Hey, remember when Shane Douglas was relevant?
He hopes you do.
The ECW champ of 22 years ago was on the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling and was asked about Sasha Banks' comments regarding feeling stalked by the fans who lurk in airports and hotel lobbies.
It is another garbage take, like the earlier one offered by Bully Ray, that because these fans "pay her salary," she should just shut up about it already and be happy that her fans like her enough to get her flight information and stake out baggage claim.
Of course, this sounds a lot like the guy who whistles at the woman walking down the street and says "Hey mama, that ass is looking fine today." And when the woman doesn't respond, keeps walking or tells him to go f*ck himself, he says "What's your problem, I was paying you a compliment."
But Douglas doesn't stop there. He thinks she's blowing the whole this out of proportion; he says she's not really being 'stalked.' And not only does he say that Banks should be happy about all this unwanted attention ("Smile for me, baby. You're so much prettier when you smile."), but he actually believes that if she doesn't like it, she should quit.
Here are Douglas's odious comments:
"It's ridiculous. There is a real simple fix here and I mean an incredibly simple fix. If you don't like being--and I'm using my fingers to make quotations marks--'stalked’ by the fans, quit. Go be a waitress, go be a teacher, go be an attorney, go be a business owner and go do whatever it is you want to do out of the limelight if that has become such a heavy burden for you. When you come into this business you have to know up front that as you are coming in, all you can hope for is to have any kind of a career. When you get blessed to have a really good career and be on the top of that industry than shut the f-ck up and ride the ride. Take the bullshit with you--because yes, there is a lot of bullshit to take with you, I agree--but if you don't like that the fix is so simple and that is just quit and walk away. I don't see her lining up to do that.
"It appalls me because with the fans and let’s be clear — without the fans none of us are anything. We are nothing without the fans and if the fans don't tune in to want to see Sasha Banks or Shane Douglas or fill-in-the-blank then the promoter, in her case Vince McMahon, can say that 'the fans don't give a shit about her and I should send her back down to the minor leagues or get rid of her.'
"I'd also remind her that if she hasn't learned the history of the business she's in or the company that she is in, that ‘Divas’ are a dime a dozen and a flavor of the week. Unlike an Undertaker who had 25 victories in a row at WrestleMania which is an incredible feat even me talking as a worker and to name a women's wrestler that has come close to matching that, it doesn't happen.
"Sit back and enjoy the ride, Sasha. Be thankful that those fans give a shit to want to sit there and wait for you and ‘stalk’ you because they are the ones that are paying your salary and without them Vince McMahon wouldn't be handing you that check or without them Vince McMahon wouldn't even have you in that spot and without them you wouldn't be on the show that you are on that has caused you so much duress. If you don't like it, again the fix is so simple, just call Mr. McMahon up and say thank you for everything but I am quitting. Problem solved. Let's see if she takes that avenue."
Oh yeah, I forgot. He still calls women wrestlers "Divas." And those "Divas" are a "dime a dozen." They are a "flavor of the week." Which certainly does a lot to convince us that he is empathetic to women who don't know if the guy waiting by her rental car wants to rape her at knifepoint or just wants an autograph and a selfie.
If you want to listen to these comments from the guy who had a school teacher gimmick twenty years ago, you can do so in the video at the top of the page.
