Early career (1982–1987) Martin was trained by
Dominic DeNucci in the
Pittsburgh suburb of
Freedom, Pennsylvania, alongside
Mick Foley in the mid-1980s. He had been wrestling professionally to earn money since 1982. When he started, he used the
character of Troy Orndorff, the fictional nephew of
Paul Orndorff. In 1986, he wrestled
Randy Savage at a
WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping using his real name. He also wrestled "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in the debut episode of
WWF Wrestling Challenge, once again using his real name. Later that year, he began wrestling as a
fan favorite for the
Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) using the name Shane Douglas, which was given to him by
"Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and
Missy Hyatt (the "Douglas" last name was inspired by actor
Michael Douglas). Douglas defeated Gilbert for the
UWF Television Championship on August 3, 1987, but did not rise above mid-card status. Douglas lost the title on September 2 to
Terry Taylor.
Jim Crockett Promotion / World Championship Wrestling (1987–1990) In July 1987, Douglas began wrestling for
Jim Crockett Promotions, a member of the
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In April 1989, Douglas was put into a
tag team of
skateboarders known as the Dynamic Dudes with
Johnny Ace (John Laurinaitis, the younger brother of
Road Warrior Animal). Mick Foley has opined that since neither Ace nor Douglas knew how to skateboard, the fans saw through the
character and refused to buy into it. When Eaton and Lane
in storyline did not approve, they forced a match between the two teams with Cornette remaining neutral at ringside. He ended up turning on Douglas and Ace and the teams
feuded for a couple of months. Cornette's turn was to have established The Dynamic Dudes as a top fan favorite tag team, but the turn backfired and made
The Midnight Express more popular than they already were.
World Wrestling Federation (1990–1991) In 1990, Douglas signed a deal with the
World Wrestling Federation and made his debut on the June 18 episode of
Prime Time Wrestling, defeating Bob Bradley, in a match taped in Toronto, Ontario, on May 27. Douglas remained undefeated in his first month, defeating Bob Bradley,
Paul Diamond, and
Steve Lombardi in a series of matches. He then moved up to begin a house show series in late June against
Haku and suffered his first loss on June 28 in Denver, Colorado. He remained without a win in subsequent rematches. He made his
syndicated television debut on the August 26 episode of
WWF Wrestling Challenge, teaming with jobber Mark Thomas in a loss to
The Orient Express. In August 1990, he received his first break when he was tapped as the temporary replacement to an injured
Shawn Michaels in
The Rockers tag-team. Douglas teamed with Jannetty six times in matches against The Orient Express. On August 27, he defeated
Buddy Rose in a dark match at the
SummerSlam '90 PPV. On the September 17 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, Douglas wrestled Haku to a draw, and he was largely undefeated against low level competition throughout the fall. At the
Survivor Series '90 PPV Douglas defeated Buddy Rose in another dark match, and on January 3, 1991, at a house show in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he scored the biggest victory of his nascent WWF career when he upset
Dino Bravo. Four days later on the January 7, 1991, episode of Prime Time Wrestling he would pin Haku, and was strongly positioned as a rising young star. His most memorable WWF performance took place at the
1991 Royal Rumble, where he entered as the seventeenth entrant and lasted for 26 minutes and 23 seconds before being eliminated by
Brian Knobbs. Shortly after, he left the company to take care of his ailing father. Douglas would make intermittent appearances in 1991, subbing for various wrestlers on house shows. He returned on May 8 in Youngstown, Ohio, and lost to
Ricky Steamboat. In June he returned for a pair of house shows and was defeated by
Colonel Mustafa. He made his final televised appearance on the June 15th episode of Prime Time Wrestling, losing to Dino Bravo in a match taped at Madison Square Garden. Douglas closed out his first WWF run with two victories - a win on July 29 in a dark match at a WWF Superstars taping against Bob Bradley, and a victory over The Orient Express on August 2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when he teamed with Marty Jannetty.
