Shane Douglas' Latest TNA Rant

[Jack-Hammer]

Recently, Shane Douglas sat down and gave an interview on MLW Radio, Major League Wrestling's official podcast. They got around to the topic of Hardcore Justice and the pay the ECW Originals got:

After Dixie Carter did her show [Hardcore Justice] and paid the guys a ridiculous sum of money, $250 to go out there and do what we do better than most people do, that to me was just so disrespectful. For somebody who has been born and raised in a billion dollar household with a silver spoon in her mouth and up her backside, to ask guys to go out there and do that, for that little bit of money and then when it did better than any pay-per-view event in the last five years, didn't even offer so much as an extra penny on top of it."

"I said then and I stand by it, shame on you Dixie Carter that you'd expect anybody to do that in this day and age. At the same time she pays Ric Flair, 62, 63 years old, $35,000 a night. 60 year old Hulk Hogan, $75,000 a night and then somehow figures that these guys that come from ECW just don't have any value or worth at all. I plan on disproving that."

To me, this is classic Shane Douglas and I don't mean that in a positive light. As usual, he ignores the fact that the ECW Originals who worked that show, himself included, have NEVER, EVER been close to being remotely considered a draw or major player in pro wrestling. On the indy circuit, $250 for a match is pretty damn good. A lot of indy companies don't give that kind of pay out. Also, a lot of these ECW guys were never what anyone would call stars and many hadn't been seen on a major pro wrestling broadcast in well over a decade.

The part of about the ECW guys going out there and doing it better than most other people is beyond laughable. In my eyes, the VAST majority of the ECW guys were never worth a shit and many are VASTLY overrated among internet & indy fans.

For what Hogan & Flair are able to bring, I do agree that they're overpaid. But, at the same time, they're still Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair. The reason they're household names is because they were successful. They sold out arenas all over the country, they helped make the companies they work for obscene amounts of money. It seems that Douglas doesn't grasp that concept. Not everybody is going to be equal, treated equally or make the same money in anything. Some are simply worth a whole lot more and are a whole lot better at their jobs.

I also found his comment about disproving that ECW guys don't have any value laughable. The vast, vast majority of ECW guys don't have any value, never had any value and never will have any value. Douglas is a broken down, middle age never-was whose best years are FAR behind him. I just wish he'd accept that he's NEVER been anywhere near as good as he's proclaimed himself to be.

 

[MB1025]

For what it is worth Jason Powell commented on this saying he knows personally that several wrestlers got paid very well that night.

As far as his rant goes he does the same rant every few months to any random blog or website that will give him the time of day.

Also why doesn't anyone ask the important questions. Why would anyone take 250 dollars if they thought they were worth more? Why should Dixie Carter pony up several thousand dollars per wrestler if they are taking 250 dollars?

Shane Douglas is just mad that he isn't making 35,000 dollars a show while Ric Flair is. I wonder what he is paying the ECW wrestlers for his show? Why doesn't someone ask him that?

 

[HBsam31]

Although I find the assessment of the ECW guys a little harsh, I must agree here. They had their time, and it is beyond long gone. Shane Douglas has become a bitter whiner who never made it to the same ballpark as Flair or Hogan, and seems to be grasping at straws to remain, in his mind, relevant. The old ECW guys should have been happy just to get some work. Hell, even the first WWE's One Night Stand was 7 years ago. They just aren't at all relevant anymore. This stuff isn't new for Shane though. It's par for the course, and I don't get why he can't see that he simply comes off as a bitter crybaby who never even really was anything all that special.

 

[satanklaw]

never had any value? wow i could start a list of guys who had value, i mean wwe and wcw wouldnt have wanted them if they had no value. how many titles did the dudleys win after ecw, RVD, Eddie Guerrero, Raven, the list can keep going on value they must of had. oh yeah, Jericho too

 

[klunderbunker]

So where's the lawsuit against Dixie and TNA for breach of contract? I mean, obviously he's going on this rant because the guys weren't paid the amount of money they agreed to, because otherwise he'd just be whining about them signing a contract to appear for $250, appearing and receiving $250, and then being annoyed that both sides were living up to the agreement they entered into. If the amount of money received isn't enough, that's not TNA's fault. That's what those guys agreed to and if they're not happy with it, it's their fault for signing. If they could have gotten more money elsewhere that night, it's on them for agreeing to work Hardcore Justice. As usual Shane, who wasn't even on the card that night, he's yelling about how great ECW was because he never meant anything anywhere else and is only known for throwing down a title that didn't mean anything when he threw it down. Oh and of course a shot at Ric Flair because Flair is the worst guy ever and is totally at fault for Shane's career never taking off because Shane Douglas says so.

 

[xavyer]

I just have one question, what is Shane Douglas complaining about?? First of all, he was never even close to being relevant, not even in ECW, he thinks he was, but everyone knows he wasn't, i can't even call him a has been, because most people don't even remember him, so he's a never was who is trying so desperate to get some atention somewere, and why is he compairing himself to Hogan or Flair?? Is like in baseball, someone like David Eckstein trying to compare himself to Alex Rodriguez or Barry Bonds, it doesn't even make sence, so why would anyone bother to even talk to him? He's a bitter old man trying to blame the world for him not being any good........

