10 Regrettable Wrestling Revamps
3. Shane Douglas - Dean Douglas
Shane Douglas was the talk of the wrestling industry in the mid-90s. A fantastic wrestler with a great look and enough attitude to launch an extreme revolution, Douglas was on the rocket ship to superstardom.... until that rocket crash landed in Connecticut.
WWF had a penchant at the time for assigning gimmicks reflective of a wrestler’s previous career. As such, Douglas - a qualified economics and history teacher - was immediately given a gown and renamed Dean Douglas, a supposed college dean. Complete with introductory classroom vignettes, 'The Franchise' was no more and class was well and truly in session.
The gimmick screamed mediocrity from the get-go and was laced with enough cheese to fill a lifetime’s supply of Big Macs. As such, the fiery former 'Franchise' of ECW had been reduced to corny, mid-card WrestleCrap more akin to The Godwins, Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese, and The Goon, than the company of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Razor Ramon where he belonged.
It was a criminal waste of Douglas’ talents and, despite an 11 minute run as IC Champion at In Your House 4, Douglas was gone by the close of In Your House 5. Luckily, Douglas resurfaced in ECW in early ‘96 and 'The Franchise' was back in business once more.