Former ECW champion Shane Douglas issued the following:
It has come to my attention that Steve O'Neil and Extreme Rising are advertising me for their event this weekend in Philadelphia. At no time have I confirmed with Extreme Rising that I would be a part of this event.
After the Pittsburgh event in November of 2012 I made the professional decision to begin to separate myself from the organization due to family and other professional demands, namely "Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies".
As many of you may know, we are moving into the marketing phase of promoting this movie and it has demanded the vast majority of my time. I wish Mr. O'Neil and his company all the best.
I apologize to my fans that have spent their hard earned money to see me this weekend, but I will not be appearing this weekend for Extreme Rising. You will be able to see me at the Wrestlecon events during WrestleMania weekend in New Orleans.
Thank you,
"The Franchise" Shane Douglas
Note from Mike: It should be noted that Douglas was booked the last Pittsburgh event that was postponed, so to say he distanced himself is a stretch. After all, he shot an angle for that show.
xtreme Rising returns to the former ECW Arena this Saturday 3/1 with a live iPPV on highspots.com featuring
*Extreme Rising champ Stevie Richards vs. Sabu in a rematch from ECW House Party '96 in the same venue...and boy do I feel old knowing that was 18 years ago.
*Rhino vs. Devon Storm: Falls Count Anywhere in the next installment of their feud,
*Balls Mahoney & Axl Rotten vs. 2 Tuff Tony & Matt Tremont in a Hardcore Match and Rotten's return to the promotion.
*Luke Hawx vs. Rich Ortiz
*Papadon vs. Takaaki Watanabe
*The returning Jay Bradley vs. the debuting Matt Cross.
*BLK OUT vs. Da Hit Squad & Gary Wolf
*Wildkat Four Way.
Also appearing are Sandman, Blue Meanie, Robbie Illuminati (great name for the former Robbie Mireno), American Tiger, Thomas Rodman and more.
For tickets and more information, visit
www.ExtremeRising.com.