Shane Douglas

Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned over three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before later working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as both a wrestler and a manager.

He held a dozen championships between ECW, WCW and the WWF and is a five-time world champion: a four-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion and one time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Within ECW, where he attained those world titles, Douglas was known by the nickname "The Franchise" in reference to his status as the franchise player of the promotion. WWE (formerly the WWF), who purchased that organization in 2003, asserted: "Without Shane Douglas, there would have been no ECW."

Early life

Martin was born one of six children, the son of a veteran of World War II, who died in 1991. He graduated cum laude from Bethany College in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in history and political science. He is an alumnus of the Psi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi. After earning his degrees, he was offered to join the Saba University School of Medicine but declined in order to continue wrestling.