Shane Douglas and Francine: Wrestling’s Most Underrated Act
Throughout wrestling history, there have been certain male and female dynamics that just clicked. Whether it was the Macho Man Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as a babyface, or Savage with Sherri Martel as a heel. In recent history, most fans point to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon as wrestling’s power couple. However, there is one act who were tremendous in their own right. That act was The Franchise Shane Douglas and Francine.
After managing the tag team, The Pitbulls, Francine began to align herself with Shane Douglas in 1996. It was then when she was given the nicknames “The Head Cheerleader”, and “The Queen of Extreme”.
The two had instant chemistry, and would quickly became the hottest act in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Along with being the hottest tandem, Douglas and Francine would reform The Triple Threat, which consisted of Chris Candido and Brian Lee. Eventually, Lee was replaced by Bam Bam Bigelow.
Under Francine, Douglas captured the ECW World Heavyweight title on three different occasions, including in his hometown of Pittsburgh, when he defeated Bigelow at the 1997 November to Remember. He also won the ECW World Television title twice, with his second reign being the second longest in company history.
By the late-90’s, Douglas and Francine would routinely get massive heat from the ECW faithful - mainly because Douglas has always been a strong promo throughout his career, while Francine had the perfect heel mannerisms. It was simply peanut butter and jelly.
Because WWF and WCW were broadcasted weekly on national television, where as ECW ran as a regional broadcast, the pairing of Douglas and Francine don’t receive the recognition they truly deserve, in my opinion. At the end of the day however, the two certainly have their place in wrestling history.