[1993-08-24-ECW-TV] Shane Douglas and the Dangerous Alliance

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Shane Douglas debuts in ECW for the first time. Immediately, Eddie Gilbert, Don Muraco, Dark Patriot and Jimmy Snuka, flanked by Paul E., come out and interrupt. It looks like they're about to ambush him, but he ends up joining him! Paul E. calls him "a man, who, like me and like Eddie, told Ted and Jane to go screw themselves."

 

Douglas thanks Ted Turner for $10,000 (I'm sure there's a story there I don't get), which Douglas promptly puts up in an open challenge to anyone that can beat him. Don E. Allen, who I only know as #500 in the PWI 500 one year, gets made quick work of.

[Kevin Ridge]

That sign guy fan would lose loads of weight over the next few years. This Dangerous Alliance is an interesting collection with Muraco and Snuka involved. Quick squash win by Douglas. How will Douglas and Gilbert coexist?

[PeteF3]

Tod Gordon is one of the worst actors in wrestling history. Everyone else involved is perfectly okay, though.

[soup23]

Good to see Shane's debut here but ECW really feels odd with Muraco and Snuka hanging around doing pretty much nothing of note.

[garretta]

Muraco and Snuka were two familiar names to Philly crowds from days gone by. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

This was a great debut for the Franchise, and it was nice to hear what he's capable of on the mic without every third word being bleeped. It would have been nice for him to have a brief face run first instead of going right to Paul's camp; on the other hand, it was the swerve that made the debut memorable.

 

I liked the subtle bit of tension between Eddie and Paul over who the boss was with the whole "Who gets first billing?" routine. we know perfectly well that Heyman really didn't want to yield, and part of me would have liked to see Eddie stick around long enough for the inevitable turn, whether Eddie made the break or Heyman double-crossed him.

 

Sulli got it right for once, hitting the right note of anticipation when Shane came out and the right note of disgust when it became clear that he was really a member of the DA. On the other hand, Tod Gordon looked and acted like someone had taken his favorite toy away, which isn't acceptable for an interviewer and certainly isn't acceptable for the president of a promotion. It's long past time for him to have hired a decent interviewer anyway.

 

They've taken a step in the right direction using Paul as their color guy; maybe we'll get to hear what he sounds like alongside Sulli in a later segment.