Shepherd grew up in the slums of Cleveland. His father was a drug dealer but did not want his son to follow on the same path and advised him to go to college. Shepherd studied business management, graduating in 2009. He also practiced boxing for 20 years and played American football during his university years. He is now married and has children.[5][4][6]
Ring of Honor / All Elite Wrestling (2014–present)
Debut; Pretty Boy Killers (2014–2017)
Shepherd debuted in Ring of Honor on November 15, 2014, losing to J. Diesel in a dark match at Glory By Honor XIII.[7] He returned to ROH in April 2015, losing to the Romantic Touch in another dark match.
In May 2015, Taylor began teaming with Keith Lee. In September 2015, Taylor and Lee dubbed themselves the "Pretty Boy Killers". Over the following months, the Pretty Boy Killers faced teams including the Washington Bullets, the Alpha Class, the Get Along Gang, the All Night Express, and War Machine.[8][9]
At the first night of Survival of the Fittest in November 2016, the Pretty Boy Killers lost to the Briscoe Brothers in a three way match that also featured War Machine; the following night they defeated War Machine. In January 2017, Taylor signed his first contract with ROH.[12] In February 2017 at Undisputed Legacy, the Pretty Boy Killers wrestled the Briscoe Brothers to a no contest.[9] The Pretty Boy Killers subsequently disbanded following the departure of Keith Lee from ROH.
The Rebellion; title pursuits (2017–2019)
Taylor (left) wrestling Kenny King in February 2017
In February 2018, Taylor unsuccessfully attempted to become number one contender to the ROH World Television Championship. In March 2018 at Manhattan Mayhem, Taylor teamed with The Kingdom in a loss to Bullet Club. The following month at Masters of the Craft, Taylor teamed with SoCal Uncensored in another loss to Bullet Club. In May 2018, at War of the Worlds, Taylor lost to EVIL.[17]
In late-2019, Taylor formed the stable "Shane Taylor Promotions" with Jasper Kaun, Moses Maddox, and Ron Hunt.[22]
In early 2020, ROH went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After ROH resumed operations, Taylor returned in October 2020. At Final Battle in December 2020, he defeated Jay Briscoe. In February 2021, Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor, Kaun, and Moses) defeated MexiSquad (Bandido, Flamita, and Rey Horus) to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. At Best in the World in July 2021, Shane Taylor Promotions successfully defended the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship against Dak Draper, Dalton Castle, and Eli Isom.[23] At Final Battle in December 2021, Taylor defeated Kenny King in a "Fight Without Honor". At the same event, Kaun, Moses, and O'Shay Edwards (substituting for Taylor) lost the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship to The Righteous (Bateman, Dutch, and Vincent).[23][24][25] ROH was subsequently placed on hiatus once again upon its acquisition by All Elite Wrestling owner Tony Khan.[25]
Post-hiatus (2022–present)
Taylor made his return to ROH in December 2022 at Final Battle, teaming with JD Griffey (as Shane Taylor Promotions) in a loss to Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland). He debuted in ROH's sister promotion, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), that same month, teaming with Griffey to defeat Dante Casanova and Mr. G on an episode of AEW Dark. From April to June 2023, Taylor teamed with the WorkHorsemen in a series of six-man tag team matches on ROH on HonorClub.[24] In August 2023, Taylor won an eliminator tournament to receive a shot at the ROH World Television Championship. He subsequently lost to champion Samoa Joe at the AEW pay-per-view All Out.[24][26]