Definition: Underrated

[The Brain]

un-der-rate
tr.v. un•der•rat•ed, un•der•rat•ing, un•der•rates
To rate too low; underestimate.
Dean Douglas

The world of professional wrestling has been filled with bad gimmicks forever. This was never more evident in the mid 90s. I could go on and on but we all know enough of the names on the list. I think there are different levels of ridiculousness and it’s not right to throw all bad gimmicks into one category. For example, is there really much difference between the idea of a wrestling plumber and a wrestling accountant? They both sound like the same kind of lame idea but Mike Rotunda made IRS work whereas Tony Anthony couldn’t get past his bad gimmick. Now years later I think of the wrestling plumber as just another bad gimmick whereas I see the wrestling accountant as a legitimate contender.

One gimmick that I feel is undeservedly lumped into the other bad gimmicks of the mid 90s is Dean Douglas. Dean Douglas was a wrestling school teacher. He would critique other wrestler’s matches from backstage and point out the mistakes they made; usually using big words to help us expand our vocabulary. He would claim that his superior intellect would help him defeat the other simple minded wrestlers in the WWF. I can see why most people think this was a bad gimmick. Even as I type this I don’t think it sounds like anything all that intriguing. Like Mike Rotunda and IRS this I feel this gimmick was helped tremendously by the man who played the part. Shane Douglas did a great job with this gimmick and I fell it is very underrated.

Even though I think the gimmick worked because of Shane I also feel his reputation is what made it fail. Shane Douglas had established himself as the face of the rebel company ECW. We all know that in the mid 90s ECW was pretty much everything the WWF was not. It was a much more edgy, controversial, and adult orientated product. Remember it was Douglas who threw the NWA title to the ground disrespecting nearly 100 years of history and declaring Easter Championship Wrestling was now Extreme Championship Wrestling. The Dean character was a far cry from the man fans grew to love to hate. Douglas was viewed at as a hypocrite and a sell out for going to the WWF and accepting the gimmick. I wonder if we weren’t aware of Shane’s reputation as the ECW Franchise would people be more accepting of Dean Douglas.

Tell me what you think. Was it Shane’s ECW past that made the Dean character seem so ridiculous or do you think the gimmick was just that bad that no one was going to make it work under any circumstance. Also let me know if you’re like me and you liked Dean Douglas. I suspect I’m one of very few but Dean Douglas was a win as far as I’m concerned.

Also his entrance music was awesome; I don’t care what you say.

[YOUTUBE]_5XvkaRyi1g[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Foshinzo]

un-der-rate
tr.v. un•der•rat•ed, un•der•rat•ing, un•der•rates
To rate too low; underestimate.
Dean Douglas

The world of professional wrestling has been filled with bad gimmicks forever. This was never more evident in the mid 90s. I could go on and on but we all know enough of the names on the list. I think there are different levels of ridiculousness and it’s not right to throw all bad gimmicks into one category. For example, is there really much difference between the idea of a wrestling plumber and a wrestling accountant? They both sound like the same kind of lame idea but Mike Rotunda made IRS work whereas Tony Anthony couldn’t get past his bad gimmick. Now years later I think of the wrestling plumber as just another bad gimmick whereas I see the wrestling accountant as a legitimate contender.

One gimmick that I feel is undeservedly lumped into the other bad gimmicks of the mid 90s is Dean Douglas. Dean Douglas was a wrestling school teacher. He would critique other wrestler’s matches from backstage and point out the mistakes they made; usually using big words to help us expand our vocabulary. He would claim that his superior intellect would help him defeat the other simple minded wrestlers in the WWF. I can see why most people think this was a bad gimmick. Even as I type this I don’t think it sounds like anything all that intriguing. Like Mike Rotunda and IRS this I feel this gimmick was helped tremendously by the man who played the part. Shane Douglas did a great job with this gimmick and I fell it is very underrated.

Even though I think the gimmick worked because of Shane I also feel his reputation is what made it fail. Shane Douglas had established himself as the face of the rebel company ECW. We all know that in the mid 90s ECW was pretty much everything the WWF was not. It was a much more edgy, controversial, and adult orientated product. Remember it was Douglas who threw the NWA title to the ground disrespecting nearly 100 years of history and declaring Easter Championship Wrestling was now Extreme Championship Wrestling. The Dean character was a far cry from the man fans grew to love to hate. Douglas was viewed at as a hypocrite and a sell out for going to the WWF and accepting the gimmick. I wonder if we weren’t aware of Shane’s reputation as the ECW Franchise would people be more accepting of Dean Douglas.

Tell me what you think. Was it Shane’s ECW past that made the Dean character seem so ridiculous or do you think the gimmick was just that bad that no one was going to make it work under any circumstance. Also let me know if you’re like me and you liked Dean Douglas. I suspect I’m one of very few but Dean Douglas was a win as far as I’m concerned.

Also his entrance music was awesome; I don’t care what you say.

[YOUTUBE]_5XvkaRyi1g[/YOUTUBE]

I completely agree with the Dean Douglas character and what you had to say about it. I had never really thought about it in terms of it being Shane Douglas' reputation that killed it. I always just kind of thought it was lame. But, still, it was Shane Douglas, who wasn't lame, and he could have made it work. Really, I always thought it didn't work because Shane Douglas couldn't survive in corporate atmospheres and hence never game himself a chance. Or at least, that's what I just kind of assumed, but great points, nonetheless.

