Kayfabe Commentaries Presents: YouShoot with Shane Douglas

This was filmed in 2012. It lasted about two hours and fifteen minutes.

The interview starts with host Sean Oliver meeting with Douglas in an indoor pool at a hotel. This was a spoof of Douglas’s first shoot interview with RF Video, which took place at a pool.

 

 

BEGINNING

Douglas is asked about his favorite Pittsburgh wrestling memory. He said that it was when his dad took him to see Bruno Sammartino wrestle Stan Hansen at the Pittsburgh Civic Center. He said that they sat eight rows from the ring and he was emotionally invested in the whole match. At the time, Bruno was coming back from a broken neck that was caused from a body slam by Hansen.

He is then asked about his trainer, Dominic DeNucci, and if he ever smartened him up to the business. He recalls a time while in Ohio that he was going over his match with Mick Foley and repeatedly heard some yelling “kayfabe.” Douglas said he had no idea what this meant and thought someone was screaming for a woman named Kay. There were veterans like the Monndogs, Bruno Sammartino, and Johnny Valiant around and he heard the screaming some more and thought nothing of it until DeNucci came up and slapped him on the head. Douglas said that he never knew about the word and neither did Foley so DeNucci grabbed both men and pulled them into the showers and yelled at them for being disrespectful to the veterans.

Someone then sends in a video submission of Douglas, wrestling with his legal name, Troy Martin, in a WWF squash match against Randy Savage then asks what it was like to be a TV jobber. He said that DeNucci would send some of his students in a van to the TV tapings and he went with Foley. Douglas said he worked against Savage, Paul Orndorff, and Butch Reed. He then puts over the experience of working in front of a large crowd and the importance of putting someone over and how to respect the guy you are putting over. Douglas said that Savage and Orndorff, along with mananger Bobby Heenan, approached him after the match and thanked him. He also brings up how Mick Foley was at this taping and was intentionally clotheslined in the jaw by the Dynamite Kid.

Necro Butcher sends in a question via Facebook and asks about the UWF. He brings up how Watts wanted to go national and that Eddie Gilbert, John Tatum, and Missy Hyatt came to a show he was working at for Denucci and was scouting talent and Gilbert asked him about wrestling full-time. Douglas said that he had a career in education and by the time he wanted to go, a hiring freeze took place as Watts was selling to Crockett so he didn’t get to go over.

 

He is then asked if Gilbert gave him the “Shane Douglas” name. He said it is half true as Giblert told him to pick between Shane or Cody, and he went with Shane. After an hour or so trying to pick a name, Missy comes from the kitchen and suggested the name Shane Douglas.

Douglas is asked about a match that was shown on Primetime Wrestling were he got pinned twice by Paul Roma. They show the finish that had the ref count to three about Roma rolled through a crossbody but the match still continued and the bell rang a few times and after another minute, Roma got the win with a powerslam. Douglas said that the ref screwed up and that was not supposed to be the finish and that Roma was pissed afterwards. Douglas said that Roma could never see the big picture and always had a short fuse.

He is then asked if the WWF had bigger plans for him after his performance in the 1991 Royal Rumble. He said that they did and he was working with Jimmy Hart on a few songs, one of which he claims was the theme given to the Young Stallions team? That makes no sense, as the Stallions got that song in either 1987 or 1988. Anyway, the gimmick for Shane was supposed to be similar to Bon Jovi and the plan was to record a mini LP and do a small tour. Douglas said that they started to move forward but that was when his dad got sick and was living alone with Emphysema and told Vince he needed to leave and take care of him. Vince told him the door was open for a return.

 

DYNAMIC DUDES

Some guy sends in a video submission and rips on their attire  then asks who gave the idea to form this team. Douglas first agrees with the 80’s style being “faggy” but claims that they were the #2 merchandise seller behind Sting at the time. He said that Eddie Gilbert told him about the team name and at first they thought he was joking. He tells us that the name was created by Jim Herd, who believed that all trends started West then headed East and conducted a study that found out the two most popular slang terms used among kids were “dynamic” and “dude.”

He is then asked about his relation with Johnny Ace. He calls Johnny a bright guy and said that he worked at Honeywell before breaking into the business, so he was well versed in the corporate world. Shane also says that Johnny loved to go out and meet girls and the plan for the team was for him to be the workhorse and Johnny the personality. He also said Johnny was lazy and liked to sleep late and rarely went to the gym.

