Shane Douglas

[RickRaspberry]

Now, I thought about not even making a topic regarding him. I don't post on here much, but I felt I needed to clear my head.

Shane Douglas to me is the Kenny Powers of Professional Wrestling. Don't get me wrong, I have always been a fan of "The Franchise". I thought his early work tag teaming with Ricky Steamboat was fantastic. He really could work for a young kid at the time. His "Franchise" character to me was awesome. I thought his interview/promo skills were through the roof. Even through both his ECW runs, the guy was money. WCW his working abilities took a shit, which I blame on him and his willingness to work, but also the direction of WCW.

Now to the other part of Shane Douglas.

His attitude.

Always was outspoken. But to me it was ignorantly. It was always the "woah is me" story. Bashing Flair, Vince, Hogan, Russo, HHH, HBK, etc, etc, etc for all of his failures. I mean, the guy could have made a lot of money. But he would NEVER have been a world champion anywhere...well besides ECW that is.

But his latest stunt is what made me give the Kenny Powers reference. He decided to what reports and other super marks said was "crash RAW" was absolutely RIDICULOUS. The guy either gets a comped ticked, which if it was, made an ass out of whoever got the ticket...and the guy he got the ticket from. Or he payed what, $100 dollars to sit 5th row. He then takes his lame mask off, hits some guy who doesn't know who the fuck Shane Douglas is with his shirt. Then he stands up and looks to the crowd and about a whole 7 people realized who he was, and THEN the best part. He gets thrown out by security like any other drunk wrestling fan right out the door.

Give it a rest. If you're gonna waste your time you should order big oversized shoes and a big red wig. Because you're a fucking clown.

 

[Mustang Sally]

His attitude.

Mick Foley made reference to this in his autobiography. He claimed Shane Douglas always had to make a lot of noise when leaving a wrestling company, choosing to let everyone know how badly he was treated.....and Foley wondered why Shane felt he needed to do this when it almost assured him that the company wouldn't want him back again because of it.

Look at Matt Bloom (A-Train, Prince Albert). He's coming back, years after he was released. Did you ever think we'd see him again in WWE? I didn't. But, because he said the right things when he was let go last time.....and apparently hasn't kept up a diatribe about how unfair WWE had been to him......he's able to come back now. Smart guy.

With Shane Douglas, I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't made overtures to WWE in the past few years, looking for another shot.....and I also wouldn't be surprised if the company held his past criticisms against him and offered that as a reason for refusing him.

In business and personal life, sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut on the way out. Maybe you feel better at the time by venting your frustrations, but you might wind up regretting it years later. For Shane Douglas to pull the stunt he did at Raw, he must have been firmly advised he had no place in WWE, now or in the future. Or, if he thought the notoriety he might gain from showing up could be the ticket to getting him re-hired, he's dumber than I thought.

Of course, with WWE, there's always the chance that they orchestrated Shane's appearance, leading to a program that culminates in his being re-hired. If that's so, I'll eat crow for everything I just said!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Shane Douglas is superemely overrated in my eyes. He always has been and always will be. Among the many various indy favorites and internet darlings, it's hard to find someone whose abilities are more overblown than Douglas', and that's saying something because every indy or internet favorite has fans claiming their boy is the greatest of all time.

I won't say that Douglas didn't have any talent because he did, but he wasn't nearly as good as many claim, especially himself. A huge reason why Douglas never really became a household name in pro wrestling is due to the fact that he has a big mouth and an even bigger ego. He thought he was the best in any company he worked for and screamed injustice and backstage politics if the company brass didn't agree and had other guys in the top spot.

I can't say that Douglas was incorrect about some of his statements about some wrestlers and some of what goes on backstage but, at the same time, how is mouthing off going to further your career? If it had only been the WWE that Douglas ranted and raved about, then I think his arguments and statements would carry more weight. However, Douglas has ripped every major company that he's ever worked for. He's ripped Vince McMahon, he's ripped Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, the various guys in charge of WCW in the early 90s, Sting, Dixie Carter and the list goes on. Simply put, Douglas believed that he was the best of the best and thought he should be put in the top spots.

Nothing wrong with that in general, but how many times have seen seen some wrestler who never really made it big piss and moan about the exact same things? "I wasn't used right" or "they don't know what they're doing" or "I should've been a main eventer". But, at the end of the day, it's always easier to blame everyone and everything else for your own shortcomings except for yourself.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Shane Douglas is the guy who believed that by him making it in ECW that he deserved to make it anywhere, however in reality Douglas only made it in ECW because Paul Heyman had the tendency to promote talent that held a grudge against the "big two", he did it with guys like Austin, Candido and others including Douglas. If they'd some horror story to tell about their experiences in WCW or WWE at the time, they'd all the microphone time they desired.

He was a good wrestler who could play a pretty good heel and cut good promos, he wasn't a great wrestler who could portray either side of the fence and cut entertaining promos. He got known off of disrespecting legends in his promos, the dudes most famous moment is throwing down a belt and then ranting on Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat, someone who is known as one of the nicest guys in the business. He allowed this ECW fame to shoot straight to his head, when he went to WWE he didn't want to play a gimmick, he wanted to shoot on people because that is where Douglas thrives because he hasn't the talent to portray an actual gimmick.

Then, take into the equation the fact that in the year 2012, here we are, Shane Douglas to this day still rants on about Ric Flair, still talks up how he threw the NWA World Heavyweight Championship down and still attempts to find anything he can to get his name out there, even if it means getting a group of guys together to do another ECW Reunion and further tarnish its image, he'll do it because Douglas is in it for himself, because he's a selfish asshole.

