15 Biggest BURIALS Wrestlers Never Recovered From
9. Dean Douglas (By Razor Ramon)
Brought back into the fold with the market leader with not unhealthy expectations as an upper-card star having over-achieved as the 'Franchise' of a nascent Extreme Championship Wrestling during Paul Heyman's most creative and groundbreaking era, Shane Douglas made one big mistake before he'd even made it back on to television - he told Vince McMahon that he used to be a teacher.
The whiplash for fans of both ECW and WWE was subsequently enough to doom the Dean Douglas persona to certain failure, and politically falling afoul of The Kliq was another expedited beginning of the end. After earning a head-shake of disappointment rather than the customary nod of approval from in-house in-ring litmus test Sean Waltman following their match, the man that had talked himself up as the best in the world for the last two years suddenly had his cards marked by those with the most power to "prove" him wrong.
Never was this clearer than at the critically savaged In Your House 4 pay-per-view. An event already lacking in at least one good match was dealt a death blow when Shawn Michaels took a kicking outside a Syracuse nightclub and had to surrender his match - and with it, the Intercontinental Title - to Douglas. The reign didn't make it to the 12-minute mark; Razor Ramon was inserted as a substitute and pinned 'The Dean' in a criminally one-sided and lackadaisical offering. Ramon and friends were experienced enough to elevate good to great, but were just as effective at curating the reverse effect.
It wasn't Douglas' night, nor even his year. He was back in ECW by the end of it.