HEAT

Shane is asked if he was ever involved in a backstage altercation. He said he got into it several times with Sandman, mostly due to him being drunk and reckless in the ring. He claims Sandman told him he could not perform his character unless he drank before the match. Douglas said that it started with Sandman drinking two 16oz cans of beers and grew significantly after that. Douglas tells a story of one night during a brawl in the ring, Sandman dropped his kendo stick and Shane picked it up and hit someone before putting it back down. After he enters the locker room, he overhears Sandman flipping out about Douglas using the stick so Douglas went over to him and they fought. Douglas said that you should let guys fight as it lets out all the tension, instead of breaking it up and letting it build. Douglas then adds that he put Sandman’s head through a trophy case at the end of the fight.

We now go into the “Dick Bag” game. He puts several names in the bag. He puts in Jim Ross for pressuring him to go back to the WWF for the Dean Douglas gimmick. He throws in Shawn Michaels, even making a cross with the name cards and says that instead of saying Jesus of Nazareth, it now reads Shawn Michaels. He also puts in Hulk Hogan, claiming that he could have single-handedly unionized wrestling. He puts in Vince McMahon after wiping the name card on his ass. He puts in Flair for how he treated him when he was younger but does state he feels bad for him due to his problems with alcohol. He throws in Vince Russo for writing horrible stuff. He puts in the Dynamite Kid for hurting Foley and throws in HHH just for being in the Kliq but also said later on that he liked Nash and X-Pac and did not want to put in Hall due to his rampant substance abuse issues. He throws in Tony Schiavone and Raven, for stating that he is the greatest ECW champion of all-time. He also puts in Paul Heyman and tells us that he owes him $144,000 and once swore on his father’s eye sight that he would give him his money.

During the “Dick Bag” game, Douglas tells a story of HBK bullying Nash in Montreal. During this time, the house show business was really in the shitter. Carl Oulette worked hard to put together a good show in Montreal and Vince wanted a hot finish to bring the crowd back next time. Douglas said that while in the locker room, HBK went to Nash and asked about the match and went told of the finish, HBK told Nash that he was the champ and should not put over “that piece of shit” clean. He said that HBK kept hammering this point home until Oulette walks in the room. HBK says hi and pats on the back then stands behind him, with Oulette not knowing due to him being blind in one eye, and starts giving hand gestures to Nash on what to say to Oulette about not putting him over clean. Nash then told Oulette that he wanted to win using his Jackknife and Oulette said they could not come back and do another match if that was the finish. Then a little later on when everyone is in the locker room, HBK goes in front of everyone and tells them that Oulette was too much of a primadonna to put over the champ and Oulette went after him but it was pulled apart. The next day while at the Montreal Days Inn, The Kliq walked behind Shane and Credible and told them to come into their room for a few beers. Shawn then goes to call Vince to tell him to fire Oulette but stopped and either him or Hall, Douglas cannot remember who, decided that they should instead make Vince “starve” him for two years. Douglas then tells another story of how after the Barber Shop incident when HBK was with the Rockers, Marty went after HBK in the locker room. HBK went on the ground into the fetal position and Marty kicked him a few times until Curt Hennig and Shane pulled him off after they laughed.

A fan send in a video submission asking Shane about the time he asked him for a photo with him and Tommy Dreamer at an independent show in Maine and Shane said that it might not happen as he had problems with Tommy. Shane remembers this and said that he and Tommy get along professionally but have different takes on philosophy. He tells a story at the end of his ECW run, Francine got ribbed when someone dumped a large bottle of bodily fluids into her bag. He said that Tommy accused him and told Shane that several guys wanted to jump him for what he did. Shane did state that Francine deserved the bag and seemed to know the specifics of the rib but denied he did that. Shane also said that Bam Bam Bigelow told him that Tommy went to him and said guys wanted to jump him for the prank too. Nothing else ever happened as a result.

Someone tweets a question of how Douglas would pull Francine’s arm while he took a shit. Shane said that a diet that is heavy in protein and amino acids really make your shit smell worse than usual. He then said that Francine had a weak stomach and he would hold her hand while taking a shit. He then tells a story of how Debbie the ticket taker was being a real pain in the ass one day in the bathroom so he took a chunk of his shit and placed it on a piece to toilet paper behind her and she reached back with her hand and it went into the chunk. He then tells his favorite rib involving shit when he was flying first class with all wrestlers with the exception being some guy who was next to Curt Hennig. After talking his ear off, the guy went into the bathroom and Hennig took his hands down his pants and circled the rim of the guys drink with shit. The guy came back and after taking a sip, he asked the stewardess for another drink, stating this one tasted like shit. Sean asks why wrestlers use shit for the pranks and Douglas replies that it is a shitty business.

