Five inter-promotional wrestling trades that benefit all parties

2. Shane Taylor (ROH) for WALTER (WWE – NXT/NXT UK)

Look, I’ve been beating the drum for Shane Taylor for years now. He is absolutely fantastic as both an in-ring worker and a personality. What he’s done in elevating others through Shane Taylor Promotions while holding the ROH Television Championship for so long must be commended.

Taylor first came to my notice in his tag team with Keith Lee a good six or so years ago. Taylor’s improvement and rise since then is nothing short of amazing. He should be one of the best in the world during the remainder of this decade.

He does things in the ring that make your eyes pop; his athleticism belies his size, or at least what we’re told to think of people his size. He is a hard-hitter who is technically sound and excels in exuding charisma and passion through his matches. Watch how he works with STP in six-man tag matches to truly get a sense of the potential of Taylor.

Taylor would fit on either NXT brand, though it’s always enticing to think about a feud between him and former partner Lee on Raw. NXT 2.0, with a focus on larger wrestlers, could bring in Taylor and immediately slot him into the upper-card because of his abilities on the mic as well. In the UK, he could essentially replace WALTER, though their styles aren’t exact replicas.

WALTER could jump into ROH just as he is and fit seamlessly. “The mat is sacred” fits the ethos of the code of honor, and he could easily heel it up as the guy who takes honor and sacredness too far by caving in your chest.

WALTER could then have great feuds with anyone on the ROH roster: Gresham (in this scenario, it’s just Taylor for WALTER), Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, Brody King, Bandido, Rush, Woods, Dragon Lee, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and more. He could create another Imperium-like stable within ROH, a promotion that has never been short on stables.