Shane Douglas Talks Extreme Reunion & More

Bob Colling sent this one in:

Shane Douglas Interview Recap from In Your Head Wrestling Radio with Jack E. Jones and Oneinchbiceps.

The show opens up with Bill Dundee calling in to talk to Shane Douglas. That's right, the show starts off with a surprise guest! You never know who will show up on In Your Head! They talk about Dundee recreating Foley's exit from ECW at another independent show. Douglas says it was a classic moment.

On April 28th, Extreme Reunion will take place in Philadelphia, PA. Douglas is leading the project and says that it was brought up because of where the business has gone. He has seen the wrestling business go full circle. Douglas says that the industry is similar to what it was in 1992 and says that the major companies have done a poor job with keeping the audience, which they have lost 78% of. Douglas says that back when he was young people in their late 40's is when people reached the main event. He booked the show late in April so that the wrestlers can get in shape for the show. He is looking forward to relaunching the brand of ECW. This isn't going to be just one show, but an actual promotion. He wants to see what the talented young guys could do with a good storyline.

Douglas has been scouting talent for the new promotion for the last year. They have put together a team on the corporate side of the world to help the promotion. He has seen several talents that he is very excited to see compete in the company.

Jack asks if Douglas has heard Sami Callihan's promo about the ECW Arena. Douglas hasn't heard the full promo but has heard bits and pieces about it. He is assuming that the building is done. He talks about the early months of ECW Arena where they were trying to get people into the building and within six months they had to turn people away.

Douglas reveals that Dixie Carter has spent nearly $150 million dollars according to his sources in TNA. By comparison, ECW spent roughly $8.2 million dollars in seven years. Douglas talks about how badly they have used the young guys like AJ Styles and Bobby Roode. Douglas feels like those two guys should be stars in the business. "The stuff they are given is god awful." He continued to talk about the business has changed from old and new school. Douglas is giving some great insight into how stuff went back in the day.

A caller asked why Shane wanted to do the teacher gimmick in the WWF. He proceeds to go into the pitch that was given to him by Vince McMahon. Ever wanted to know the real purpose of the gimmick? He was told he could grade any wrestlers he wanted but that quickly changed and it became a cartoon. Douglas mentions how his ten year old son doesn't watch the WWE now because he is tuned out from it.

Douglas is asked about his critics who feels that he didn't live up to his potential. Douglas agrees with what Mick Foley said about him in his first book to a certain extent. He stands behind everything that he has ever said during his career. He believes that the Extreme Reunion show has gotten more buzz than any TNA show has ever put on during their existence. He recalls listening to a Triple H promo a long time ago and realizing that it was a promo he had done previously!

The topic of teaming with Ricky Steamboat and feud with the Hollywood Blonds is brought up. Originally, WCW was bringing Douglas and Marty Jannetty into the company to do a new Rockers gimmick. However, due to previous legal issues Marty wasn't signed. He says that Bill Watts was the guy who came up with the idea of Douglas teaming with Steamboat to help groom him into a main event spot. Also, the original concept for the Hollywood Blonds was for Douglas to team with Brian Pillman after turning on Ricky Steamboat. At the time, Douglas didn't think that the fans would buy into it and Watts ended up putting Steve Austin into the tag team instead. He felt that Austin made a better team with Pillman. He really enjoyed his time working with those three men.

The topic of Ric Flair taking a shot at Douglas working at Target. Douglas doesn't mind working for a dollar and mentions that Flair was afraid of wrestling Douglas at the Hardcore Justice pay per view after Flair had called Douglas a wife beater. Douglas feels bad for where Flair has ended up in his life. He does note that he was the biggest Flair fan when he was younger. He tells a story about Flair being inappropriate at a bar. It's a rather hilarious story!

Douglas feels that the Extreme Reunion can be a place for the younger guys and allow veteran guys to reinvent themselves. Douglas says that people who show up in shape at the show on April 28th they will be written into the stories while everyone else will be escorted out the door. For more information on the promotion head on over to www.extremreunion.net.

The Franchise believes that Extreme Reunion is the next big thing to hit the wrestling industry.

He hasn't looked at a talent exchange with companies like CZW or ROH, but feels that talent exchange helps out everyone involved. Douglas believes that the old territory ways was the best way to keep talent popular. They will look into possible talent exchanges in the future. Douglas is also looking at taking the Extreme Reunion overseas once the promotion gets on its own feet.

Douglas talked about not working Hardcore Justice because he felt that he would be paid far too little and didn't want Dixie Carter to "rape the legacy of ECW." Douglas notes that when they ran Hardcore Homecoming they gave the wrestlers a bonus because the show was a success.

Jack asks if Douglas gets along with Paul Heyman. Douglas says he respects Heyman but his relationship is what it is because of Heyman. He feels that ECW would still be in business had Heyman not been looking to do other things.

Once again, for more information on the Extreme Reunion taking place on April 28th in Philadelphia, PA, please go to www.extremereunion.net

For full audio please visit www.IYHWrestling.com.

Neal Jones contributed to this article.