Sigh..... How do I put this gently?
People are going to love Shane Douglas because he feeds so much into the IWC. He is, more than any other wrestler I've ever watched, the IWC's Darling. People love him because he threw down a belt which wasn't going to help his career anyway, and decided to "re-christen" it the ECW Title.
Shane, if you're reading this right now, which I doubt, but if you are, I have one question for you. Would you have turned down that belt if it was the WCW Belt, or the WWF Heavyweight Title?
I highly doubt it. People love Shane because he shits all over people, which feeds internet rumors and gossip. His "calling out" of Ric Flair was nothing more than trashy. We all understood that Flair was a terrible booker, but the way Douglas went about going to the IWC about his problems is somewhat pathetic. Afterwards, when he went to WCW, he patched things up with Ric, apparently enough so that they could work together. Why? Because Shane Douglas didn't have the balls to say to Ric Flair's face everything in which he said to the IWC.
He had a cup of coffee in the WWE, and he did nothing with it. Why? Because he was stuck in a "woe is me" mentality, stating how he was saddled with a bad gimmick, and that he never got a chance in the WWE. Again, Shane, the WWE did give you an opportunity. You simply chose not to make anything of it, because you knew that you didn't even want to try.
Shane, to me, will always a wrestler that I'll just never understand. His style is something I'm personally not a fan of, and his promos were like sitting through endless loops of audio of kittens being skinned. He never seemed to be completely in shape to me, and his matches never really inspired me to either like or dislike the guy. He's had multiple chances in the big promotions, and he never made anything out of them. He was never a huge main event name, nor will he ever be. He's destined to having multiple smarks claim that he never got a chance, and becoming a bitter, jaded man, watching wrestling until he's old, and thinking to himself that he could be just like them "if he got the chance".
Sorry, that was kind of angry. Shane is not one of my favorites. Now, onto the other's you've mentioned:
I'll have to disagree that Stevie and Raven have done nothing for wrestling. Steve, more or less, because he's been given little, and yet was able to create a pretty decent career out of it. He'll always be a jobber in most people's eyes, and no one is going to have too many fond memories of him. In that sense, I don't mind Stevie all that much, and I really don't mind if he pulls a paycheck or two. He probably doesn't get paid much anyway, and as long as he's not pushed over TNA wrestlers such as Abyss, I really have no problem with him being there. He's somewhat entertaining to me, and I don't mind seeing him on television.
Raven I feel is slightly overrated, but damnit if the man's not a genius. He understands the heel mentality so well, and plays the role of a tormented soul to a perfect tee. I'm not sure if this is completely true, but allegedly, the man's a member of MENSA. It shows, as his craft of creating characters to which you are enthralled by is pretty good. As an actual wrestler, I don't think he can have too many good matches unless;
1. There are weapons involved.
2. He gets his ass kicked for three quarters of the match (I.E. His match with Goldberg)
3. Both of the situations arise.
But having said that, he's an ok hand. But his promo's and character building are what I'd keep him around for. If I'm TNA, I would keep him and Stevie around after their wrestling careers are over, either to become a member of creative, or to train wrestlers. I think they have quite a bit left to contribute to the business, and that their minds can still be tapped for years to come.
Oh.... and Shane can go jump off a cliff. And land in cacti. That have been set on fire.