I'm not a fan of "The Franchise", he isn't overrated because very few fans rate him at all, he overrated himself and now he is left an unemployed mess who needs to do things such as an ECW Reunion to make himself relevant again. Well, good luck to him, because once that show ends and fuck all people buy the DVD, Shane Douglas will return to where he belongs, obscurity.

 

[One to Remember]

he jumped around so much that he just happened to be in some bad places at bad times. I'm WCW 4 LIFE and even i realize that the brass there demonstrated psychosis at times.. Douglas was not the first to talk about that. Jericho, Big Show, and Foley have all trashed WCW. Then you say he talks too much about Rick Flair but Steiner shut a shoot promo about Flair and everyone thought that shit was so hot when he got unscripted. He got suspended without pay for talking about Flair. What in the name of God does a "paid suspension" even mean in the realm of discipline?! And then you talk about him talking too much about the title throw down but that was a major moment in ECW and a major moment in the NWA's history. That would be like telling Jefferson Davis he could only talk about his tenure as a senator and Secretary of War.. and no other posts he held.. Would any of you critisize Ron Simmons for constantly referencing his historic World title capture? No.. If ECW influenced the WWF and its Attitude Era and Douglas held hegemony over ECW how is he not important?

When he went to the WWF it probably was frustrating to become a Dean after you had been a revolutionary. They cut his brand down to size in a multitude of ways. And of course around 1995 the WWF brass was struggling to stop the kliq from running wild and making trouble. I hear Douglas did feel the lash of their politiking and the only thing that separates him from other guys and girls, u know..) was he became vocal about it.. Then he came back to WCW and had to deal with Hogan Bogarting any available resource in the company, and Kevin Nash as a booker. How does a member of the kliq book a show w/o nepotism and misconduct? IDK cuz i aint ever seen it with out it.

I mean you had guys like Douglas running the Revolution and Storm with three straps and the highest titles they achieve are the U.S. championship... I took notice of that and thought it was a case and point even back then that somethin was horribly wrong with WCW and its pecking order. Both of those men should had been WCW champion..

I dont see any examples of him trashing the UWF though. XPW, MLW. They were both going places and the UWF was big in its day. I've also not heard him rag on JCP. As for TNA, Hogan is not a booker, Dixie Carter was so clueless before Panda Energy made its purchase that she probably thought Macho Man used to snap into a twissler. Why would any wrestler be amused with having to work under some chick who doesn't know wrestling or a guy who ruined a company ten times greater then TNA?

As for him in the stands, didn't ECW guys sit in WWF stands? Didnt ECW guys fight XPW guys in its stands? didnt WCW have supposed WWF stars in its stands..? If the fact that Dougles went unnoticed by fans is funny to you all I would say thats a general problem. I dont even think alot of the WWE fans today know who the Rock was or who Nash was when he came back. They cheer Taker but did they know he used to wear a mask? Who caused him to have to? They don't know who Piper is, you know that guy who also ragged on WWE, hinted they caused the death of wrestlers and still didnt fall thru the charred remains of his burned bridge.. yeah that guy. Austin can come back after a walk out, Lesnar can even after he had his quarter life crisis and started playing random sports every other month. Don't any of you try to tell me Douglas is the odd man out or the key source of any problems..

 

[Барбоса]

Don't any of you try to tell me Douglas is the odd man out or the key source of any problems..

He might not be the only one, but Douglas continually burnt his bridges despite having never made much of himself in WWF, WCW or TNA. The likes of Piper, Austin and Lesnar were at some stage of their WWF/E tenure the biggest stars in the company, even the wrestling world. They have made Vince McMahon money. Douglas probably never made Vince or WCW a dime.

And to say that the likes of Nash, Hogan and the Kliq booked themselves into big matches but not mention Douglas' overly long and at times horrendous ECW title reign throughout all of 1998.

It should also be mentioned that all of the talent held down in WCW did eventually get its exposure - look no further than Douglas' fellow Revolutionaries - Saturn, Malenko and Benoit. Add in Jericho and Guerrero. The fact that Douglas did not suggests that he either did not have the talent or had so successfully buried himself that no one wanted him around.

I actually kind of liked him as more of mouthpiece for the likes of Revolution or the Naturals but his bloated opinion of himself, his achievements in ECW and his big mouth pulled the rug out from under his own feet.

ECW was Douglas' level and he could not and has never been able to handle the fact that he could not get over anywhere else. His 'invasion' of RAW was the act of a desperate man attempting to find one last fleeting iota of relevance.

 

[HBsam31]

I made a thread on Douglas not long ago wondering what Vince's beef may have been with him, and found out it wasn't much more than his bad attitude. I thought maybe Shane tried to knock him out or something given after his short WWE run he was never seen or heard from there again. lol. I always kinda liked Shane in ECW, but can recognize he is overrated. Now that I saw the video of him at raw, it seems he is just bitter and making a fool of himself. Maybe he can go make internet videos for the next 20 years with Warrior and become a complete total joke instead of just overrated.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I fuckin hate Shane Douglas. He's sorta talented but not really considering he never really got over and he was a middle of the pack guy at best. He's his own (and at this point, basically only) biggest fan. He's a douche.

He was really only ever over in philly, and even that became a stretch. I think it's hilarious what happened. At this point, he's about as recognizeable as Chris Hero. I bet Colt Cabana would get more recognition in the crowd than "The Franchise".

