Former WWE star Shane Douglas isn’t pulling punches—and now he’s accusing AEW of swiping phrases and ideas straight out of a enterprise mannequin he claims to have written years earlier than the corporate even existed.
Talking on his YouTube channel, the wrestling veteran and former ECW World Champion claimed that key AEW slogans and structural concepts weren’t simply acquainted—they had been his.
“Within the buildup to AEW, I began listening to phrases and phrases that had been very acquainted to me. I had by no means heard the phrase ‘teaching’ or ‘coaches’ utilized in wrestling earlier than… and phrases like ‘this isn’t your daddy’s wrestling,’ or ‘this isn’t going to be a house for ex-WWE wrestlers.’”
Douglas says these phrases weren’t only a coincidence. In line with him, they got here immediately from a written marketing strategy he pitched years in the past for a promotion primarily based out of Las Vegas.
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“The explanation these phrases sounded acquainted is as a result of I wrote them. I can present you the enterprise mannequin we pitched to a number of individuals.”
He claimed the model he circulated was intentionally incomplete—lacking two key parts he by no means dedicated to paper. That manner, if somebody did steal the thought, it wouldn’t absolutely work. Douglas in contrast the scenario to a automotive lacking essential elements.
“There have been two components I didn’t put into the written marketing strategy… they exist up right here in my head. I did that on objective. In the event you’re going to steal a automotive, be sure the engine is underneath the hood and the tires aren’t sitting on cinder blocks, otherwise you gained’t get very far.”
He added that AEW’s failure to seize long-term momentum, in his view, is as a result of these lacking “engine and tires” are nonetheless in his head—and with out them, the corporate’s mannequin feels incomplete. He hinted at being ignored, particularly given AEW’s huge spending.
“I watch AEW and listen to these actual phrases and phrases used the best way I wrote them. What’s missing is the engine and the tires. I don’t know if that has something to do with why nobody reached out to me, but it surely does appear unusual—particularly contemplating how a lot cash Tony Khan has spent. I can present you paperwork that predate any public speak of an organization known as AEW by about two years.”
Shane Douglas is clearly assured he planted the seeds for AEW’s philosophy lengthy earlier than it hit nationwide TV. And whereas he’s not calling anybody out by identify, he’s made one factor clear: he needs credit score the place credit score’s due.
Do you suppose Shane Douglas has a case? Or is that this simply one other “what if” story on the earth of professional wrestling? Drop your ideas within the feedback under.