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Health & Fitness

The "Franchise" Talks Zombies, Starting New Wrestling Promotion

Looking fit, trim and blond, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas happily greeted wrestling fans at Horror Realm, the premier film convention of its kind in western Pennsylvania during the weekend of March 7-9. Always gregarious, Douglas frequently spent a lot of time talking with fans who breathlessly remembered his days as the reigning king of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

The Beaver County native isn’t slowing down in or out of the pro wrestling ring, despite the fact that the will turn 50 in November. His omnipresent spiral notepad is filled with dates, bookings and ink scribbling. He seems to know what it all means and that’s all that really matters.

Douglas, born Troy Allen Martin, has wrestled for all of the industry’s top promotions since his debut in 1982. Back then he trained with “a real shooter” Dominic DeNucci. His training class also included WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley and Pittsburgh’s Cody Michaels, both of whom remain friends to this very day.

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At Horror Realm, Douglas was promoting his latest project, “Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies,” a locally-produced horror/comedy film in which he also co-stars, produces and choreographs fights between athletes and the cinematic undead. The film, which has been in the works since 2011, also stars “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Hacksaw” Jim Dugan, Matt Hardy and a litany of local professional wrestlers and auxiliary players. In addition, the movie features a battle between Pittsburgh’s Olympic Gold Metalist and 12-time world champion Kurt Angle and Washington, PA’s Sylvester Terkay. Terkay, who still wrestles in Japan, plays a 6’6,” 320 pound flesh-crazing zombie.

“[The movie’s] a throwback in time,” said Douglas in between autograph signing and picture-taking with fans. “Roddy, Hacksaw and I are the antagonists. We are playing ourselves. And we fight zombies.”

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The budget for “Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies” has been reported by Producer Cody Knotts to be in the $4 million range. Primary photography took place in Parkersburg, West Virginia, at the former Wood County Jail in and around January, 2013. “Every night people showed up in droves in 15-degree weather and 40-mph winds to stand around for hours with their shirts off,” said Douglas. “They were incredible.”

Douglas added that follow-up shooting took place in Monongahela and in his home county of Beaver. He noted that the movie is innovative with “time jumping” aspects to the script, “side threads” to the story and “hijinks.”

An entertaining, albeit slightly blood-squirting trailer was released for the film on April 2, 2013. In the 2:01 taste, mayhem ensues between an army of zombies and the wrestlers, who use an arsenal of unique fighting skills and offensive weapons—including Dugan’s ubiquitous 2x4—to dispatch of the gruesome baddies.

The movie is to officially open in limited release the week of April 1st in theaters, as well as DVD distribution coming at the same time. On March 26 at 9:00 p.m. at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont, the movie is set to premiere with Douglas, Knotts, other stars and staffers in attendance. The DVD is to be distributed through Lloyd Kaufman’s famed “Troma” brand. Troma is most notorious for the cult-popular “Toxic Avenger” from 1984.

It’s been a long, diverse and interesting road for Douglas, who made his first television appearance on WWF Superstars of Wrestling where he took on “Macho Man” Randy Savage in 1986. He’s worked everywhere, from the Watts’ UWF to the Crockett’s NWA/WCW, back to McMahon’s WWF, and back to Turner’s WCW before he made an indelible mark on ECW. In 1993, his newly-earned ECW championship was then a branch of the NWA title. After winning the title, he threw the belt down and declared himself the champion of Extreme Championship Wrestling. For many observers, it was that moment that defined Douglas’ professional wrestling career. His initial ECW career lasted a full-throttle two years.

Douglas experienced a brief return to the WWF. This was when his “Dean Douglas” persona was introduced. He hated the character and what he was forced to say. Douglas’ WWF class was dismissed in less than a year. He returned to ECW. That run lasted from 1996 to 1999. Another trip to WCW lasted from 1999 to 2001.

Douglas would become champion of Xtreme Pro Wrestling and wrestle there until the promotion shuttered in 2003. The last Xtreme Pro Wrestling match was reportedly in Pittsburgh on March 8, 2003.

From 2003-2009 (with a break in 2008), Douglas worked at TNA Wrestling. “Whenever I’d go through an airport, the TSA agents would always ask what I was doing,” he continued. “I’d be wearing a TNA shirt and they’d ask what that was. I said it’s on every Thursday night. They had no idea.”

In March, 2009, Douglas returned to a branch of the NWA. That signified the beginning of a bustling independent wrestling schedule. From 2009-2012, Douglas worked on the independent wrestling scene, anywhere and everywhere. He frequently wrestled throughout the area, whether it be Wheeling, Pittsburgh or destinations hundreds of miles away.  On September 4, 2010, Douglas was part of the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) Officer Paul Sciullo Memorial Wrestling Event in Pittsburgh. Scuillo was one of three Pittsburgh police officers killed in the line of duty. Douglas was double-booked that night. He drove between two and three hours to make both shows; honoring the fallen Pittsburgh officer meant that much to him.