 

[One to Remember]

Piper, Austin and Lesnar were at some stage of their WWF/E tenure the biggest stars in the company, even the wrestling world. They have made Vince McMahon money.

he wasn't wrestling in the territorial days. A company needs strong ratings and a consistent fan base to stay afloat not some guy making people slobber over his name on a marquee. Yeah maybe in the WWWF you needed marquee recognition to get the arena full but Douglas was wrestling between 1986-2006.. Are you talking about money or attitude buddy? So now because you made money you get a free pass and veto power? Lesner left WWE to fail at FB then join the UFC.. Those two sports are not friends of wrestling and neither would had looked at Brock without his WWE run. Austin just walked out.. thats not a bridge burned thats a line crossed. Piper made Vince money decades ago and todays brats dont know him or 3/4s of the old heads he alludes to in his spirited speaches.

And to say that the likes of Nash, Hogan and the Kliq booked themselves into big matches but not mention Douglas' overly long and at times horrendous ECW title reign throughout all of 1998.

Overaly long? Yeah he was the only guy in ECW to have a year skip in his reign but Hogan was still champ for 4 years, Bruno freakin 7, Verne 7, Severn 4, Cena was WWE champ for like 18 months, Flair was champ for like 2 years once. Paul E. gave titles to people that meshed well with them, hints RVD as TV champ from 1998-2000.

It should also be mentioned that all of the talent held down in WCW did eventually get its exposure - look no further than Douglas' fellow Revolutionaries - Saturn, Malenko and Benoit. Add in Jericho and Guerrero. The fact that Douglas did not suggests that he either did not have the talent or had so successfully buried himself that no one wanted him around.

Saturn turned into some cross dresser.. Malenko is the most disapointing PWI 500 winner in history. Benoit did make strides but why give him the WCW title in 2000 when he couldn't help WCW anymore? Jericho's success had nothing to do with WCW, just the build up to his debut and the excitement of any name that jumped ship. Guerrero likewise had to work his way thru the ranks in the WWF.. When he debuted in 2000 he lower on the titan totem pole then he was right before he captured the WCW U.S. title c. '97..

I actually kind of liked him as more of mouthpiece for the likes of Revolution or the Naturals but his bloated opinion of himself, his achievements in ECW and his big mouth pulled the rug out from under his own feet.

When you'd discuss the WCW vs WWF vs ECW dream matches in the '90s Douglas was usually in those.. If ECW was prominent enough to be in the dream match dynamic obviously the orginization was more then a freakin indy. I know about ECW guys and im in Tennessee. I didn't know shit about CZW guys, All Pro Wrestling, XPW, Maryland Championship Wrestling, ECWA, Wildside, or WWC guys.. I still knew about ECW guys and didn't even get the right TNN or internet access.

ECW was Douglas' level and he could not and has never been able to handle the fact that he could not get over anywhere else. His 'invasion' of RAW was the act of a desperate man attempting to find one last fleeting iota of relevance.

What is ECW level? No better yet what would happen if ECW had reopened in 2002 and then went head to head with TNA in 2003? If people could choose between ECW and TNA what would they choose? Jimmy Snuka as the inaugral champion, Terry Funk as champ for life, Bam Bam, Awesome, Taz, yeah those guys right there show what ECW level is all about and that beats TNA level or Chikara level, or NWA level anyday.. Some might argue it beats Smackdown level.. Hes desperate? You dont think Piper is desperate after he said what he said yet is always lookin for a few more pay days. You dont think Hogan was desperate after he inserted his antiquated sun tanned ass into WM 18 against a 30 year old..? Why does HBK keep comin back?

 

[DirtyD79]

The problem is he just cannot move on (although he's hardly unique in that case.) Yeah I thought he was great back in ECW and XPW but that was years ago. Making a fool of yourself on RAW and whining about Vince McMahon and Ric Flair at every podunk jerkwater indy show between Pittsburgh and Philly does not make you an unsung hero. It makes you look like a desperate old has been still trying to wring a few more seconds out of his fifteen minutes of fame.

 

[One to Remember]

The problem is he just cannot move on (although he's hardly unique in that case.) Yeah I thought he was great back in ECW and XPW but that was years ago. Making a fool of yourself on RAW and whining about Vince McMahon and Ric Flair at every podunk jerkwater indy show between Pittsburgh and Philly does not make you an unsung hero. It makes you look like a desperate old has been still trying to wring a few more seconds out of his fifteen minutes of fame.

if we tolerate Ric Flair in the ring long past his experation date then the least we can tolerate is Douglas ranting today about the exact samething he did in 1993.. I think he should had been one of the Radicalz. but that was 12 years ago Vince missed out. I think he should had been WCW champ but that was between 1999-01. He could had been a major player in TNA in its formative years. I am not advocating that he unseat CM Punk today, but alot of his gripes have merits and I wished the majority of it had been addressed and corrected circa 2000. I AM FULLY AWARE OF HIS AGE and will not look past that..

 

[One to Remember]

[YOUTUBE]MACJHjMJRvw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]Cbgl3-085Io[/YOUTUBE]

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he had jumped into the ring and made it clear who he was he would had been aknowledged by the announcers and probably handled in the ring like someone on the roster. If he had actually gained control of a live mic via a stunt like this in say around 2006 i think they would had let him spoke, i think mcmahon would had reinstated him to the roster. Matt Hardy was rehired under preassure and WWE gettin caught off guard by forces not under its authority. If the fan base was old enough to know who Douglas was things would had gone better and security might had left him alone for a bit.. come da fuck on ppl this incident and similar incidents were things that gave us wet dreams during the Monday Night Wars.. give me a breakkk!!

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

[YOUTUBE]MACJHjMJRvw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]Cbgl3-085Io[/YOUTUBE]

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he had jumped into the ring and made it clear who he was he would had been aknowledged by the announcers and probably handled in the ring like someone on the roster. If he had actually gained control of a live mic via a stunt like this in say around 2006 i think they would had let him spoke, i think mcmahon would had reinstated him to the roster. Matt Hardy was rehired under preassure and WWE gettin caught off guard by forces not under its authority. If the fan base was old enough to know who Douglas was things would had gone better and security might had left him alone for a bit.. come da fuck on ppl this incident and similar incidents were things that gave us wet dreams during the Monday Night Wars.. give me a breakkk!!

Except 10 years ago no one gave a shit about Shane douglas, 15 years ago no one gave a shit about Shane douglas, 20 years ago no one gave a shit about Shane Douglas.

Matt hardy was relevant and had an actual reason to be upset (supposedly, I still think it was 90% a work).

All these ifs you have. "if the audience was older". No, more like "If the entire audience was 35 and grew up in PA and watched ECW at the beginning and weren't bigger fans of RVD, Sabu, the Dudleys, Sandman, Mysterio, benoit, Malenko, Guerrero, Jerry Lynn, or anyone else who was a bigger draw than Douglas" THEN maybe someone would give a shit. They don't. Douglas is about as relevant as kevin sullivan.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

if we tolerate Ric Flair in the ring long past his experation date then the least we can tolerate is Douglas ranting today about the exact samething he did in 1993.. I think he should had been one of the Radicalz. but that was 12 years ago Vince missed out. I think he should had been WCW champ but that was between 1999-01. He could had been a major player in TNA in its formative years. I am not advocating that he unseat CM Punk today, but alot of his gripes have merits and I wished the majority of it had been addressed and corrected circa 2000. I AM FULLY AWARE OF HIS AGE and will not look past that..

The reason why he wasn't one of the Radicalz is because he burnt his bridges in the WWF. It had nothing to do with Vince and everything to do with Douglas's shitty attitude.

See everybody was has ever been involved in wrestling has been screwed over at one time or another. It's how you handle it that dictates how far you will go. Douglas could never handle rejection very well. Which is why he spent a good portion of his career wrestling in front of hundreds instead of thousands of people.

 

[Davi323]

Shane Douglas is one of the few wrestlers that will cause me to change the channel AWAY from wrestling until he is done. Frankly, I would LOVE to buy the guy for what he is actually worth, and then sell him for what he thinks he is worth. I would be able to live quite comfortably on the difference. Like Jeff Jarrett, he was just a mid-card talent who was convinced he should have been much greater than he ever was. And because he never got to the level he believed he deserved, Douglas is just an angry, bitter has-been. As far as I am concerned, Shane Douglas can go fuck himself.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Shane Douglas is an idiot. It was a classless thing to do to promote his show on Raw, and from watching the video posted to reading his version of what happened (which is 180 degrees further from the truth than what some neutral observers reported) it's hard to have sympathy for him.

I respect Shane Douglas for being the catalyst to ECW, but like so many other former wrestlers, his time in the sun is gone.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Douglas accomplished what he wanted to do, in the sense that he got attention and he got to talk to some one about his event. I think he probably could have put the word out by doing ads, or on the web, or handing out flyers to people before they entered the arena, (maybe he did those things, who knows) but Raw is the target audience he wants to check out the event. I'm not sure how many people saw the few seconds he was able to show his t-shirt but if it worked, kudos to him.

As far as his talent goes, I think he was talented but I saw very little of him in the ring. I find it odd that people are angry with him for talking about problems he had in his career with certain people and companies. Those same people Douglas talks about, are only too happy to express their opinions about others when it suits them. I've heard other people make these same complaints about these same people. So what's the difference ? He has a right to tell people what he endured in his career, so other people don't drag his name through the mud. So others don't misrepresent him as being a horrible worker or having a lousy attitude, or whatever label is put on a performer when he leaves a company. I thnk if he can still work and has kept himself in decent shape, he should continue and wish him the best of luck.

 

[One to Remember]

The reason why he wasn't one of the Radicalz is because he burnt his bridges in the WWF. It had nothing to do with Vince and everything to do with Douglas's shitty attitude.

See everybody was has ever been involved in wrestling has been screwed over at one time or another. It's how you handle it that dictates how far you will go. Douglas could never handle rejection very well. Which is why he spent a good portion of his career wrestling in front of hundreds instead of thousands of people.

whats your doggone point? just because wrestling can be shady and crooked we are just supposed to sit back and just be all like "dat just how it do.."? If everybody fuckin bitched and made demands and wanted to work hard to showcase what they had to offer and promoted fair oppurtunities maybe we would have more then one huge wrestling promotion. maybe people could make a living off of this sport. Maybe people wouldnt get ripped off all the time, maybe the youth could rise up when its their time, you know since that is the natural progression in every other sport known to man! Thats the problem with wrestlers, they act like crack heads taken whatever they can get and not puttin up an argument. they have no self worth. they dont stick together. wrestling is the only line of work in which id join a union.. I am so tired forum posters tellin the men and women of this sport they need to suck it up or smile and hold out for the rehire or not to express themselves post or even pre release. they are alowed to feel, they should be greatful for work but they shouldn't have to bend over or gravel like you guys want them to do.

