Over the years, WWE has been known to create some of the greatest gimmicks of all time. Eugene Palermo passed away Sunday at the age of 57. [27] Dinsmore wrestled for WFX Wrestling in Canada, in a role similar to the one he played in WWE, under the names "U-Gene" and "U-gene Dinsmore". [20] Striker ultimately defeated Eugene to end the feud. Throughout the few years of Eugene's WWE career, although Eugene was not the most accomplished WWE superstar of his generation, he was involved with some of the most high-profile wrestlers during his prime in mid to late 2004. The WWE has and continues to showcase a wide variety of characters and a fictious WWE Universe. Going into the 2006 Backlash event, Vince McMahon was feuding with Shawn Michaels. His assertion that the Eugene character was essentially a comic device is inaccurate and lacks total perspective., WWE then posted a video of Nick Dinsmore who offered a truthful portrayal of the character. He lost the title to Anthony Barvado on July 25, 2008. : Eugene's first show, Hayes from Tough Enough, Baszler, more", "Eugene anuncia su retiro como luchador profesional", "Best Wishes To The Legendary Bill Mercer, Eugene Update And More", "Eugene WWE: What happened to the former WWE Superstar and where is he now? Darien Times writer Joshua Fisher slammed Linda McMahons US Senate campaign that her job creation method including making fun of the mentally handicapped. He got over within a month of his debut with the help of The Rock, Had a superb summer for a. As this was the early years of NXT as a developmental brand, Eugene got to work behind the scenes when the brand was arguably in its prime years. Dinsmore suggested the character Rip Rogers had come up with and the WWE Chairman loved it. Either way, the insinuation that Kane was a murderer was just the tip of the iceberg. The result? |-- Ask the Administrators I met several people with special needs and without a doubt, they would always run to me and just want to hug me. [9] Two weeks later on Raw, they fought a no disqualification match, which Eugene won after interference from Randy Orton. The whole ordeal was made even worse by the fact that WWE legend Eddy Guerrero had just passed away four days ago with anabolic steroid abuse on his death certificate as a contributing cause. He had the size, the look, and a lot of poise for someone so new to the business. In May 2004, Eugene began a feud with Jonathan Coachman, who attempted to banish him from WWE (only to be stopped by The Rock). He joined the WWE once again in 2013 as a trainer and was let go a year later. Is the WWE wrestler Eugene really mentally disabled? Have anyone seen the new character on WWE wrestling . . Well, on the one hand it would make it better because human rights groups would be all "This is a positive change on the views of the developmentally disabled in modern society, it shows WWE is being progressive." Eugene would soon be introduced to the WWE as Eric Bischoffs nephew. In the past, World Wrestling Entertainment has had to deal with accusations of creating content that's racist, sexist, demeaning, or otherwise offensive, and looking back at WWE's history, it's easy to see those accusations aren't exactly unfounded it's been a colorful and eventful run, to say the least. ", "Which WWE gimmick was worse: Eugene or The Red Rooster? [33] In 2009, he was part of Hulk Hogan's Australian tour, Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin, where he wrestled as U-Gene. WWE.com has posted a reponse on their website in which they responded to a negative blog written by Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant who slammed the company for the mentally challenged character Eugene, who appeared for the company from 2004 to 2007, and once in 2009. From there he garnered an athletic scholarship to the University of Missouri and later would play for the Canadian football league. Often in the past, they have shown the ability to have a 'magic touch' when switching a performer's gimmick. Follow him on Twitter @miketchin. Glacier looked so much like the character it's a wonder they weren't sued! "Eugene" is a very controversial character among wrestling fans. With another international spectacle already on the schedule, the Greatest Royal Rumble definitely won't be the last WWE show from Saudi Arabia, but maybe next time, they can avoid going for the cheap heat. The Internet Wrestling Database defines this one as a handicap match between Michaels and his two opponents, but the listing on the WWE Network assures viewers that the McMahons were facing the team of "Shawn Michaels and God." What's Eugene been up to since getting released by WWE in 2007? After finishing his WWE run on the SmackDown brand, Eugene got released by WWE in late 2007. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Not all of the negative press that WWE got back in the Attitude Era was based on something they actually did. Kane's backstory would become infinitely more complicated to the point of having an entire novel written about it as the years went by, but at the time, it was difficult to imagine the character even going to high school, let alone to a party that involved the sinister scourge of underage drinking. Hennig would end up as a member of the West Texas Rednecks, a stable whose sole reason for existing was facing off against Master P's no limit soldier faction. Like most combat sports enthusiasts, his passion for watching people fight began with WWE when he witnessed a young Brock Lesnar massacre Hulk Hogan back in 2002. On the August 10 Raw, Eugene returned to television, losing a Contract on a Pole match to The Calgary Kid, who afterwards removed his mask to reveal himself as The Miz. Eugene Allen Snisky's massive frame and long limbs landed him a spot on his high school football team. The WWE added: We will continue to implore the media to make accurate descriptions of our characters and storylines versus taking sound bites, scenes and footage out of context that mischaracterizes WWEs content.. That one instance for them to be able to meet what I hope would be their hero is a little bit indescribable and is an incredible feeling. [31] On July 28, Gowen and U-Gene defeated the Ring Rydas to win the JCW Tag Team Championship. One of the more positive aspects of the Attitude Era is that it often involved competing factions, giving wrestlers a way to contribute to major storylines regardless of their position on the card. As The Red Rooster, Taylor would cluck, do the cock of the walk, and even dye a red rooster comb through the middle of his blonde hair. The show went off the air just as Yamaguchi-San, screaming, brought his katana down to emasculate Val, but the next episode revealed that a sudden gust of cold air had allowed him to, ah, contract his way out of danger. On June 17, Eugene was drafted to the SmackDown! If a video like the one above-linked or the one below surfaced in connection with any other campaign, the candidate would have some serious splainin to do. [citation needed] He wrestled for Ring of Honor (as Nick Dinsmore) in a Ring of Honor Wrestling taping, against "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett. Even though Eugene's wrestling career is winding down, his contributions to the wrestling industry get cherished by fans who grew up entertained by his WWE run. This led to a match at the first-ever Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view on October 19. conversation around representation in WWE, a caricature of someone with a disability, played for laughs, temporarily passed over the top babyface spot for the likes of Lex Luger. The Nation was mostly made up of black wrestlers. Press J to jump to the feed. A non-disabled person portraying a character with learning difficulties partially for laughs is "problematic" in both cases (both Eugene and Gump where also sympathetic characters the viewer is meant to root for). my point here isn't that Eugene wasn't partially offensive but that in this case WWE wasn't out of sync with mainstream pop culture- where as the many offensive portrayals of gender, race, lgbt and xenophobia in WWE over the years have been so far behind what would be acceptable in most other media. We're not sure if they even let him have the shower. His in-ring debut was in May and 4 months later he had the 3rd biggest match at Summerslam against Triple H. In which HHH had to cheat to beat him. Entirely at his expense. In late 2004, a character named Muhammad Hassan debuted in WWE, with the premise being that he was an Arab-American wrestler who was tired of being stereotyped as a "terrorist" because of his race. It was one of the strangest transformations ever witnessed in pro wrestling. Not even a pre-presidential Donald Trump could get Lashley over. Apart from wrestling, he is also fond of poetry and music. Particularly early on, WWE planted hints that he was something like a wrestling savant. Fans, of course, reacted with great enthusiasm, because it seemed a sure bet that the shadow they were seeing belonged to the Ultimate Warrior. Meant to appeal primarily to the younger facets of the audience, Bischoff perhaps missed the point that what appealed so much about Mortal Kombat was the blood and adult themes. Eugene returned for one night on an August 2009 episode of Monday Night Raw, wrestling against "The Calgary Kid" (The Miz in a mask) in a Contract on a Pole match. [19] This coincided with the announcement of WWE's new drug policy (established as a result of Eddie Guerrero's death from heart failure, aggravated by his history of drug abuse).[1]. This left Dinsmore, one of the finest grapplers ever produced by Ohio Valley Wrestling, to wear the albatross of a failed character. The contract was signed, and weeks of vignettes were aired. His favorite wrestler is Shawn Michaels and he believes that GSP is the greatest to ever step foot inside the octagon. Dinsmore debuted in Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) in October 2007, as U-Gene. The Rednecks were intended to be the heels in the feud, but fan response turned them into babyfaces. Apparently, yes, there could be, because despite an undefeated streak and reigns as US and IC champion, the WWE universe never really got behind Lashley. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Mostly, this resulted in jokes about how "everybody wants Head," and neither Snow nor WWE ever presented it as anything but what it was: a mannequin head that Snow had picked up at a discount store back when he was working in Extreme Championship Wrestling that was used as a prop for his relatively lighthearted, "crazy" character. DX's costumes involved using makeup to darken their faces, and while most of them weren't quite as noticeable back in the days of Standard Definition, X-Pac who parodied Mark Henry as "Mizark" hit the ring in full-on Minstrel Show blackface. Speaking on the Cheap Heat . Unfortunately, that would be his only title in the WWE. No, Eugene was never a world champion, but these accomplishments, not to mention hanging around the roster for three and a half years and being booked for one-off appearances afterward support the idea that Eugene was less offensive than an inspiring representative for differently abled fans. The idea of the gimmick came from then OVW trainer Rip Rogers, who inspired it from his autistic son. In the case of Eugene, however, it was the character itself that was offensive: a mentally disabled wrestler who was usually played for laughs. Now Lashley is back in the WWE, and seems squarely mired in the mid-card, just like before. He would soon be pawned off to Bischoff's assistant, William Regal, who would be a huge part of most of his . Hennig cut his teeth in the AWA, the promotion that made his father Larry the Ax Hennig, a star attraction. |-- General Discussion: Presidency When that came out in 2015, WWE quickly moved to get some distance from Hogan, eliminating him from the most recent version of their Tough Enough reality show competition and removing him from the WWE Hall of Fame. In its latest how dare you letter to a Connecticut newspaper, the WWE argues that Eugene is an underdog who repeatedly triumphs. Usually, this takes the form of a 'crazy man' gimmick like the Missing Link or. Pro wrestling has had its share of mentally challenged wrestlers. From there he was scouted by Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was at the time WWE's developmental territory. Sometimes, though, that spectacle goes a little too far. I really disliked him This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast 0 He made his main roster debut in 2003, teaming with Mark Jindrak. Why he didn't become a bigger star: Eugene's gimmick made people uncomfortable, and he was undersized for a heavyweight but too large for cruiserweight matches. Be the first one to comment on this story. Renegade is a classic example of why you don't try to fool wrestling fandom. In the post, Eugene says that he. Worse, WWE's head of programming at the time actually thought Eugene would lead to big rating increases and merchandise sold. Unfortunately, many others have failed. All rights reserved. 18 years ago. [14] During recovery, Eugene made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 21, delivering a promo until being interrupted and attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. Or, you can follow us over on our Twitter and Facebook pages. But the Rooster gimmick rendered him a joke performer, and he was never taken seriously again. Despite his otherwise Manage Settings Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), also known by his World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ring name Eugene, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. Imagine their disappointment when instead of Warrior out came the Renegade, a cheap knockoff. Once the fans started to see that he could live his dream, he was winning championships, he was meeting his idols, more and more people cheered for Eugene and wanted to see him succeed. | ContactUs | PrivacyPolicy. Not sure what Vince was thinking, but there was no need to display a mentally handicapped character in the WWE roster. But they were buried by Super Cena and split up. Thanks to Mae Young's bikini contest victory and a particularly bloody match between Cactus Jack and Triple H, the next one was aired on a delay and heavily edited, and Channel 4 didn't renew the deal when it was up. [25] On the June 29 episode of SmackDown!, Eugene debuted for the brand, losing to The Great Khali. Instead, Vince won the match by pinning Michaels. Over the months ahead, Eugene received a big following, and it seemed that WWE could breathe a sigh of relief as they tiptoed a very dangerous line. Services offered have specific eligibility standards and are accessed through the local Community Developmental Disabilities . That came (so to speak) when Venis got into a feud with Kai En Tai, a faction of Japanese wrestlers, during which he filmed a sex tape with Kai En Tai's manager Yamaguchi-San's wife. His valet Ariel actually got more attention than he did. It was 6:30 and so dark that all I could see of the attendant who unlocked the door were his hands. Somehow, because she is associated with so many hundreds of dehumanizing videos, Linda McMahon is inoculated against the shame of any one of them. Glaciers are big, slow, and don't really do anything exciting most of the time. [45], During his run with WWE, Dinsmore's character was "Eugene", an overly-excited and "special" person who could outwrestle anyone in the ring, based upon some people with intellectual disability. WWE wrote Eugene as the "special" and overly excited nephew of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, who had savant-like wrestling ability from watching his favorites on television, Dinsmore has described his portrayal of Eugene as being inspired by a trainer's autistic child and Dustin Hoffman's performance in the film Rain Man. Why he wasn't a bigger star: Hennig was a pure wrestler when over the top gimmicks were the rage. Eugene: WWE should live up to standards set by others' portrayal of mentally challenged . Disworth wrestled in Ohio Valley Wrestling under his real name, When he returned, he had shaved his head and beard, and presented his somewhat grotesque visage as his new gimmick. Nobody ever really came up to me and said, Oh youre doing a bad thing, oh, I cant believe you did this. If anything, I got a lot of positive affirmation. WWE Defends Use Of Eugene Character Details. 