While best remembered for his time in ECW, Shane Douglas did have a couple of WW runs, including one as Dean Douglas in the mid-90s. And while Douglas was excited about this opportunity, the gimmick flopped because Vince McMahon wanted the character played for comedy, and backstage issues led to matches being sabotaged.
And now, on his YouTube Channel, Douglas has revealed that he has turned down thousands of requests to sign as “Dean Douglas” over the years, out of principle, including lucrative offers worth thousands of dollars, emphasizing integrity over profit.
“We have literally turned down thousands and thousands of requests for that over the last 14 or 15 years. And we’ve turned down big dollars. There was a time when I didn’t want to quote a number, but it was thousands of dollars somebody offered for the autograph. And I’ll be honest, I thought about it for a few seconds, and then I thought, no, not to sound corny, but this is how I teach my boys … You either have principles and live by them or you don’t. And I teach my boys to live their life by principles, the principles that their mother and I have taught them.” – Shane Douglas
In 1995, Douglas returned to the WWF as Dean Douglas, a pompous college dean gimmick that drew on his real-life teaching background. The ECW original memorably graded opponents harshly with a pointer and report cards. However, having been told the character would be serious, Douglas was unhappy with his outfit and with being told to use grades like “MF” for “miserable failure.” Additionally, he served as a transitional champion, passing the Intercontinental Championship from Shawn Michaels to Razor Ramon, which he felt made him look weak. Therefore, dissatisfied with his booking and pay being less than promised, Douglas departed the company on bad terms.
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