Legend upset Shawn Michaels' group and got punished, former WWE star claims

It is well known that WWE legend and current NXT booker Shawn Michaels acted unprofessionally behind the scenes sometimes in the 1990s. In a recent interview, Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese recalled how Michaels' group The Kliq used their backstage power to impair Shane Douglas' WWE career.

The Kliq consisted of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. Although they did not appear together on television as a faction, the five men were very close friends in real life.

Droese worked for WWE between 1994 and 1996, during which time Douglas also had a short stint with the company. On Monte and The Pharaoh, Droese claimed Shawn Michaels' group was responsible for the ECW legend's lack of opportunities:

"Shane doesn't like Shawn either because The Kliq really did him dirty. Because he was a great talent and a great wrestler, and he could have done great things with that company. It's just he was dead in the water before he even got started because he rubbed somebody the wrong way, one of The Kliq boys or something." [59:25 – 59:47]

Douglas is best known for being one of the top stars in Paul Heyman's ECW promotion. The 58-year-old reinvented himself in WWE as Dean Douglas, a college dean character. In 2022, he said in an interview with WSI that WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon gave him "boring" scripts.

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Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels both allegedly disliked Shane Douglas

Duke Droese sometimes partied with members of The Kliq after shows, but their on-screen personas rarely crossed paths on WWE television.

Droese also commented on Scott Hall's past comments about Shane Douglas being "small" and "slow" compared to his co-workers:

"That [Hall's comments] is revisionist history, though. When the guy came in, certain people were all excited about working with him because he is a talent. He was a great wrestler and still is, I'm sure, but things went the way they did, and everybody creates their narrative later on as to why it happened. A lot of times people will say things that justify their position." [59:57 – 1:00:20]

Douglas' career highlights include winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship four times. He also held the WWE Intercontinental Championship for one night and several WCW titles, including the United States Heavyweight Championship.

What are your thoughts on Shawn Michaels and The Kliq? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit Monte and the Pharaoh and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.