Douglas is now asked about breaking Gary Wolfe’s neck. He claims that Wolfe was bugging him about taking a DDT straight down on his head but Douglas explained to him the dangers of the move. Wolfe didn’t care and they went out and they did the move and Wolfe rolled out of the ring and grabbed his neck but nothing else happened. Two days later, Tod Gordon told him that Wolfe was in the hospital with a broken neck. Douglas said that he went to see Wolfe, who told Shane that he did the move on purpose while Shane told him not to take the move this way.

The next question is about the incident in which HBK was attacked by Marines. Shane said that Davey told him the story. HBK was drinking all night and became belligerent and was hitting on the Marine’s girl. Davey was driving and X Pac was in the backseat and when they pulled away, they saw a group of several Marine’s and HBK yelled out the window at the guy, who then pulled him out and started beating the shit out of him. Davey told him he tried to help but his friends all jumped him and Shane says he believes Davey Boy as HBK was scrawny and Davey was jacked so more people would be needed to keep him down. Shane gives credit to the WWF for using enough smoke and mirrors to explain what happened then says if he was there, he would have helped out the Marine’s in a heartbeat.

A fan asks if Shane is mad at HHH for ripping off his Franchise gimmick. Shane said that when he first started out, Scott Irwin told him that everyone had been done before and instead of trying to be original, take pieces form certain characters and use it to fit your style. Shane said he took parts from Brad Armstrong, Barry Windham, Ric Flair, Terry Funk, and Ricky Steamboat. HE says he never copied any promos verbatim then closes by saying he has no right to get upset at HHH.

He is asked about a story Jim Cornette told about him being pissed at Shane for going over his head to management about the Dynamic Dudes. Shane said at that time, WCW had a committee of bookers and you had to talk with everyone there and they would send you to different people and they would all switch their answers around. He says that he is friendly with Cornette today when he sees him then calls him a “walking encyclopedia” of the business but says that while Cornette lives wrestling 24/7, it is just a job to him. Douglas then adds that the reason Heyman and Cornette cannot stand each other is because they are cut from the same cloth.

 

SEX

When asked about a road story, he tells the first time he was on the road with the UWF. He traveled with Davey Haskins and Carl Fergie, the cousin of Jerry Lawler. They are in a hotel room in Baton Rouge when the door knocks with two women and behind them were two younger girls, who Douglas learned later on were just sixteen years old. One of the girls asked Fergie how he had been doing as she hadn’t seen him in a while then Fergie tells her to stop flapping her jaws and start sucking his dick and she did.

Rob Feinstein sends in a video submission asking Shane if he ever had sex with Francine. Douglas said no but Heyman always told them to kayfabe with the dressing room and they all bought it, even citing one time when Saturn and Taz yelled at him for being a hypocrite about how Shane stated he was loyal to his wife.

Up next is the “Ho Bag” game. He puts in Dixie Carter, saying she was a bimbo. He also tosses in Elektra and Jasmin St. Claire. He puts in Karen Angle for leaving Kurt and going with Jeff Jarrett, then tosses in Gorgeous George. This was uneventful.

 

DRUGS

New Jack sends in a video submission asking Shane if he knew that the night he passed out in the parking lot in New Orleans that he was snorting heroin instead of cocaine. Shane says he has no recollection of this ever taking place.

He is then asked about how he left TNA to check himself into rehab. Shane said that he developed an addiction in 1999. He was 36 years old and it was taking him up to 45 minutes to get out of bed in the morning. He said he had 28 surgeries and 18 broken bones in his career and was told by a friend of how his wife had fibromyalgia and was unable to leave the couch but after seeing a doctor, she was able to play golf again. Shane went to the doctor and got a script for Oxycontin, which was being advertised as a “miracle drug” at the time. He then goes on a rant about the government going after nickel-bag dealers instead of going after Big Pharma. He then adds how drug stores are all over the place now for a reason, no matter what neighborhood, and they are not their just because people needs milk and eggs.

We now play the “Gimmick Bag” game. Here are the results:

Alcohol: Sandman

Marijuana: RVD

Cocaine: New Jack

Pills: Himself

Steroids: HHH, saying that it is a receipt

Heroin: Jake Roberts

Shit: Curt Hennig

Big Black Dildo: Ric Flair

 

TNA

He is asked if Hogan and Bischoff were either helpful or hurtful to TNA’s growth. Shane equates TNA’s growth to a heartbeat in a dead body, saying there hasn’t been any at all. He then repeats an old adage that says if you have a talented roster, a network, and a $100 million dollars you can start a wrestling company but Dixie Carter has proven that wrong. Shane then questions why you would hire the people that helped bankrupt another company to run yours. 

