20-year wrestling veteran forced to retire; loses gimmick match

Modified Dec 07, 2023 09:42 GMT

A 20-year wrestling veteran was recently forced to retire after losing a gimmick match.

The name in question is former WWE Superstar Doug Basham. The veteran wrestler debuted on the May 29, 2003, episode of SmackDown. Teaming up with Danny Basham, The Basham Brothers defeated the team of Rikishi and Brian Kendrick on debut.

The two won the WWE Tag Team Championships on two separate occasions. The 52-year-old had also been part of TNA and Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Doug Basham recently faced Karl Herro on December 2 as part of the 2023 Great Lakes Championship Wrestling Blizzard Brawl event in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The former OVW Heavyweight Champion had put his career on the line against his student, Herro. Unfortunately, he lost the match and was forced to retire from professional wrestling.

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Wrestling veteran Doug Basham recalls intense conversation with Vince McMahon

During the November 18, 2004, episode of SmackDown, five Tough Enough contestants took turns to capture a flag from the top turnbuckle. The participants had to retrieve the flag within 30 seconds, with the Basham Brothers standing in their way.

Speaking on an episode of Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Doug Basham revealed his conversation with Vince McMahon. The latter warned the Basham Brothers against letting the contestants get to the flag.

"Vince McMahon comes up to me and Danny. He goes, 'Now, boys, you see that flag’s gonna be hanging over there underneath that turnbuckle? You see what’s on that turnbuckle, right?' You know, the WWE symbol. He goes, 'That’s what you’re representing tonight. Short of killing anybody, make sure nobody gets that flag.' And he hit me on the shoulder and walked off. And I went to Danny, 'We’ve just been put on notice. If anybody gets past us, we’re fired.' Short of not hurting anybody, nobody got that flag," Doug Basham said.

Fortunately, the two were able to stop the contestants from retrieving the flag in the allowed time. Interestingly, current WWE Superstar, The Miz, was also part of that segment.

What do you make of this conversation between Mr. McMahon and The Basham Brothers? Sound off in the comments section below.

About the author

Ankit Verma is a WWE news writer with over four years of experience in the writing field. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Physical Sciences, but his love and passion for writing and pro wrestling led him to create content about it.

He writes his articles putting himself in the readers’ shoes, making sure it’s as simply written, informative, and straight to the point as possible while being devoid of opinion. Ankit strives to present accurate information by ensuring the source is credible and cross-checking all facts and figures.

Ankit would have liked to have managed Kane during The Attitude Era, helping to take the Big Red Monster to greater heights than his brother/rival, The Undertaker. His favorite pro wrestler of all time is AJ Styles.

When Ankit is not writing for Sportskeeda, he enjoys spending his time studying astronomy and playing cricket.

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Edited by Jeevak Ambalgi