As Shane Douglas, 'The Franchise' of ECW was a huge star in Paul Heyman's hardcore promotion. Cutting visceral promos and backing his words up with stellar in-ring performances, Douglas was a riot in ECW, but he'd find making the jump up to the WWF in 1995 to be an entirely different ball game. At the time, 'The Kliq' were running wild in the federation, which was now a Hogan-free zone. Rumours were rife that the group, led by the likes of Shawn Michaels and Kevin 'Diesel' Nash, were in firm control of the main event scene and got to choose who was allowed into their little club. If this was the case, Douglas would find that his face didn't really fit. Scheduled to defeat Michaels for the Intercontinental Title at In Your House 4, HBK would never make it to the match, having been beaten up by thugs outside a nightclub just a week or so before. Nonetheless, 'Dean' Douglas, a square teacher who admonished fans for their poor brainpower, was handed the vacant belt, before being dumped in quick fashion by Razor Ramon just minutes later. All in all, the Dean Douglas character would only last a few months in the WWF, before the man would make his way back to the safer pastures of ECW. Many at the time theorised that Michaels could have worked the match, he just didn't want to lose to Douglas. What other unlikely Intercontinental Champions from history can you think of? Do you agree with the choices listed here? Let us know down in the comments section!
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.