Return to WCW (1992–1993) Douglas returned to WCW on the September 12, 1992, episode of
Saturday Night as a
fan favorite, where he defeated
Super Invader in his return match by using
Magnum T. A.'s finishing move,
belly to belly suplex, which was noted by Magnum, the following week on
Saturday Night. He made his
pay-per-view return at
Halloween Havoc, where he teamed with
Tom Zenk and
Johnny Gunn to compete against
Arn Anderson,
Bobby Eaton and
Michael Hayes in a winning effort. While feuding with Pillman, Douglas formed a
tag team with
Ricky Steamboat to take on Pillman and
Steve Austin in a
tag team match on the October 24 episode of
Worldwide. Steamboat and Douglas began a lengthy rivalry with
Pillman and his new tag team partner Steve Austin. before
dropping the titles to Austin and Pillman on the March 27, 1993, episode of
Worldwide. Douglas had been scheduled to team with Steamboat in a
steel cage match for a title shot at the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championship at
Slamboree, but was replaced by
Tom Zenk in a mask.
Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1995) The Franchise (1993–1994) Martin debuted in the upstart ECW during its formative years on the August 24, 1993, episode of
Eastern Championship Wrestling and solidified his status as a
villain by joining
Hotstuff International. In his first match, Douglas defeated
Don E. Allen and Herve Renesto in a
handicap match. Douglas quickly rose to the top of the roster, winning the promotion's
Heavyweight Championship on the September 14 episode of
Eastern Championship Wrestling, after champion
Tito Santana forfeited the title. At
NWA Bloodfest, Douglas retained the title against
J.T. Smith before
dropping the title to
Sabu later that night. On the December 14 episode of
NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling, Douglas substituted for an injured
Johnny Gunn to defend the
Tag Team Championship alongside Gunn's partner
Tommy Dreamer against
Kevin Sullivan and
The Tazmaniac, during which Douglas
turned on Dreamer by attacking him with a
steel chain. This strategy would be adopted by
Eddie Guerrero a decade later. Douglas defeated Dreamer at
Holiday Hell to end the feud. Douglas developed a
gimmick of a foul-mouthed, incredibly arrogant villain (an attitude that would define him permanently and give him success), and gave himself the nickname "The Franchise". Douglas gained notoriety when he wrestled
Terry Funk and
Sabu to a one-hour draw in the company's first-ever
three-way dance for the ECW Heavyweight Championship at
The Night the Line Was Crossed. Douglas dethroned Funk in an
Ultimate Jeopardy steel cage match to win his second Heavyweight Championship at
Ultimate Jeopardy. Since its founding, ECW had been a member of the NWA. Douglas was instrumental in the development of "
extreme wrestling" when he defeated The Tazmaniac,
Dean Malenko and
2 Cold Scorpio to win
a tournament to become the
NWA World Heavyweight Champion on August 27. In an
angle which only he,
Tod Gordon, and
Paul Heyman knew about, Douglas threw down the NWA title belt and stated that he did not want to be champion of a "
dead promotion". Douglas raised the ECW Heavyweight Championship belt and declared it to be a
world championship belt, renaming it the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. WWE recognizes this moment as the beginning of ECW Championship and Douglas as the first ECW Champion. On the August 30 edition of
NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling, Gordon announced he was folding Eastern Championship Wrestling, and in its place forming Extreme Championship Wrestling, a new promotion independent of the NWA. Capitalizing on the controversy that surrounded his literally "throwing down" the NWA belt and the
promo following it, Douglas was encouraged to express his
true feelings in interviews by the ECW
bookers. This helped raise ECW's prominence in the eyes of wrestling fans and journalists and allowed it to become an alternative to WCW and the WWF and Douglas cemented a legacy in the history of ECW.
