Dean Douglas keeping the Intercontinental title in 1995-96

[The Rick Jericho]

If Douglas kept the title and the WWF actually bothered to build him up.

Which superstar feud do you see him having feud over the Intercontinental title by Wrestlemania 12? Razor Ramon still leaves the WWF, so he's not on the card.

Your choices are:

Ultimate Warrior - Exact same match as the HHH match. They run it back the same way Summerslam 1988 was. A cocky heel losing the title in 30 seconds to Warrior.

Ahmed Johnson - Wins the title earlier and it gives him a Wrestlemania moment.

Savio Vega - WWE gives the belt to him as a reward, because Hall is leaving the WWF.

Jake Roberts - His comeback is full circle winning a title he never held.

Roddy Piper - The promos and brawl would be fun.

Mr. Perfect - He gets cleared earlier in the year and is ready for a IC title run.

Undertaker - He gets the IC title feud instead at this show.

Any others that could be a challenger at Wrestlemania 12 against Douglas?

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Out of the options you mentioned Roddy Piper/Mr. Perfect seem like the funnest possibilities.

Here are some thoughts on each…

Warrior: Physically he looked good in his return, but that’s about it. If it wasn’t for the HHH squash it would best be remembered for bow hyped it was and how little it actually delivered.

Ahmed: This is what the WWF probably would’ve went with. Vince was behind him in a huge way for a while before everything fell apart and Vince stopped trusting him.

Savio Vega: Not really a bad choice for IC Champ at all. Who knows. Maybe if the WWF went all in on a IC run he would have risen to the occasion. Although given his work in Puerto Rico, Vega seems better as a big fish in a small pond rather than a major player in a massive company.

Jake Roberts: This would have probably been the worst option. Jake looked horrible in his return and I don’t think the added responsibility would’ve helped.

Roddy Piper: Depending on their chemistry I think Douglas really could’ve inspired Roddy Piper. Piper could be a great asset when working with rising talent. The best example of this is Piper’s work with Bret.

Mr. Perfect: I could see these two having some great matches. Perfect would’ve had to be the face though and Perfect was a much better heel.

Undertaker: Taker Always seemed best as a world title contender or special attraction. There’s a reason he never held the IC title.

[The Rick Jericho]

Aug 17, 2022 18:19:45 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

Out of the options you mentioned Roddy Piper/Mr. Perfect seem like the funnest possibilities.

Here are some thoughts on each…

Warrior: Physically he looked good in his return, but that’s about it. If it wasn’t for the HHH squash it would best be remembered for bow hyped it was and how little it actually delivered.

Ahmed: This is what the WWF probably would’ve went with. Vince was behind him in a huge way for a while before everything fell apart and Vince stopped trusting him.

Savio Vega: Not really a bad choice for IC Champ at all. Who knows. Maybe if the WWF went all in on a IC run he would have risen to the occasion. Although given his work in Puerto Rico, Vega seems better as a big fish in a small pond rather than a major player in a massive company.

Jake Roberts: This would have probably been the worst option. Jake looked horrible in his return and I don’t think the added responsibility would’ve helped.

Roddy Piper: Depending on their chemistry I think Douglas really could’ve inspired Roddy Piper. Piper could be a great asset when working with rising talent. The best example of this is Piper’s work with Bret.

Mr. Perfect: I could see these two having some great matches. Perfect would’ve had to be the face though and Perfect was a much better heel.

Undertaker: Taker Always seemed best as a world title contender or special attraction. There’s a reason he never held the IC title.

Mixing the fighting in the hollywood backlot brawl and call it the university tailgate match. Combine it with a small dash of ECW Douglas. And you have magic here. Dean Douglas vs. Roddy Piper could've stolen the show.

[tirtefaa]

123 Kid - Don't turn him heel in '95. Maybe do an injury angle earlier so that Kid doesn't run out of steam prior to their WM match.

Fatu - if you want to make Fatu a serious talent, you could contrast Douglas' character to Fatu's message.

Tatanka - again requires a face turn, but could be good if Douglas brought his A game on promos.