He is then asked about the hardest part of being a road agent. Shane said that you have to put yourself into the wrestler’s characters and know their strengths. He said that Heyman;s best attribute was that he highlighted your strengths and did not expose your weaknesses. He then recalls one time AJ Styles was sitting down and had to cut a six minute promo. Shane said that is death for a person who is not a good talker and said that it would be hard for someone like himself or Ric Flair, who are considered good talkers in the business.

He is asked why he left TNA. Shane said his youngest son was born and after a few failed detox attempts, he has home with his sons and while throwing up and out of it due to the pain pills, his oldest son caught no and asked if he was sick again and at that point, knew he had to change. He said he told TNA that he was working on a book and requested a week off without interruption. So, he went to a hotel room and taped down all the curtains and shades then took his last doses of medications, knowing that he would be detoxing heavily the next morning. He then said he sat in that room for a week, lying in his own piss and shit then went home hoping to feel better but got worse and believed he messed up his intestines.  He checked into a hospital and after that he went to rehab and 34 days later, went back to work. While he was gone, Dixie told him that he would receive his base salary and told he and his wife that his job would be safe when he came back. Shane found out that everyone pitched in and did his job, basically for free, so he could receive his money. When he got back, Dixie asked him if he wanted to go public or keep private about his stint in rehab. He said that he was never afraid to have that come out and said if he could help just one person that it would be worth it all. Shane says that he had received over 200 letters and Facebook postings who that told him his story convinced them to go get help. Back to the story of how he left, Shane said that two months after his story, right before Christmas, TNA stopped calling him back to come into work. He said that TNA used him to help their image then fired him afterwards.

 

EDUCATION

Shane is asked about his degrees. He said he does not hold a Masters Degree in Education. After graduating in 1986, he went to Pitt to go for his Masters in International Relations but after taking forever to park his car and going into a class where he was the only white male and was unable to understand most of what the other students were saying, he left. He got his education certificate then in 1991 after leaving the WWF, decided to try to get into medical school. He took all of the pre-requisites and got A’s in everything except for Organic Chemistry. He went back to wrestling afterwards and now at age 47, he wants to either go back and get his MBA or get a degree in Political Science. He is then asked about the “No Child Left Behind” law and said that it is typical government bullshit for schools to pass kids no matter what in order to get funding.

 

Up next is a segment in which Dean gives grades to various wrestlers in categories such as work-rate, promo ability, charisma, and personality. The grades are all pretty much what you would expect. He loves the promo work of Jericho and Austin, even though they are different from traditional wrestling promos. He called Lex Luger the most condescending person he has ever met. He gave Razor Ramon and F for his promo ability, saying that the character and fake accent was terrible on the mic. He thought that Raven’s promo ability was perfect for his character. He also tells a story of how when he was teaming with Ricky Steamboat in WCW, Sitng and Vader complained to the office about having to follow Steamboat so they switched it up for Steamboat to go afterwards. Shane puts over Steamboat for always wanting to go all-out for the fans.

 

POTPOURRI

A fan asks Shane, a big fan of Pittsburgh sports, who he would call the franchise of the sports scene. He said it would have to be Mario Lemieux. Douglas puts him over for taking a team that had sucked for a long time and not only winning the Stanley Cup, but also buying part of the team.

He is then asked his thoughts on Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer. He first puts them over for being able to make money off the business in a way that no one else could figure out. He then adds that they had a penchant to use their writings to espouse their ideas. He tells a story of how Meltzer wrote in the Observer about Shane lying about his low pay in the WWF. Shane claims that he contacted Meltzer and told him he would send him a cop of his pay stub only if he would publish it in the Observer but that Meltzer refused.

Shane is given a twenty-second countdown to list of his favorites. Here they are:

Match: Savage vs. Steamboat at WrestleMania III

Song: “Come on and Love me” by Kiss

Montreal Incident: Work

Road Food: Chicken Fried Steak

Wrestling Movie: Paradise Alley

Dean Douglas or Dynamic Dude: Dean Douglas

 

The last question is if Shane considers anyone in the business deserves to be called the “Franchise” today? Shane said no one fits the definition of his character and that Bobby Roode has the potential but TNA has mismanaged him.

 

Final Thoughts: Overall, I thought it was okay for a YouShoot. Shane seems like he has a good mind for the business and an intelligent guy overall. He did outright deny a few stories though and I get a feeling that he was holding back about his drug use. He did not appear to have an agenda and even though I agree with him on what he said about Big Pharma, he didn’t exactly say anything about taking responsibility himself for developing his addiction. I give this a mild recommendation and if you are a big fan of Douglas, you are probably better off seeking out one of his RF Video shoots.