How the hell do you burn a bridge with Vince McMahon if he constantly just rerouts traffic? its bad to anger him but no one thinks its bizarre or unethical that he arbitrarily looks past certain wrestlers who air dirty laundry or cut him down in public. how can you pick and choose between criticts and critiques? And how is it that you get a free pass to show out just because you put butts in the seats?

Matt hardy was relevant and had an actual reason to be upset (supposedly, I still think it was 90% a work).

I love Matt Hardy, and Matt Hardy is another fine athlete in our sport that makes me proud to be a North Carolinian but Matt Hardy right before his release and even after his rehire was not relevent..
He had main event viability but that was about 5 years ago and not for too long either. That has nothing to do with this at all i might add.

All these ifs you have. "if the audience was older". No, more like "If the entire audience was 35 and grew up in PA and watched ECW at the beginning and weren't bigger fans of RVD, Sabu, the Dudleys, Sandman, Mysterio, benoit, Malenko, Guerrero, Jerry Lynn, or anyone else who was a bigger draw than Douglas" THEN maybe someone would give a shit. They don't. Douglas is about as relevant as kevin sullivan.

im 23, grew up in east tennessee, and i recognize his importance. I'm not sure what station the NWA belt throwdown was aired on but I know that moment was felt withen and OUTSIDE the tristate area.. Mysterio, Beniot, E.G., and Malenko werent ECW. They were just passing through. They werent even known for their ECW work but for being WCW alumns who made it big in the WWF.. Not every if is speculation.. I say if because of the way the cookie crumbled not because I'm wrong or just grasping.

You know damn well a huge factor hurting older wrestlers is recognition. You know damn well WWE has set it up to where it doesn't hold on to fans past a 4 year stretch or so, it simply replenishes them with other "Little Jimmys" in the 7 to 12 year old range. You also know damn well that when we were growing up all wrestling orginizations attempted to keep their fan base for the long haul and then also expand to youths who would then watch past the age of 12 and not just discard wrestling like one would sesame street or pokemon cards. If you went to a WWE even on this date exactly ten years ago you would find little jimmys, Attitude Era fans, guys between 25 and 45, and girls between 15 and 25.. You would find fans of the WWF, some people who even watched the WWWF, etc. None of the kids today understand anything before John Cena. They dont about the HBK ladder match, only that hes HHH's buddy and he likes leather and green glow sticks.. People didn't know who Nash was at the Royal Rumble and weren't even alive when he was WWF champ or even understand that he was the WWF champ. They dont even know that his music was the NWO music. Your just a hater. Do you know how much buzz his stunt would had caused during the Alliance Angle? Do you know the impact his stunt would have had in 1998?! The WWE Universe has no sense of history because they are a bunch of brats who want be watching WWE in like 2 years anyways. But you probably think those little Jimmys are like you, me, or any other fan in these forums. if so you are delusional..

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

whats your doggone point? just because wrestling can be shady and crooked we are just supposed to sit back and just be all like "dat just how it do.."? If everybody fuckin bitched and made demands and wanted to work hard to showcase what they had to offer and promoted fair oppurtunities maybe we would have more then one huge wrestling promotion. maybe people could make a living off of this sport. Maybe people wouldnt get ripped off all the time, maybe the youth could rise up when its their time, you know since that is the natural progression in every other sport known to man! Thats the problem with wrestlers, they act like crack heads taken whatever they can get and not puttin up an argument. they have no self worth. they dont stick together. wrestling is the only line of work in which id join a union.. I am so tired forum posters tellin the men and women of this sport they need to suck it up or smile and hold out for the rehire or not to express themselves post or even pre release. they are alowed to feel, they should be greatful for work but they shouldn't have to bend over or gravel like you guys want them to do.

How the hell do you burn a bridge with Vince McMahon if he constantly just rerouts traffic? its bad to anger him but no one thinks its bizarre or unethical that he arbitrarily looks past certain wrestlers who air dirty laundry or cut him down in public. how can you pick and choose between criticts and critiques? And how is it that you get a free pass to show out just because you put butts in the seats?QUOTE=TWJC: The Beginning;3810959]

Matt hardy was relevant and had an actual reason to be upset (supposedly, I still think it was 90% a work).

I love Matt Hardy, and Matt Hardy is another fine athlete in our sport that makes me proud to be a North Carolinian but Matt Hardy right before his release and even after his rehire was not relevent..
He had main event viability but that was about 5 years ago and not for too long either. That has nothing to do with this at all i might add.

im 23, grew up in east tennessee, and i recognize his importance. I'm not sure what station the NWA belt throwdown was aired on but I know that moment was felt withen and OUTSIDE the tristate area.. Mysterio, Beniot, E.G., and Malenko werent ECW. They were just passing through. They werent even known for their ECW work but for being WCW alumns who made it big in the WWF.. Not every if is speculation.. I say if because of the way the cookie crumbled not because I'm wrong or just grasping.

