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The If Factor: Shane Douglas’ “Bon Jovi” Gimmick in 1991

Posted: Jul 19th 2024 By: Brian Damage - RingTheDamnBell.Wordpress.com

The ‘If Factor’ are a series of articles that takes a look at real scenarios in pro wrestling that at one point or another were suggested, planned, considered…but did not get the green light to continue. What would the landscape of professional wrestling look like if these ideas came to fruition?

When Shane Douglas initially joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1990, he wrestled without a gimmick. Douglas competed for the company for over a year using just his ring name and wrestling on the low to mid card. Despite the lack of character, Douglas said that the WWF had high hopes for him and were just waiting for the right gimmick to put him in. Finally, in 1991, Pat Patterson approached Douglas with a gimmick the WWF felt was perfect for Douglas.

According to Shane, the idea was to create a “Jon Bon Jovi” type of character for him. A rock star gimmick that Vince McMahon felt could not only make Douglas a star in the WWF, but also make him a star in the music world as well. Douglas said that Vince always wanted to successfully break into the music world using a wrestler to do it. Years earlier, there were plans to do the very same thing with Michael Hayes. To achieve this, McMahon had Shane work closely with manager Jimmy Hart who had a lot of experience working in the music business. Hart wrote a song for Shane’s new character in three different musical styles and then had Shane sing each one of them. The reason was to determine what song best fit Shane’s voice range as a singer. Plans were made to actually put together a record of Shane songs to market along with the new character they were developing.

Shane then had a number of seamstresses design and make ring outfits specifically for the gimmick. Douglas said that the ring outfits were made of blue denim and had white leather tassels on the arms and legs. The pants would also be tear away jeans. Before the new rock star gimmick to see the light of day, Shane’s father fell seriously ill and he decided to walk away from the WWF to take care of him. Douglas sat down with Vince McMahon and explained his decision and said the two talked for hours with McMahon giving him his blessing and told Shane the door would always be open for him for a WWF return. A version of that gimmick was rumored to have eventually been given to Shawn Michaels.