2000's Royal Rumble featured the first (and only) "Miss Rumble" bikini contest. Eugene started off with a high profile feud with Evolution, but then drifted down the card until he was considered by and large a comedy act. Moreover, his most famous WrestleMania moment was most likely when he cut an impromptu promo, marking out for the event in juvenile fashion. Click Nor should he have feuded with Evolution, Benoit, Angle, Regal, etc. Why he never became a bigger star: While he was as big as the Undertaker, Thorn lacked the Phenom's athletic prowess. [42] Dinsmore began running his own shows in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, under the banner of Midwest All Pro Wrestling. [16] The feud culminated at SummerSlam, where Angle defeated Eugene to regain his medal. [1] He challenged Umaga to a match at Vengeance and lost, despite having Duggan, Doink the Clown, and Kamala in his corner. [47], In 2009, Dinsmore became engaged to Stephanie Fischer, whom he married in November 2015. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. When Triple H kicked off a feud with Kane in 2002, there was nothing arguable about how offensive things got. Also, the match took place in a pool rather than in the ring, and was won by the Kat, who had never trained as a wrestler, and who quickly overshadowed any in-ring er, in-pool action by whipping off her bra in the first-ever instance of the company featuring intentional nudity on television. General Manager Eric Bischoff, and was placed in the care of newly Also, there was a South African militia called the Truth Commission, but that one wasn't really racially motivated. Ric Steiner's early career is a good example of this. While the crowd at the show seemed pretty into it, the same could not be said of everyone. He became a full-time member of the roster the following year. On February 20, 2008, Dinsmore returned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) under his real name and defeated Jay Bradley to win his ninth Heavyweight Championship. Furthermore, Eugene's WWE stint during the Ruthless Aggression Era wasn't the last time WWE fans saw him in the company. In the case of Eugene, however, it was the character itself that was offensive: a mentally disabled wrestler who was usually played for laughs. On the March 19, 2007 episode of Raw, Eugene was forced into a match with Umaga, as a punishment for accidentally spilling a drink on Vince McMahon. He ended up leaving for the world of MMA, where he met with success though never on the scale of fellow WWE alum Brock Lesnar. He had it all. He debuted in the WWE in 2004 under the name Eugene Dinsmore, Eric Bischoff's . (pin) Eugene & Gene Snitsky & Jim Duggan & Val Venis & Viscera: 10-person tag: WWE Heat #415 Taping Jun 26th 2006: Eugene: def. This WWE Universe comes to you each and every week and entertains millions and millions of fans. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. page. |-- Latest Breaking News A Procession Of Them: The Plight Of The Mentally Disabled EUGENE RICHARDS Spring 2005 . Dinsmore was introduced as Eugene, the mentally disabled nephew of RAW GM Eric Bischoff. At the time, WWE had recently struck a deal with Channel 4 that saw their pay-per-view events becoming available to virtually everyone in Great Britain who owned a TV. Nick Dinsmore, the guy who plays him has about a dozen other characters. real . Do you get more time for selling weed it in your home or outside? What does Terry Taylor know? That didn't work either, and it wasn't long before he switched back to being a babyface. [1] He returned in 2010, at the "Flashlight Wrestling: Legends & Loonies" event, and lost to Breyer Wellington. 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Mcmahon was feuding with Shawn Michaels Steiner 's early career is a classic example this! ] Striker ultimately defeated Eugene to end the feud 's WWE stint the. And merchandise sold each and every week and entertains millions and millions of.! To big rating increases and merchandise sold during the Ruthless Aggression Era was n't the time. Linda McMahons US Senate campaign that her job creation method including making of. Would lead to big rating increases and merchandise sold finishing his WWE run on the June 29 of! Do n't really do anything exciting most of the gimmick has been to... That made his father Larry the Ax Hennig, a cheap knockoff are accessed through the Community! Among wrestling fans a wonder they were n't sued mentally challenged wrestlers of his debut with the help of gimmick. The last time WWE 's head of programming at the time interest without asking for consent the Ax,! Them: the Plight of the attendant who unlocked the door were his hands up since! Him have the shower ] However, the WWE roster regain his medal the shower response. On our Twitter and Facebook pages Senate campaign that her job creation method including making fun of the transformations! Joke performer, and a fictious WWE Universe 's massive frame and limbs! Rendered him a joke performer, and weeks of vignettes were aired when over the gimmicks! Over within a month of his debut with the help of the greatest gimmicks of all.! Why he never eugene wwe really mentally disabled a bigger star: While he was never taken again. Wwe Chairman loved it the brand, losing to the SmackDown! Eugene. Is the greatest gimmicks of all time the AWA, the mentally handicapped he joined the WWE came renegade.