In 2012, Douglas was one of the biggest names associated with Philadelphia-based Extreme Reunion, a series of shows designed to capitalize on the ECW brand loyalty and its hardcore, testosterone-fueled legacy. In March of that year, Douglas donned a Lucha Libra mask into a RAW TV broadcast and made his way near the front row. He unmasked and attempted to start an “ECW” chant. He was lead out of the arena by security.

The August 28, 2012 show in Philadelphia did not go off as planned for the promoters. Select, veteran wrestlers reportedly got sick and didn’t wrestle, and the overall quality of the production wasn’t up to par. Douglas publicly apologized and renamed the promotion Extreme Rising. New talent replaced the wrestlers who weren’t prepared to tour.

In Extreme Rising’s Pittsburgh-area debut in Monaca on November 13, 2012, Douglas wrestled Matt Hardy to a no-contest. Some 800-1,000 ECW fans packed the Golden Dome in Beaver County, which was a hot bed for ECW in its heyday. After the event, a frustrated Douglas publicly distanced himself from the company. He said professional obligations with the movie and family concerns—his sons are eight and 12—took precedent.

Again he returned to the independent scene.

In December 28, 2013, Douglas became the Lancaster Championship Wrestling (LCW) Heavyweight Champion. On the same day, Douglas was advertised by Extreme Rising to be at their event at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia. Despite being only 69 miles and 1.5 traveling hours between venues, Douglas denies he was double booked at both promotions. He says he tried in vain to contact promoters of Extreme Rising, but they kept advertising him anyway.

The promotion was set to hold an event at the Irish Center in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood on February 8, 2014. Citing harsh weather concerns—highlighted by Governor Tom Corbett’s disaster emergency proclamation on February 6—organizers cancelled the show. Corbett made the announcement as a result of storms that had recently pounded and froze out the region. According to the weather site wunderground.com, Pittsburgh experienced a high of 23 with only flurries in the air on February 8, 2014. At the advertised 6:00 p.m. bell time, it was 19.9 degrees in Pittsburgh. A few miles away in Pittsburgh’s downtown Cultural District, Broadway musicals Shrek and Wicked successfully continued their sold-out runs that same Saturday. On February 7, the high was 21 with no precipitation. On February 9, a high of 28 was recorded with just .13 of precipitation.

The Pittsburgh show was fraught with inconsistences from the beginning. Hand bill and posters alike featured a wrong date for the Irish Center Show. Douglas posted a 48-second video—shot sideways—included himself ridiculing those “Philadelphia” promoters. In the visual he tears a cardboard sign off a phone poll, mocks the advertisement and rips it in eights before laughing and walking off camera.

Extreme Rising’s March 1 event in Philadelphia was also cancelled, citing the lack of a timely, needed municipal code inspection of the former ECW Arena. [The erroneous Pittsburgh posters also featured March 1 as its event date.] In Philadelphia, a weekend full of rescheduled events is now planned for April 25-27.

There was no talk of slow ticket sales in either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Extreme Rising is scheduled to come back to the Irish Center in Pittsburgh on Saturday, May 3 with Extreme Rising Champion Stevie Richards set to defend that belt against Sabu.

With Extreme Rising off in the distance of his rear-view mirror, Douglas looks forward to the possibility of managing a new wrestling promotion. “It’s focused on the sport of wrestling.”

While he won’t comment on potential investors, Douglas is quick to point out he is not involved with former WWE and TNA star Jeff Jarrett’s much-ballyhooed and proposed promotion. Jarrett, who founded TNA along with his famed father Jerry in 2002, has announced a “major announcement” on April 7. It’s been rumored that country music star Toby Keith may be involved as an investor.

Douglas won’t divulge any investor he may be in negotiations with, but he did say that the businessman has links to the Pittsburgh area. He laughs when questioned about sports and media mogul Mark Cuban being a potential partner. “That’s a good guess, but no.”

Douglas says that once “Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies” is released, he will turn his attention to the new wrestling promotion. Talks could get serious within the next two months, and in half a year, the organization could start taking shape. “It will be intelligent,” he says. “There will be health care for the wrestlers, a 401-plan and revenue sharing.” Professional wrestling has been forever notorious for not offering health benefits or firm fiscal resources to its employees. Douglas adds that at first the wrestling company would be based in Los Angeles, but the business plan includes touring around the country, including Pittsburgh.

“The Franchise” drops the names of Terry Funk and Kevin Sullivan as wrestlers who may be involved in the new venture. It would almost assuredly also include wrestler-turned-promoter Cody Michaels, who helped with many of the ideas for ECW in the early days, as well as MTV’s Wrestling Society X and Extreme Reunion, among other projects.

Until that time, Douglas will continue engaging fans and swatting off zombies.

 

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