If we're sticking with gimmick wrestlers from the 90s that never got past their gimmick, I think you have to go with Goldust. I mean, you take wrestling fans, put a transvestite, definitely bisexual, pervert on their screens...I mean, that's dynamite in the mines, my friend. I remember going to a house show in Huntington, WV, at the Civic Center around, I'd say about early-1999. Goldust hit the ring to wrestle, and still drunk rednecks were trying to hop the barrier so they could riot on Goldust. One actually got over, and Dustin Rhodes pretty well laid him out, which caused a great pop from the crowd that didn't appreciate the drunken fans. The point of me recollecting this story is that out of the few house shows I've ever been to, the only person who garnered more hate from the crowd was Piper...I mean, talk about a human heat machine.

But, the Goldust character was doomed to fail just as much as it was to succeed. Whereas people would pay to see this freak get his ass kicked, nobody is going to tune in if you put a world championship on him. Goldust could have only gone so far, and that was the catch-22 of the character. Dustin Rhodes was a very talented performer and he sold the Goldust character so well; he sold it too well, and that killed his career. But, as far as wrestling abilities go, Dustin had the goods to be a main event player, I always felt. But, he's a one trick pony and people will only ever tune in to see that pony get kicked around the ring. You put a gold colored horse in the Derby and watch how many people are thrilled when it wins the roses, so to speak. I think I've made my point that Goldust was never going to be world champion, though he got as big of a pop as anyone and he had the ability to be a champion. Maybe in the Attitude Era it could have worked, but Dustin, though he was good, was nowhere near the level of Austin, Rock, Taker, or Foley, and was never going to reach the top of that pack. But, I think around 1997 or even '96, Goldust had a chance with all the heat he got to at least get a feud against Bret Hart, or something.

 

[Tripleb2k1]

wow your subject has absolutely nothing to do with you actual post

as for "Underrated", or "Overrated" doesnt have to do with a gimmick...
its simply someone is given either too much or not enough of a push

 

[The Brain]

wow your subject has absolutely nothing to do with you actual post

as for "Underrated", or "Overrated" doesnt have to do with a gimmick...
its simply someone is given either too much or not enough of a push

Actually the subject is related to the post as I feel the Dean Douglas character is underrated by a lot of the members of this forum. He is often grouped in with the group of Mantaur, Aldo Montoya, and Techno Team 2000 and I feel he was much better than that. The title is actually a play on how Douglas would start his promos. For example

[YOUTUBE]bMHe_yfrb8U[/YOUTUBE]

I didn't think a lot of people would make that connection with the thread title but I thought my post was pretty clear that I think the Dean Douglas character is underrated here.

 

[byrnside]

I thought the Dean character had all kinds of potential. That promo from Summerslam '95 that you showed was proof. Was it just me or did Hall really lay into him there? I had forgotten all about how much I hated him when I was 10 years old, but Shane Douglas really showed his mic skills. I always thought that it had more to do with him being from ECW as the reason he never succeeded in the WWE rather than ECW fans that knew him not taking to his new character. You bring up a fantastic point, though with IRS and Douglas probably has/had 10x the ability on the mic that Rotundo had.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I have never liked the Dean Douglas character, but perhaps, as you say that is because I much prefer Shane Douglas as the anti-corporate Franchise in ECW.

THAT was the perfect role for him, I have very rarely been entertained by anyone more comfortable in a role than Douglas was as The Franchise. He was absolutely awesome at that point, while the Dean role in WWE was the complete opposite of everthing he stood for in ECW, and I do agree that had another wrestler taken on the gimmick rather than Shane, then more people would have given the Dean a chance rather than immediately branding the gimmick a failure.

However, I just cannot picture Dean Douglas ever becoming a main event level wrestler. For some reason the gimmick doesnt scream "champion!" to me, it just strikes me as a mid-card talent who would maybe have his own talk show (like a Piper's Pit idea).

Also, I don't think Shane ever really gave it his all. His passion and personality shone through as The Franchise, where he vented his general anger on how the wrestling business had treated him and wasted his talent, and it made for must-see promos. Then, as Dean, he was once again stuck in the shitty gimmick and doing it for the money. You could see the passion wasn't there, and along with Shane's inablity to cope in a backstage world of politics and backstabbing, would have prevented Dean Douglas from rising to the top of the card.

 

[justtxyank]

I don't think Shane's ECW roots had anything to do with how people felt about the gimmick at the time. In 1995 ECW ware barely known outside of Philly. It wasn't like Shane debuted in the WWF as Dean Douglas and the audience thought "Hey that's the guy who threw the NWA title in the trash!"

By the time Shane threw the NWA title in the trash, it wasn't even followed nationally.

 

[The Brain]

I don't think Shane's ECW roots had anything to do with how people felt about the gimmick at the time. In 1995 ECW ware barely known outside of Philly. It wasn't like Shane debuted in the WWF as Dean Douglas and the audience thought "Hey that's the guy who threw the NWA title in the trash!"

By the time Shane threw the NWA title in the trash, it wasn't even followed nationally.

This is true, but I'm not referring to how WWF fans felt about him in 1995. I think for the brief time he was around he was over as a heel. I'm referring to how the gimmick is looked at now. Most people on the forum are familiar with Shane Douglas before, during, and after the Dean gimmick. Most people here say the Dean gimmick was crap. I just think a lot of people think that way because they compare Dean to the Franchise. I think if Dean had never been the Franchise and lasted more than a few months people would have just accepted the gimmick and not thought badly of it.