“The Franchise” Shane Douglas recently appeared on 80s Wrestling: The Podcast, where he reflected on his career. Early in the interview, he looked back on his very first match as an enhancement talent for the (then) WWF, where he faced Randy Savage. Douglas described how “Macho Man” taught him an important lesson after the contest.
“Very first match, first show, first taping, and he was larger than life, obviously, right,” said Douglas. “I mean, top heel in our business and the over-the-top character that he emotes on television. But when I met him, he was such a gracious guy. So easy to work with. He came to me and said, ‘Hey kid, what kind of stuff can you do?’ I was literally afraid to open my mouth. And he said, ‘No seriously, what can you do?’ I said, ‘I can do dropkicks and I can do suplexes and crossbodies,’ gave him a couple ideas. He was like, ‘I got it, I got it.’ And he walked away.
“We went and had the match, and gave me a tiny bit in the match and got typical ‘Macho Man’ heat on me. And we came to the back, and I expected him to go to the dressing room and ignore me. I’d done my job, right, I was paid to do my job. And he came up to me, and I remember when he shook my hand, he bowed and he thanked me. And he wouldn’t let go of my hand, and kept shaking my hand saying, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ And he said, ‘Always remember, kid, if you wanna have a career in this business, always thank the guy that puts you over because he is the guy that’s allowing you to have that career,’ and I never ever forgot that.”
Read More: Shane Douglas Recalls Vince McMahon Wanting Him To Be WWF’s Version Of Bon Jovi
The full episode is available below:
