– Brian Fritz of Fanhouse.com recently interviewed ECW original Shane Douglas about TNA’s Hardcore Justice pay-per-view. Here are some highlights:
“I was offered to be on the show. I would love to be on the show. I put one stipulation forward — that I get Ric Flair. It’s come to my understanding that Ric, rather than talk about his illustrious career or the Four Horsemen or his infamous run-ins with Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan, he decided to talk about me and say some things that my lawyers consider to be bordering on slanderous and libelous. This is no work, this is no joke. I want to get this guy in the ring so I can knock him around a little bit for my own satisfaction and I’m sure the fans would like to see it as well.”
“I would hope that ECW fans would see fit to tune out of this show as opposed to tune in whenever they consider that guys like Ric Flair are paid a half-million dollars a year, Sting’s been paid God knows how many millions of dollars over the past five years, Hogan’s been paid 750 this year. But then they’ll throw Axl Rotten or Balls Mahoney or some of these other brothers of mine $500 a night or a $1,000 for the weekend. To me, that’s repugnant.”
“I would love for it to be the final epitaph for ECW. If I felt for one second that TNA was going to do it right then a) the pay they’re offering out to the guys is telling me they’re far from doing it right, and b) the storylines and lack of promotion, true promotion — true, real push for the show … I’ve been around the business for almost three decades now. I know (the difference between) a show being pushed and not being pushed. This show is far from being pushed. I haven’t seen an ad any place outside of TNA’s website. So, I don’t know if Dixie is trying to get Spike (TV) over her back for Paul Heyman or if she’s trying to pull a smoke-and-mirrors with ECW fans.”