Shane Douglas may not be remembered most for his WWF run, but he did gain some experience in a Royal Rumble match in 1991.
On the most recent episode of the Triple Threat Podcast, Douglas remembered his experience from a psychological standpoint.
“Like I said you know your cue going in and you know your cue going out. Going out (to the ring) is the easy part because you are on deck and they'll tell you that you are in five more spots, three more spots and one more spot and then say when you are ready to go and you've got to keep as a baby face especially some level of fire and that you are excited to be in this match. Going into that match as clearly one of the unknown guys when you are in the ring with the likes of The Road Warriors, The Nasty Boys and so many other of the WWF stars of that time you've got to go out there and make an impact. You can't just go out there and float around and hide in a corner someplace. Secondly, you know you are going out in a very specific position as well. That is a lot more difficult because there is not someone standing there in the ring saying Shane you are next. You've got to be paying attention to what everyone is else is doing and knowing specifically who you follow and luckily for us back then and opposite of the way it is done today is that we were given the leeway and weren't told what to do in the ring."
"Everyone that was in the ring at that time were very much professionals and working on the same page. Even though they didn't know specifically what time I was supposed to go out or what number, if someone did come over and grab me like Earthquake who could very easily throw me out anytime he wanted to all I had to say is not yet big man and we'd work it into something else. Everyone in the ring like I said was very professional and very supportive of helping me get through that. Everyone in the building was very well aware of how hot it was in the building because it was stifling hot and humid and to go that long in the ring took some doing because you aren't just out there whistling Dixie you had to really focus on all those things. Just so many aspects you have to keep in your mind beyond what number you are going in because that is the easy part and now you have to pay attention to who you are following, how much time has gone, do you have to get out of there immediately after the guy in front of you is gone and do you have time to fill because the match has to fill out more time on the pay per view."
"There are a lot of factors at work and luckily I had a ring filled with uber professionals that were all working towards the same common goal (thank God) but I also remember a lot of humor being in that match as well."
You can see the full podcast at this link, or below. Thank you to Chad and John for the transcript.
For this and every other episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling and The Triple Threat Podcast featuring "The Franchise" Shane Douglas please subscribe to them on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Podomatic, and Player FM. Also follow us on Twitter @TwoManPowerTrip