You know damn well a huge factor hurting older wrestlers is recognition. You know damn well WWE has set it up to where it doesn't hold on to fans past a 4 year stretch or so, it simply replenishes them with other "Little Jimmys" in the 7 to 12 year old range. You also know damn well that when we were growing up all wrestling orginizations attempted to keep their fan base for the long haul and then also expand to youths who would then watch past the age of 12 and not just discard wrestling like one would sesame street or pokemon cards. If you went to a WWE even on this date exactly ten years ago you would find little jimmys, Attitude Era fans, guys between 25 and 45, and girls between 15 and 25.. You would find fans of the WWF, some people who even watched the WWWF, etc. None of the kids today understand anything before John Cena. They dont about the HBK ladder match, only that hes HHH's buddy and he likes leather and green glow sticks.. People didn't know who Nash was at the Royal Rumble and weren't even alive when he was WWF champ or even understand that he was the WWF champ. They dont even know that his music was the NWO music. Your just a hater. Do you know how much buzz his stunt would had caused during the Alliance Angle? Do you know the impact his stunt would have had in 1998?! The WWE Universe has no sense of history because they are a bunch of brats who want be watching WWE in like 2 years anyways. But you probably think those little Jimmys are like you, me, or any other fan in these forums. if so you are delusional.. [/QUOTE]Actually if you went to a WWF show in the attitude era you see a lot of fans of trash TV that are now watching Jersey Shore.

The attitude era turned off a lot of fans. The WWF actually lost a lot of their original fans. Parental groups were set up to tear it down, preachers used it in their sermons, i remember hearing radio stations talking about how "this isn't even wrestling anymore, it's nothing like it used to be".

Take off those rose tinted shades and realize that the past isn't as golden as you thought.

Shane Douglas was NEVER a fucking draw. That's why his biggest accomplishment is in ECW. He was on TV in the attitude era for WCW. Guess what, he didn't draw. He's overrated. Tons of guys in wrestling have shit attitudes, the ones that can draw get away with it. The ones that can't end up bitter men who really aren't any different from me and you.

 

[Psyclone]

Shane Douglas was NEVER a fucking draw. That's why his biggest accomplishment is in ECW. He was on TV in the attitude era for WCW. Guess what, he didn't draw. He's overrated. Tons of guys in wrestling have shit attitudes, the ones that can draw get away with it. The ones that can't end up bitter men who really aren't any different from me and you.

i deleted a lot of that and ended with what you said about shitty attitudes and "if they can draw they stay around." (see scott steiner in WCW).. I also will add to your point that even if stuck in a shitty gimmick, if you have charisma you will get your chance to SHOW you can draw... Look at the Rock who was Rocky Maivia and was the good guy never give up super babyface who the fans felt was getting shoved down their throats.... Thus the "Die Rocky Die" chants etc... Yet he somehow rebounded and became the people's champ (eventually) and why was that? oh yeah charisma..

Stone cold came into the company as "the ringmaster" it sucked and he was going nowhere but hey he stuck with it and look where it got him?

Shane Douglas was saddled with a crappy gimmick as the "dean" but that did NOT mean that he couldn't have eventually changed it if he stuck with it... He instead decided to burn a bridge to the WWF and leave... He did the same in WCW when he torched flair... He's a guy who's burned bridges regardless of where he's been and except for ECW fans is barely recognizable (especially to a WWE audience today) so therefore this just reeks of self glorification.... This was a sad attempt to get some attention, and every post like this one or news mention on any of these wrestling websites just glorifies it even more, and maybe makes shane think that he should do this more... Honestly I just hope that we never have these "sorta were kinda somewhat reminiscent" people pulling these stupid stunts for publicity in the future... Then we'd end up with Bastion Booger doing something one week , and duke droese doing something the next... Maybe someone can dig up Gillberg

 

[thebarber]

if we tolerate Ric Flair in the ring long past his experation date then the least we can tolerate is Douglas ranting today about the exact samething he did in 1993.. I think he should had been one of the Radicalz. but that was 12 years ago Vince missed out. I think he should had been WCW champ but that was between 1999-01. He could had been a major player in TNA in its formative years. I am not advocating that he unseat CM Punk today, but alot of his gripes have merits and I wished the majority of it had been addressed and corrected circa 2000. I AM FULLY AWARE OF HIS AGE and will not look past that..

Shane Douglas was supposed to be one of the Radicalz, he whinged and bitched and complained and was leaving along with Konnan when Benoit and co left WCW. But in typical Douglas fashion, he chicken out at the last second. Vince was going to hire him, but he had no intention of hiring Konnan. So Douglas stayed behind, got fatter and tagged with Bagwell in a really memorable(cough cough) tag team title run.
People forget Shane Douglas was given his big break by Vince McMahon in late 1990, he was a high flying pretty boy who could have been anything. But he asked for, and was granted, a release, citing his father was quite ill and he needed to look after him. Except, weeks later who should show up in WCW????? Fucking Douglas who went on to tag with Johnny Ace. He has a history of shitting on promoters, the only reason he had any suiccess in ECW was because he shat all over the NWA when he unfied their titles in 1994, throwing the belt to the mat and giving a great speech at the time. Doulgas was offered a contract in 1995 by WWE, even safter the way Douglas upped and left 4 years previous and what does Douglas do??? Runs out on ECW to the higher bidder. But because he was nowhere near as good as he thought he was, he was gone 6 mnoths later and back in ECW where his rubbish would wash because Heyman always pushed guys with big mouths to tear apart verbally the competition. In 1999, with ECW still in business, Douglas cut and run again when WCW threw open their chequebook. Shane Douglas does not have an honourabkle bone in his fat ass body, and his ability was good back in 1991-1995 but then he became a brawler with no real connection to the fans. The Franchise..please...keep living of the dead carcass that is Extreme Wrestling with your equally wahsed up buddies. Idiot

 

[Texas Tornado]