Triple Threat (1995) In early 1995, Douglas formed the
Triple Threat faction, aligning himself with
Chris Benoit and
Dean Malenko. He started the year with successful title defenses of the
World Heavyweight Championship against
Tully Blanchard and
Marty Jannetty. He then entered a feud with
The Sandman during a match at
Three Way Dance, where Sandman's
valet,
Woman, seemed to have aligned herself with Douglas by helping him in retaining the title against Sandman by handing him Sandman's
Singapore cane to attack him and get the win. However, it turned out to be a ruse when she aided Sandman in defeating Douglas for the title at
Hostile City Showdown. Douglas' lengthy reign ended at
385 days, which is the second longest reign in the title history. After failing to regain the title, Douglas began a rivalry with
Cactus Jack, as each man wanted to capture the title from Sandman and saw the other as competition. During this time, Douglas went on a tirade about the lawlessness of ECW and brought in
Bill Alfonso as a troubleshooting referee to restore order. After teasing a departure for the WWF, Douglas finally left ECW for the WWF in July 1995, making his last appearance during a world title match between Sandman and Cactus Jack at
Hardcore Heaven, during which he attacked both men and left. Douglas began a rivalry with
Razor Ramon after grading him "MF" for miserable failure after Razor's loss to
Shawn Michaels at
SummerSlam. Douglas made his in-ring return to WWF on the September 9 episode of
Superstars, where he defeated
1-2-3 Kid by disqualification after Razor attacked Douglas. He was set to wrestle
Shawn Michaels for the
WWF Intercontinental Championship at
In Your House 4, but Michaels forfeited the title due to injuries incurred after being attacked and beaten by a
United States Marine in
Syracuse, New York. Douglas was randomly paired with Razor,
Owen Hart and Yokozuna against Shawn Michaels,
Ahmed Johnson,
British Bulldog and
Sycho Sid in a Wildcard
Survivor Series match at
Survivor Series. Douglas was eliminated by Michaels after Razor attacked him. His team went on to lose the match. Douglas failed to recapture the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon on the December 4 episode of
Monday Night Raw. His last televised match was on the December 9 episode of
Superstars, where he defeated
enhancement talent Tony Williams. His very last day working in WWF was at
Madison Square Garden where he was diagnosed with a severe muscle spasm in his back that if agitated could have paralyzed him. Despite doctors telling Vince McMahon it was a legitimate injury, Vince became angry at the news and tried to intimidate Shane into denying it, and was explicitly told by
Vince McMahon to leave the company on January 1, 1996. However, Vince made him go out that evening and deliver a promo, in which he announced his injury. Douglas has been very outspoken about how Vince paid him much less than what was agreed upon, and because of his treatment before he refuses to ever work for Vince again.
Return to ECW (1996–1999) World Television Champion (1996) After leaving the WWF, Douglas made his surprise return to ECW at the
House Party event on January 5, 1996, where he briefly reprised his Dean Douglas character, correcting
Buh Buh Ray Dudley's grammar after a match, thus becoming a
fan favorite. During this time, he had a memorable feud with
Cactus Jack as Cactus was getting ready to leave for WWF and cutting promos encouraging
Tommy Dreamer to side with him, deriding ECW's hardcore style and promoting clean wrestling. Upon his return, Douglas also targeted the
World Heavyweight Champion Raven and received several title shots but came up short due to heavy interference by members of Raven's Flock. After failing in his attempts to regain the World Heavyweight Championship, Douglas won the
World Television Championship from
2 Cold Scorpio at
A Matter of Respect and eventually
turned into a
villain by showing disrespect to the title. After the match, 2 Cold Scorpio attacked him. A month later, Douglas was scheduled to defend the title against Scorpio at
Fight The Power, but Scorpio was injured, which resulted in Douglas retaining the title against
El Puerto Ricano, Don E. Allen,
Devon Storm and Mikey Whipwreck in quick succession before losing it to
Pitbull #2 after Douglas insulted
The Pitbulls'
manager,
Francine and gave her a
belly to belly suplex. At
Heat Wave, Douglas won his second World Television Championship by defeating champion
Chris Jericho, 2 Cold Scorpio and Pitbull #2 in a
four corners match, after Francine turned on them and aided Douglas in winning the match. With Francine by his side, Douglas continued to feud with Pitbull #2 and retained his title against the latter in subsequent rematches for the remainder of the year.
