, during the time she managed the American Wolves. They were broken up for a short time in April 2012, but quickly reconciled at the Border Wars iPPV in May. They were living together in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. In April 2012, Taylor revealed she was pregnant with her and Eddie's first child, due sometime in November. She later miscarried the child on April 23rd. She was previously in a relationship with Chris Scobille (ROH's Jimmy Jacobs) from 2002-2004 and again from 2007-2009. They broke up the first time when she refused to follow him to Wrestling Society X (WSX), although there were rumors he cheated on her with her CZW rival Alicia Kingston. In mid-2003, Taylor became pregnant with Scobille's baby at age 18. She miscarried the child in her third month after being knocked off the ring apron and landing on the steel steps. They broke up the second time in 2009 when he accused her of cheating on him with Austin Aries. Since their breakup, Taylor has stated in numerous interviews that she suffered mental, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at Scobille's hands. She also briefly dated Chris Lindsey, better known as Roderick Strong, during their onscreen angle in ROH.

In August 2013, Taylor discovered she was pregnant with her and Howard's first baby. She gave birth two months early on February 3rd, 2014 to a little boy that was named Dylan River Howard. She stated that his name is a tribute to Bob Dylan. Taylor became pregnant again in July 2015, giving birth six weeks early on March 6th of that year to a daughter, Riley Jayde Howard.

Taylor has four tattoos. She has 'Bella Vita' (beautiful life in Italian) on her inner left wrist, 'Have Faith' on the right side of her ribcage, 'Moolah' across the back of her neck in memory of her grandmother, and a music note behind her left ear. She also has three piercings in each ear, and the cartilage pierced in her right ear. She also has her bellybutton pierced. In July 2014, she got a fifth tattoo, a stylized D on her inner right wrist that represents her husband and son, whose first names both start with D.


In Wrestling

Finishing Moves
- Starstruck (Forward somersault three-quarter facelock jawbreaker)
- Sin City Special (Leg hook belly to back suplex lifted, twisted, and dropped into a piledriver) - adopted from Chuck Taylor
- Royal Flush (Glam Slam)- WWE
- Ace of Spades (Shining Wizard)- WWE
- Die Beautiful (Double knee facebreaker from the top rope)- ROH

Signature Moves
- Bow and arrow stretch
- Bridging evasion
- Bridging tiger suplex
- Frankensteiner
- Inverted STF
- Missile dropkick
- Rear naked choke
- Reverse STO
- Shiranui
- Single leg Boston Crab
- Sitting sleeper hold
- Standing moonsault
- Texas cloverleaf
- Top rope hurricanrana

Wrestlers Managed
- The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
- Roderick Strong
- Eddie Edwards
- Adam Cole
- Victoria Lawson
- Kevin Steen
- El Generico
- Jimmy Jacobs
- Tyler Black/ Seth Rollins
- Dean Ambrose
- Roman Reigns

Nicknames
- "The Queen of ROH"
- "The Vegas Vixen"
- "Mrs. Die Hard"
- "The Real First Lady of ROH"- self-professed

Entrance Themes
- "Cherry Pie" by Warrant (Independent circuit/ 2015-present)
- "Sexy Chick" by David Guetta ft. Akon (Independent circuit/ 2013-2015)
- "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf (WWE/ heel theme)
- "Move Your Body" by My Darkest Days (WWE/face theme)
- "Invincible" by Adelita's Way (ROH/ heel theme)
- "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf (ROH/ face theme)
- "I Made It" by Kevin Rudolf (WSU/ SHIMMER)

Championships and Accomplishments

Absolute Intense Wrestling
- AIW Women's Championship (1 time)

Anarchy Championship Wrestling
- ACW American Joshi Queen of Queens Tournament (2009)
- ACW American Joshi Championship (2 times)
- Anarchy Televised Championship (1 time)

Canadian Wrestling Revolution
- CWR Women's Championship (1 time)

Carolina Wrestling Federation
- CWF Women's Championship (1 time)

Cauliflower Alley Club
- Future Legend Award (2011)

Chaotic Wrestling
- Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship (2 times)

Defiant Pro Wrestling
- DPW Women's Championship (2 times)

Delaware Championship Wrestling
- DCW Women's Championship (1 time)

Dynamite Championship Wrestling
- DCW Women's Championship (1 time)

Eastern Pro Wrestling
- EPW Women's Championship (1 time)

Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling
- SuperGirls Championship/ECCW Women's Championship (4 times)

Family Wrestling Entertainment
- FWE Women's Championship (1 time)

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
- IWA Mid-South Women's Championship (1 time)

IndyGurlz
- IndyGurlz Championship (1 time)

Jersey All Pro Wrestling
- JAPW Women's Championship (1 time)

Memphis Championship Wrestling
- MCW Women's Championship (1 time)

National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Women's Championship (1 time)

NWA Midwest
- NWA Midwest Women's Championship (1 time)

New England Championship Wrestling
- NECW World Women's Championship (1 time)

Ohio Championship Wrestling
- OCW Women's Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Named Wrestling's Sexiest Woman in the PWI Poll 2013
- PWI Woman of the Year (2012)
- PWI Feud of the Year 3rd runner up (2012) vs Miko Higurashi
- PWI ranked her #49 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2009.
- PWI ranked her #29 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2010.
- PWI ranked her #16 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2011.
- PWI ranked her #4 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2012.
- PWI ranked her #6 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2013.

Remix Pro Wrestling
- RPW Women's Championship (1 time)

RingDivas Women's Wrestling
- RingDivas FightGirl World Championship (1 time)

Ring of Honor Wrestling
- ROH Women's Championship (1 time)

Southern Championship Wrestling
- SCW Diva Championship (2 times)

Women Superstars Uncensored
- WSU/NWS Queen and King of the Ring Tournament (2009) – with Jay Lethal
- WSU Spirit Championship (2 times)
- WSU Tag Team Championship (2 times, with Mercedes Martinez)
- WSU Uncensored Rumble (2009)
- J-Cup Tournament (2010)

World Extreme Wrestling
- WXW C4 Women's Championship (1 time)
- WXW Women's Championship (2 times)
- Elite 8 Tournament (2009)

World Independent Ladies Division Wrestling
- WILD World Championship (2 times)

Wrestlicious
- Wrestlicious Championship (1 time)

WWE
- 2012 Slammy Award- Rookie of the Year
- WWE Divas Championship (1 time)