Bushwhacker Butch and Bushwhacker Luke - Douglas chastises the Bushwhackers for their lack of sophistication; triple threat for IC

Phineas Godwin - similar to Bushwhackers

Marty Jannetty - Dean could easily point to Marty's lack of successes to push a feud.

Yokozuna - this could be a good opportunity to normalize Yoko to the WWF audience in regards to his personality and build sympathy

Hunter Hearst Helmsley - rare heel heel feud that pushes aristocracy vs schooling or something..I guess Douglas would be the default face.

Bob Backlund - similar to Helmsley, but maybe have Backlund be an ally to Douglas, only to eventually see the error of his way and turn face.

Vader - debut him as a face and have him squash Douglas at Mania, providing a lengthy IC reign

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Aug 17, 2022 18:42:56 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

123 Kid - Don't turn him heel in '95. Maybe do an injury angle earlier so that Kid doesn't run out of steam prior to their WM match.

Fatu - if you want to make Fatu a serious talent, you could contrast Douglas' character to Fatu's message.

Tatanka - again requires a face turn, but could be good if Douglas brought his A game on promos.

Bushwhacker Butch and Bushwhacker Luke - Douglas chastises the Bushwhackers for their lack of sophistication; triple threat for IC

Phineas Godwin - similar to Bushwhackers

Some intriguing ideas here. I like the Fatu one in particular. I hated the Make a Difference Fatu character, but that does seem like the best possible use of him. It’s kind of like a James Cameron movie. Dean looks the role of a clean cut hero, but is really an evil jerk. Meanwhile Fatu is the noble street tough.

For the Bushwhackers idea, they didn’t really do triple matches at the time, but I could see them doing some goofy stuff with it. I really liked the campy stuff WWF did in the 1990s so while I’m sure it would be regarded as Wrestlecrap, I’d enjoy it.

Like they could have Douglas take on Luke and Butch individually. Luke and Butch each cost each other the matches in goofy ways. Like Luke has Douglas beat, but Butch calls to him to do their famous strut, preemptively celebrating the victory. Then Douglas blindsides Luke and gets the win. This builds up to Luke vs. Butch with Douglas as the special referee. But the two are still buds so in a non-match they end up chasing Douglas out of the ring. Then to cap things off Luke and Butch face Douglas in a handicap match where the IC title is at stake. Douglas taps into his ECW side and decisively beats both Bushwhackers which builds Douglas up and helps him transition into a more serious side for his next IC title feud.

[Aceorton]

I can't see a scenario where Goldust isn't getting the IC title in the first few months of 1996. It was so clear that the belt belonged on him. So either Douglas still drops to Razor (although not on the same night he won it) and then Razor drops to Goldust, or Goldust goes directly after Douglas and Douglas ends up turning face because of that.

Pretend Goldust never comes to the WWF and I think Douglas would successfully defend against Razor at the Rumble in Razor's "final opportunity," then hold the belt until dropping to Ahmed at KOTR. The Piper brawl at WM12 still would work in between. Basically Douglas just takes Goldust's spot in history.

[EvenBaldobombHasAJob]

He had a stupid gimmick that doomed him from the start. He'd have better been served by tossing out the teacher schtick in favor of just being a somewhat neutered version of his ECW character.

[tafkaga]

Dean Douglas vs. Jeff Jarrett ... the amount of terrible fake laughter would make the promos unbearable hilarious.

[sungod2020]

Aug 17, 2022 20:59:36 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

I can't see a scenario where Goldust isn't getting the IC title in the first few months of 1996. It was so clear that the belt belonged on him. So either Douglas still drops to Razor (although not on the same night he won it) and then Razor drops to Goldust, or Goldust goes directly after Douglas and Douglas ends up turning face because of that.

Pretend Goldust never comes to the WWF and I think Douglas would successfully defend against Razor at the Rumble in Razor's "final opportunity," then hold the belt until dropping to Ahmed at KOTR. The Piper brawl at WM12 still would work in between. Basically Douglas just takes Goldust's spot in history.

Please don't tell me Piper would strip Douglas down to his lingerie. That visual would be even weirder than what he did to Goldust.