Triple Threat reformation and final storylines (1996–1999) In the fall of 1996, Douglas reformed
The Triple Threat with new members
Chris Candido and
Brian Lee. Douglas and
Francine entered a feud with
Tommy Dreamer and
Beulah McGillicutty, which culminated in a series of matches between the two pairs throughout late 1996 and early 1997. Triple Threat feuded with Douglas' enemies Tommy Dreamer and
The Pitbulls throughout the first half of 1997, while Douglas continued his successful title defenses of the
World Television Championship against
Pitbull #2. Douglas retained his title against
Pitbull #1, as well, in an
"I Quit" match at
Hostile City Showdown. During this time, a mysterious man began stalking Francine and displayed mannerisms of
Rick Rude. After Douglas retained his title against Pitbull #2 at ECW's first
pay-per-view Barely Legal, Brian Lee revealed himself to be the mysterious stalker and delivered a
Chokeslam to Douglas. As a result, Lee was removed from Triple Threat due to his betrayal and left ECW. Triple Threat gained
Bam Bam Bigelow in Lee's place, who joined the group as Douglas' partner in a tag team match against The Pitbulls at
Chapter 2. At
Wrestlepalooza, Douglas retained his title against
Chris Chetti. Later that night, Douglas interrupted
Taz's
promo after a match between Taz and
Sabu. Douglas defended his title against Taz, with the
stipulation that Taz would not be able to compete in ECW for sixty days. Douglas lost the title in
under three minutes after Taz made him
submit to the
Tazmission. Douglas' reign ended at
329 days. Douglas received another shot on the August 14 episode of
Hardcore TV, but lost. In September 1997, Douglas retained the title against
Tommy Dreamer at
Terry Funk's WrestleFest and against
Phil Lafon in a
no disqualification match at
As Good as It Gets. Douglas lost his title to Bam Bam Bigelow on the October 24 episode of
Hardcore TV after Rick Rude chose Bigelow as Douglas' challenger. After the match, Bigelow left ECW and Chris Candido abandoned Douglas, resulting in Triple Threat being disbanded. Douglas' fourth ECW World Heavyweight Championship reign was the longest reign in the title's history, lasting
406 days. On February 12 at
Crossing the Line '99, Douglas allied with his long-time nemesis
Tommy Dreamer to feud with
Impact Players after both men claimed to be the "New Franchise" but Douglas elected Dreamer as his successor, turning Douglas face for the first time in nearly 3 years. After the face turn, Douglas would perform in a heroic role for the first since he
disrespected the ECW Television title in 1996 and continued to feud with the Impact Players. Douglas wrestled his last match in ECW on April 15, where he defeated
Justin Credible after a
Pittsburgh Plunge. On May 15, Douglas was scheduled to represent ECW on the interpromotional
Break the Barrier event. However, after a disagreement with
Paul Heyman, Douglas delivered a controversial
shoot promo at the event which ended with him quitting ECW one day before its
Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view.
Second return to WCW (1999–2001) The Revolution and New Blood (1999–2000) After quitting ECW, Douglas made a surprise return to WCW on the July 19, 1999, episode of
Nitro, where he joined with former
Triple Threat members
Chris Benoit and
Dean Malenko and fellow ECW alumnus
Perry Saturn to form
The Revolution and pledged to cut the "cancer" out of WCW. This was a reference to
Ric Flair, with whom Douglas had an
off-screen grudge.