In business and personal life, sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut on the way out. Maybe you feel better at the time by venting your frustrations, but you might wind up regretting it years later. And then you talk about him talking too much about the title throw down but that was a major moment in ECW and a major moment in the NWA's history. For Shane Douglas to pull the stunt he did at Raw, he must have been firmly advised he had no place in WWE, now or in the future.<<True

 

[One to Remember]

Shane Douglas was supposed to be one of the Radicalz, he whinged and bitched and complained and was leaving along with Konnan when Benoit and co left WCW. But in typical Douglas fashion, he chicken out at the last second. Vince was going to hire him, but he had no intention of hiring Konnan. So Douglas stayed behind, got fatter and tagged with Bagwell in a really memorable(cough cough) tag team title run.

how did you get this information? are you saying he stayed behind in solidarity with Konan or because he was scared and what would he have to be scared of if McMahon was over that '90s shit?

People forget Shane Douglas was given his big break by Vince McMahon in late 1990, he was a high flying pretty boy who could have been anything. But he asked for, and was granted, a release, citing his father was quite ill and he needed to look after him. Except, weeks later who should show up in WCW?????

I think he tagged with Steamboat in the early '90s too and i think maybe his first big break was in the UWF.. If his was father was ill and he loves his daddy whats wrong with getting your release..?! Maybe his fathers condition changed and perhaps VKM was not interested a month later? That happens alot too, VKM and the Titan brass have been known to be erratic and very hot and cold with performers.. WCW paid more back then and maybe he needed the money to help his family situation? I dont think you really proved that his father's illness was a roose to jump ship to greener pastures..

He has a history of shitting on promoters, the only reason he had any suiccess in ECW was because he shat all over the NWA when he unfied their titles in 1994, throwing the belt to the mat and giving a great speech at the time. Doulgas was offered a contract in 1995 by WWE, even safter the way Douglas upped and left 4 years previous and what does Douglas do??? Runs out on ECW to the higher bidder.

He wasn't ragging on the NWA in Eastern Championship Wrestling.. He had no issues with Todd Gordon. Maybe Douglas getting the call back lends credence to my argument that the timing of the release, the illness, and the WCW jump was just a coincidence? I mean when he got his release how was he even working? How the fuck are you gonna cite anyone leaving ECW for higher pay if the fed had a track record of not paying its wrestlers and the athletes we are discussing derived all their income from wrestling..? How does that translate to the wrestler being in the wrong?! Eitherway after that incident he still returned to ECW..

But because he was nowhere near as good as he thought he was, he was gone 6 mnoths later and back in ECW where his rubbish would wash because Heyman always pushed guys with big mouths to tear apart verbally the competition.

I dont believe that either. A lot of guys passed thru ECW in between jobs and with open mics of course you got to view constant speeches about WCW and/or the WWF.. I didn't hear Funk, Bam Bam, RVD, Raven or Hall..
I do think locker room power struggles effected who left the WWF greatly between 1993-5.. I dont know the circumstances of his 2nd departure.

In 1999, with ECW still in business, Douglas cut and run again when WCW threw open their chequebook. Shane Douglas does not have an honourabkle bone in his fat ass body, and his ability was good back in 1991-1995 but then he became a brawler with no real connection to the fans. The Franchise..please...keep living of the dead carcass that is Extreme Wrestling with your equally wahsed up buddies. Idiot

ECW was unstable in 1999. Douglas was probably owed alot. Alot of people were leaving ECW, Taz was on WWF tv with the ECW title, the Dudleys left, Awesome left, so did Storm.

Actually if you went to a WWF show in the attitude era you see a lot of fans of trash TV that are now watching Jersey Shore.

They didn't replace the WWF with Jersey Shore they couldn't get what "WWE" was and why all the cussing, blood, and sexiness was now absent.. That makes sense to me..

The attitude era turned off a lot of fans. The WWF actually lost a lot of their original fans. Parental groups were set up to tear it down, preachers used it in their sermons, i remember hearing radio stations talking about how "this isn't even wrestling anymore, it's nothing like it used to be".

Okay maybe so but everything got like that by the mid '90s, everything PERIOD. Music, mtv, reality tv, clothing, etc. there would had been viability in the WWF reclaiming its old school fan base immidietly post attitude era but you cant reclaim them at all with what PG WWE offers and you casnt take wrestling seriously and it cant get stronger if its fan base ages out and its parameters are 8 to 12.. ? always the same new amount of kitties and it embarrses older kats like me to be seen with them..

Take off those rose tinted shades and realize that the past isn't as golden as you thought.

Shane Douglas was NEVER a fucking draw. That's why his biggest accomplishment is in ECW. He was on TV in the attitude era for WCW. Guess what, he didn't draw. He's overrated. Tons of guys in wrestling have shit attitudes, the ones that can draw get away with it. The ones that can't end up bitter men who really aren't any different from me and you.

That doesn't count.. Douglas and a bunch of other guys in WCW and the WWF were not promoted as ECW guys or invaders or whatever.. Did Jarrett draw or Booker T., or Benoit, or JBL? If he had returned with the Alliance it would be a different story. And him being in the WWF c 1999 would had been way different then him on WCW.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Some of these posts are FILLED with what ifs... Bottom line, Douglas had numerous chances to catch on and with the brief exception of ECW he did not. He rants that Vince McMahon never gave him a chance but he worked there for years, he rants about Ric Flair although no one knows why, Flair had little control over booking in WCW during Douglas' brief run there in the Dynamic Dudes tag team with Johnny Ace, he rants about HHH who had very little cred himself in WWE during Douglas tenure in the mid 90s, he rants about Hogan, who I dont believe he ever worked with...This guy talks just to get himself heard.

