17. NWA Didn't Know Shane Douglas Was Booked To Throw Down Their Belt
In August, 1994, pro wrestling magazines and newsletters of the time blew up over the fact that ECW-NWA Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas decided to throw down the belt and declare himself the 'Extreme' Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Champion instead, pretty much splitting ECW from the traditional NWA committee's rules. Needless to say, this didn't really go down well with the National Wrestling Alliance or its board members, who viewed Tod Gordon's decision to split ECW from the NWA as a slap in the face, especially in the manner they chose to do it. ECW hadn't alerted anyone from the NWA about what they had booked Douglas to do, which only made things more shocking. This is where WWE start acknowledging the ECW Heavyweight Title, quite clearly another slap in the face to the NWA! In one of the most memorable promos of all time, Shane Douglas named many great NWA Heavyweight Champions, including the likes of Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, before slamming the belt to the ground and declaring it all a "load of crap". It's absolutely startling that ECW officials didn't clue the NWA in to such a huge moment, surely knowing it would ruffle some feathers.
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.