Asya was later added to the group in place of Benoit, who left the team. The group wrestled other groups including
West Texas Rednecks,
First Family,
Filthy Animals, and
Varsity Club during its run. The group was rarely featured prominently and never really challenged the dominant wrestlers of WCW. This led to them never really getting
popular as an idea, though both Benoit and Malenko were successful individually. The lack of success would eventually lead to the demise of the group after Malenko and Saturn left WCW. Douglas returned to WCW television on the April 10 episode of
Nitro, where he aligned himself with
Vince Russo and joined
The New Blood group run by Russo and
Eric Bischoff, which feuded with the older established
The Millionaire's Club, which included his on-screen and real life off-camera nemesis Ric Flair. Douglas faced Flair for the first time on that same night in a match, which Douglas lost by disqualification. Douglas resumed his feud with Flair, which culminated in a match between the two at
Slamboree, which Douglas won, with the help of Flair's son
David Flair in disguise of a masked man. On the May 15 episode of
Nitro, Douglas defended the tag title alongside The Wall, who substituted for
Buff Bagwell in a match against KroniK, which KroniK won.
Return of The Franchise and United States Champion (2000–2001) At
Bash at the Beach, Douglas defeated his former tag team partner
Buff Bagwell, by debuting his new finishing move called
Franchiser and with assistance by
Torrie Wilson, who
turned on Bagwell. With Wilson as his
manager, Douglas began using his ECW nickname "The Franchise" and began using "Cut the damn music!"
catchphrase during his entrance to the ring and then delivered a promo on the microphone. Douglas would begin a rivalry with Kidman, who had previously been aligned with Torrie Wilson. During this rivalry, Kidman notably displayed footage of a supposed
sex tape between Douglas and Wilson, in which Douglas suffered
erectile dysfunction. This led to a "
Viagra on a Pole" match, which Douglas won. At the
New Blood Rising pay-per-view, Kidman defeated Douglas in a
Strap match. However, Douglas and Torrie Wilson defeated Kidman and
Madusa in a
scaffold match at
Fall Brawl. In the fall of 2000, Douglas became allied with the
Natural Born Thrillers, during which he helped their leader
Mike Sanders win a
kickboxing match against Ernest Miller at
Halloween Havoc, Douglas would then enter a rivalry with
Misfits in Action leader
General Rection over Rection's United States Heavyweight Championship. He faced Rection for the title at
Starrcade, but lost by disqualification after
Chavo Guerrero Jr. informed the referee that Douglas was trying to use a
chain to hit Rection. In 2001, Douglas defeated Rection in a
first blood chain match to capture the title at the
Sin pay-per-view. Douglas
dropped the belt to
Rick Steiner on the February 5 episode of
Nitro. The two ended up joining separate
factions as Douglas became a member of
The New Church and Raven formed
The Gathering. Douglas made his TNA in-ring debut on July 2, where he defeated
CM Punk in a
Clockwork Orange House of Fun match. Douglas and Raven clashed throughout the summer of 2003, with both men trading wins in a couple of matches. When this feud ran down, Douglas broke away from The New Church on October 1 and began a quest to find "The New Franchise". He was joined by
Tracy as his new
valet after his match against
Sandman on November 5 and
Michael Shane was introduced as Douglas' protege and the trio formed their new group called "The New Franchise" on November 26. Douglas took him under his wing throughout the end of 2003 and beginning of 2004, as the two joined the company's tag team division. The duo were entered into a
tournament for the vacated
NWA World Tag Team Championship, where they lost to
Christopher Daniels and
Low Ki on March 24. The following week, Douglas and Shane participated in a
four-way tag team match to receive a shot at the tag team titles, but came up short. On May 5, Shane turned on Douglas and the two squared off in a match, which Douglas won. After the match, Traci joined Shane to abandon Douglas.