Supposedly he told Flair when they were in WCW in 2000 that he was a huge fan and only trashed him (repeatedly) to get publicity. Anybody really think HHH held him back in 96 ? If he was offered an opprtunity to jump to WWE with The Radicalz and he did not whose fault is that ? Flair was offered a chance to jump in 98 and he declined, nobody forced him.

Honestly, Douglas should go back to school teaching (how many people reading this knew he was a school teacher in the 80s ?), he isnt getting any younger and he isnt getting any more relevant (ranting on Flair, Hogan, & McMahon might have seemed edgy in 1995 but Flair is retired, working part time as manager in TNA, Hogan doesnt wrestle anymore, and McMahon's success is untouchable).

Douglas did have some success in the small ECW, a big fish in a small pond. A lot of guys who did well there did little for various reasons outside ECW, The Dudley Boys being the most famous. Certainly guys like Sabu & Sandman, big deals in ECW, couldnt get a job working concessions in WWE, and likely would struggle getting work even in publicity starved TNA.

Some guys through the years took success at a smaller level and built huge careers, Curt Henning and HBK in the AWA, Rick Rude in World Class, The Dudleys, Sting in UWF, etc, other guys needed make overs, image changes, or just took longer than others to succeed like Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, The Rock, Steve Austin, truly great performers survived lousy booking and sometimes nonsensical character changes and still remained hugely popular with fans like Brett Hart, Flair, Undertaker. At the end of the day if you have truly special talent I believe in almost every case it comes out, even if promoters miss it initialy (Austin, Rock, Nash) or if you are booked like an idiot (Hart, Flair, Taker) - Douglas simply has never "Made It" like those guys, and now with WCW done, ECW long gone, and TNA only a fraction of the size of WWE (home of some of the guys who he has eviscerated numerous times like McMahon & HHH) he probably will never get that chance.

Even a guy like Shawn Michaels, with a well established reputation for being selfish and not being a team player, got a second chance with Vince. Of course HBK as time would tell sincerely wanted an opportunity to repair his legacy and be a "team player", and of course most of his problems were behind the scenes, not aired publicly in every forum available non stop for anyone to hear. That's why Douglas will never be a big time star.

 

[One to Remember]

are you just on Ric's **** or are you the WWE Booster Club President? You say he never shared a work place with Hogan but Hogan was in the WWWF in 1990 and WCW in 1999 and its no longer disputable that he was hurting younger talent in WCW at that time. I probably would debate Douglas as far as Hogan in the early '90s is concerned. As for Flair your purposely misunderstanding his point. He never said Flair was a booker who self booked. I think he was refering to his spot or position in the upper echelon of the roster PAST A CERTAIN YEAR or PAST A CERTAIN AGE.. Now 2 or 3 years ago WE WERE ALL going wild over TNA and its wrestlers who were 40 and up "hogging" the spot light. 1989 was the last year Flair was in his 30s.. He was quite stout, pretty fit, and his pecks werent all saggy (that would soon change).. Now a rationale argument could be made that his career might had needed to be winded down in the NWA-WCW orginization(s) either in the NWA in the late '80s or WCW in the early '90s. Even if we can't agree on that, are you saying Douglas critisizing Flair for his position of prominence on the roster in WCW in the late '90s has NO VALIDITY whatsoever? Not even a little? Everyone knows before Trips was tappin Steph he had friends in high places with the kliq and that was a source of power for him. Again Douglas was in the WWF when the Kliq had its most power to pull backstage, in NINETEEN NINETY FIVE.. You already know this. Sunny knows it too lol.

I dont even understand your Dudley Boyz remArk. Are you saying that because D Von wasnt WWF champion and Bully Ray has yet to capture the TNA title that they were failures post ECW..?! In the WWF they were a force in the tag team division, in TNA they held gold too. Further in your ECW rant you say no one in the small pond could make it in the big ocean. RVD was WWE and ECW brand champion. He was TNA champion. I have no double Storm would had held every title in WCW by 2002, NO DOUBT. Him holding 3 titles at once was a big deal even though he didnt have the heavyweight belt in there with em. Austin his an ECW alumn, Benoit, Malenko, Mysterio weren't featured at One Night Stand just because.. And what of McMahon being untouchable? Oh hes king of the hill because Verne Gagne's dusty ass was trippin so bad the AWA shut down, the NWA got stunted on horribly by its own territories and faded, WCW imploded because it was owned by a corperation that was no longer controled by the guy who ran it, but by corperate big wigs that hated wrestling, and ECW's self destruction because of Heyman's check bouncing and TNN being two faced and erratic. World Class was good two if its first family could had just ate cereal for breakfest instead of shot gun blast.. Oh but yeah you da man Vinny, you really took the skin off of their asses. no other variables were present.. back to those guys ECwas a part of their transitions, it wasnt an alternate course that lead no where.. They wouldnt had been in ECW if they had not shown potential in WCW or the WWF, they would had been in like ECWA, SMW, or WWC forever and a day.. Yeah douglas was way out of line for whining. My belt being thrown into a trash can, one of my wrestlers showing up on another monday night program at the time time hes on my mine, receiving a black eye and a lugee on PPV, or walking out hours before a show, all things preferable to Douglas' outbursts.. Bad Franchise, bad!! no title for you ever!! grr..