 

[Chrome]

I would have to say, take whatever Shane Douglas says with a grain of salt. Half of what he says in Forever Hardcore is contradicted by most of ECW alumni, including the story behind the blow up with Francine, and most of his stories turn out to be bullshit. When 70+% of the wrestling industry calls you a compulsive liar, you might want to think of that.

Douglas is just as bad as Hogan and Flair in that they just can't move on past their glory years. This ECW reunion might be worse then the infamous Heroes of Wrestling ppv.

In short, Douglas has become everything ECW rebelled against. A bunch of old Guys clinging on to their spot past their prime.

In any event, I bet 250 bucks a night is better than Target pays.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

Shane Douglas was never one of my favorite wrestlers per se, however I appreciated his in ring work from his very brief stint in the WWF in 1991, to his jump to WCW and teaming with Ricky Steamboat to win the WCW World Tag Team Titles, and of course who can forget his time as "The Franchise" of Extreme Championship Wrestling and his desecration of the NWA World Title? While, I don't know how much of what he said was true about his return to the WWF in 1995 was true, I thought it sucked to not see him get an actual IC title reign because I honestly felt he could have had a good run in the mid-90s WWF. Even though the Dean Douglas character definitely had its shortcomings too, but amongst characters like Mantaur, Duke Droese, and the "face" version of Doink The Clown, it was quite entertaining, and if handled better could probably have had potential.

But ANYWAY, Jackhammer I love ya to death man and all the posts you write on here, but I'm seriously not putting any major stock into what Shane Douglas is talking about. Honestly, guys like Shane Douglas know that people in the IWC will eat up negative comments like candy, especially ones that involve Hulk Hogan. Again, maybe I am playing devil's advocate with guys like Hogan and Flair, it's a bad habit, I won't lie. However, I think Shane Douglas is going the role of a glorified troll and saying ANYTHING to create discussion. That's just my two cents.

When it comes to any "shoot" comments on the internet, I take it all with a grain of salt, and that's even when it comes to wrestlers I do like, let alone ones that I'm apathetic towards. The sad thing is people are so blinded by their anti-TNA/anti-Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan sentiments that they'll believe anything that' said, even if it's by someone who very likely doesn't know the true story but because he's in the business he can make many believe he does. Such is the case with Shane Douglas, whose best days were long gone before he even made a return to WCW in the late 90s, where to be honest he performed well below expectations.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Shane Douglas has been the same bitter man he's always been since the Old ECW Days when kept taking shots at Flair saying he was "dead". The only time I found him entertaining was his Tag Team days with Ricky Steamboat in WCW. Although his Dean Douglas run in WWE in 1995 wasn't too bad when he would critque the Matches. $250 a night for a PPV is not that bad and I'll bet he would have taken that had he worked that Show for TNA. He is just another guy clinging onto his spot like someone said earlier and really hasn't been relevant in about 10-15 years if not longer. Even when he came back to WCW in 2000 I can't remember any of his Matches that stood out either.

 

[steve_smith]

I have a hard time believing that Flair and Hogan make that much. There's no way. 35,000 a night, 75,000 a night. Hogan's putting in at least 25 nights a year right. That's around 2 mil annually. No way.

 

[blockanWo]

I find it very hard to believe Raven or Tommy Dreamer for example was given $250 bucks for that night. Very, very hard to believe. Sure I can believe Nunzio getting squat but thats because hes a no draw.

 

[Schuyler]

Shane just give it up already, its his fault for burning bridges, really when everyone was watching ECW, people wasn't watching to see Shane Douglas.

 

[MancMark]

None of those wrestlers were forced by law to go out and put on a show for $250. He's bitching about nothing, as per usual. They agreed to a fee, they received that fee. Guys like RVD, Raven and Tommy Dreamer were on longer contracts anyways, so they would have received more than that. Whilst people like Flair and Hogan are lingering around the business like a bad smell and that's annoying, at least they were a draw once upon a time. Looking down the card right now, what the fuck would, say, Justin Credible even expect to earn? Wasn't he working in a pizza shop or something? Yeah this is just Douglas bitching about nothing.

 

[ABMorales787]

250? It takes me 2 weeks to make that. They did it in one night. Shane's an asshole. He should be happy TNA did so much for him. Not a single soul besides him complained. Wonder why.

 

[New Hot Fed]

250? It takes me 2 weeks to make that. They did it in one night. Shane's an asshole. He should be happy TNA did so much for him. Not a single soul besides him complained. Wonder why.

Because they don't want to burn any bridges. Shane though, doesn't give a shit, he tell it like it is. Shane has always been a special cat, always stay true to himself. It took everything for him to leave ECW for the WWF back in the day and Vince had to convince Shane's wife for him to go there.