Back to the topic, I wouldn't have Michaels hand him the championship and then lose it to his kliq buddy Razor Ramon. I'd have Douglas beat Michaels in an actual match to win the belt, possibly with heel shenanigans or they can play up the storyline that those marines thugs beat him so bad, he wasn't able to compete at full capacity. If Michaels still wants to be a crybaby bitch about losing it to Douglas and still forfeits it, it shouldn't be directly to him, just have the belt be declared vacant and Douglas wins against Ramon. This is one of the few times where a championship de-legitimized the performer.



After that, Douglas can gradually shed his teacher gimmick and be his ECW character like someone mentioned, minus the cursing. He can lose it to Razon Ramon at the Royal Rumble. Razor would then lose it to Goldust at Wrestlemania, who would then lose it to Ahmed Johnson at King of The Ring, thus resuming the timeline. Maybe Douglas gets another crack at the gold somewhere down the line.

[fw91]

Aug 17, 2022 20:59:36 GMT -5 Aceorton said:

I can't see a scenario where Goldust isn't getting the IC title in the first few months of 1996. It was so clear that the belt belonged on him. So either Douglas still drops to Razor (although not on the same night he won it) and then Razor drops to Goldust, or Goldust goes directly after Douglas and Douglas ends up turning face because of that.

Pretend Goldust never comes to the WWF and I think Douglas would successfully defend against Razor at the Rumble in Razor's "final opportunity," then hold the belt until dropping to Ahmed at KOTR. The Piper brawl at WM12 still would work in between. Basically Douglas just takes Goldust's spot in history.

agreed. Goldust was going to get the belt soon.

[jason1980s]

It kind of surprises me Goldust did get the belt so soon especially considering Dusty left Vince as did Dustin who had only been with him briefly in 1990/91. But I guess it was a Vince creation and he saw a lot in the character and Dustin's performance. I'm also guessing things got bad with Scott Hall and the belt needed to be taken off him. Not many to do so. Kid was was past his prime which is nuts considering his age. Sid was gone and mostly losing and WWF really had very little star power at the time.

[Celexa Bliss 54]

By the time In Your House IV happened, Douglas was already beyond saving in the WWF. The Kliq hated him, The BSKs didn't like him very much, and Vince had pretty much given up on him. And even if Vince still had faith, the Kliq (especially Shawn and Razor) would've gone out of their way to make him look terrible in the ring.

[Triangle Lancer]

If Dean Douglas keeps it, the only way they could go forward from here is Ahmed Johnson.

But you’re in a conundrum here:

-Shane won't work with Ahmed due to the reckless nature of the big Johnson.
-Razor would be fine, but he hasn't re-signed yet. Not going to put a title on a guy that hasn't committed long-term, eh?
-Austin's still relatively new...and a heel.
-Goldust is technically a heel.
-Is 1-2-3 Kid a heel?
-Owen's a heel.

Why not Davey?

[The Rick Jericho]

Would Mankind work? Debut him as a face against Douglas.

Cactus and Douglas did have unfinished business from the past.

[SmashTV]

I’d say Savio Vega, if only short term. It always felt to me like he was quietly forgotten about after the KOTR push, Austin stuff aside. A short IC run would have at least been consistent with the initial push.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Aug 18, 2022 21:50:54 GMT -5 The Rick Jericho said:

Would Mankind work? Debut him as a face against Douglas.

Cactus and Douglas did have unfinished business from the past.

It could be fun proto-Attitude Era stuff. They could even bring in their trainer Dominic DeNucci to cut a promo in broken English. He could say that he endorses Mankind. Because while Douglas always looked the part of a great wrestler, he was an entitled jackass. This results in Douglas beating down DeNucci so Mankind has to get revenge.

[The Rick Jericho]

Aug 19, 2022 8:01:59 GMT -5 SmashTV said:

I’d say Savio Vega, if only short term. It always felt to me like he was quietly forgotten about after the KOTR push, Austin stuff aside. A short IC run would have at least been consistent with the initial push.

Savio wins it against Douglas at Wrestlemania and drops it to Austin at King of the Ring would make sense. Austin still cuts the same promo about whopping ass.

Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold in a champion vs. champion match at Summerslam would work. WWE desperately needed new heels at the top of the card at this point. I think it would work.