Various roles and managing The Naturals (2004–2007) When the grouping of Shane and Douglas broke up, Douglas went into a semi-in-ring retirement. He became an onscreen commentator and interviewer for TNA's new weekly television show,
Impact!, and their monthly pay-per-views. In addition to this on-screen role, he worked backstage as a
road agent and took a few independent bookings. He would scout The Naturals again on the May 25 episode of
Impact!, when Andy Douglas lost his match. A few weeks later, on June 15, Shane confronted them on their recent losing streak and their squandered talent, referring to their former manager and Douglas's ex-Triple Threat teammate
Chris Candido in the process. He offered to become their manager, which they accepted. During the
promo when he offered his services, he spoke his
true feelings on
World Wrestling Entertainment's revival of Extreme Championship Wrestling, admonishing
Vince McMahon for "exploiting the memory" of the company he helped build nearly 15 years earlier. After becoming their mentor,
pre-recorded videos showed Douglas training The Naturals have been shown on TNA programming, though he doesn't stand at ringside during their matches like most other managers. Once they were deemed ready for competition, Douglas billed them as "The Newly Franchised Naturals". Despite the failed "experiment", prior to the departure of The Naturals from TNA, Chase Stevens was featured in a match on the
pre-show of the
Final Resolution pay-per-view in 2007. During the match, Stevens wore the gold-and-black "Franchised" Naturals attire. Douglas came out after his match to heatedly confront Stevens about wearing his colors, leading to an in-ring confrontation between the two. After the
angle was dropped, Douglas remained completely unseen on TNA programming. On October 10, 2007, TNA announced that Douglas was released from his TNA contract.
Feud with Christopher Daniels (2009) at
Slammiversary in June 2009 for a new contract with TNA On the May 28, 2009, episode of
Impact!, Douglas returned to TNA and attacked
Christopher Daniels after his match with
A.J. Styles. The following week on
Impact!, Douglas again attacked Daniels during his match before subsequently stating that he wanted a second chance in TNA like Daniels received, after the latter was,
in storyline, fired from TNA. He was granted a second chance on the June 11 episode of
Impact!, where he was given a match with A.J. Styles which he lost, only to attack Styles after the match. Daniels would come out to help Styles, only to have Douglas hit him with a towel containing a pair of handcuffs. Following the match, Douglas left TNA once again, although asked by TNA to participate in their ECW reunion show
Hardcore Justice, he refused the invitation.
Return to the independent circuit (2009–present) in April 2010 On March 14, 2009, Douglas returned to the
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) for the first time since he
dropped the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 15 years, wrestling for the
NWA On Fire territory in a singles match, and defeating ECW alumnus
Little Guido. In 2012, Douglas announced that he would take part in
Extreme Reunion, an event consisting of former
ECW Originals. It was the first in a series of three events. The event was held on April 28 in the National Guard Armory of Philadelphia. The second event, Extreme Rising, was held on June 29 in New York and on June 30 in Philadelphia. There was a third show promoted by the same group, held on November 17 in Pittsburgh called Remember November. In the main event Douglas wrestled
Matt Hardy to a no-contest. On March 24, 2017, at a Pro Wrestling All-Stars of Detroit event, Douglas defeated The Great Akuma in Melvindale, Michigan, to become the Pro Wrestling All-Stars Heavyweight Champion. On April 21, Douglas defeated Paul Bowser by countout in an Extreme Rules match to successfully defend the title. He lost the title on May 12, 2017, when Breyer Wellington beat Douglas, Paul Bowser, and Atlas Hytower in a Fatal Four-Way match. On May 13, 2017, at XICW Best In Detroit 20 in Clinton Township, Michigan, Douglas beat Joe Coleman to become the XICW Xtreme Intense Champion. On March 3, 2018, at the World BigTime Wrestling (WBW) Extreme Warfare event in Lucas County, Ohio, Douglas defeated Shawn Blaze for the WBW Heavyweight Championship. He lost the belt back to Blaze on May 5, 2018, after the WBW commissioner interfered with the match. Douglas also feuded with Bobby Fulton, squaring off against the former Fantastic in a series of hardcore matches. On March 11, 2018, at XICW March Madness & Mayhem in Fraser, Michigan, Shane Douglas lost the XICW Xtreme Intense Title to Kongo Kong. On June 28, 2025, Douglas debuted for Tighten The Turnbuckle Wrestling, teaming with Chrisifix Greek to defeat
Evan Golden and Bryan Montgomery in
Johnson City, Tennessee. ==Booking and promoting==