He made his main roster debut in 2003, teaming with Mark Jindrak. Eugenes stock within the company began to drop soon after. He worked as an enhancement talent for the WCW in 1998/99. Theres a real argument to be made that the character was a caricature of someone with a disability, played for laughs, as opposed to a positive representation. [43] In December 2021, Dinsmore announced his retirement tour. (pin) Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon: no disqualification handicap tag: WWE Monday Night Raw Jul 3rd 2006: Johnny & Kenny & Mikey & Mitch & Nicky: def. The character trait played out in different ways at different times, but its little wonder some critics would find it offensive. He was signed by a scout for Ohio Valley Wrestling. If all that sounds tasteless, brace yourself, because this one actually gets worse. Now I actually don't believe this man has a learning disability for. Kevin Matthew Fertig had one of the luckiest breaks into the business imaginable. the Farrelly brothers' recent comedy . Dinsmore began his career in 1996 and was assigned to NWA-Ohio Valley Wrestling, later becoming Ohio Valley Wrestling. Then he and fellow NXT rookies -- when it was still a reality show and not a separate brand -- became the Nexus, having a brief but strong reign as an almost NWO type group. Though Street Fighter wound up being the more enduring franchise, in 1995 the fighting game series on everyone's lips was Mortal Kombat. Best known for his time in WWE working under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson. Despite being one of the best wrestlers in the company, Dinsmore continued to frustratingly wait for his call up to the main roster while other wrestlers around him continued their upward mobility. Taylor and Dinsmore represent several athletes that WWE has missed out on in re-packaging them. Over the years, WWE has been known to create some of the greatest gimmicks of all time. The problems with this particular incident went beyond the viewing audience and actually hurt WWE in the international market. Probably the meanest, nastiest, dirtiest, devious of them all was the sinister character Mr. McMahon. simpleton nature, Eugene is portrayed as an "Mental Kid" when it Curt Hennig, unlike many of the men on this list, actually had quite an impressive career. He defeated Grado in his first match for the promotion. 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. He has trouble broadcasting the image of a legit badass, even though he actually is one. After appearing at ECW One Night Stand,[20] Eugene formed a tag team with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. The feud culminated in Eugene's pay-per-view debut, when he defeated Coachman at Bad Blood. [36] Dinsmore lost the title to Rudy Switchblade seven days later in an Eight Man Melee, including Wayne, Adam Revolver, Ted McNaler, James Thomas, Rocco Bellagio and Mike Mondo. In time however, Regal would grow fond of Eugene and the pair would even go on to win World Tag Team Championship. He is also Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. WWE responded: It is clear, based on Mr. McEnroes latest blog post, that he does not understand WWEs programming. How many credits do you need to graduate with a doctoral degree? Dinsmore married his longtime girlfriend, actress-model Stephanie Fischer, in Las Vegas in November 2015. However, WCW had spent so much time on vignettes and hype for the character they didn't let it die for years. [12], With Regal, Eugene won his first and only championship in WWE, taking the World Tag Team Championship from La Rsistance on the November 15 episode of Raw. However, the promotions avoid actually categorizing their mentally challenged characters as having an actual real-world disability. Reddit's largest professional wrestling community. Also read: Tegan Nox discusses reactions to her coming out as gay. Virgil? He debuted in the WWE in 2004 under the name Eugene Dinsmore, Eric Bischoff's . One of the women involved did in fact take her top off, but it wasn't the Kat, whose bikini was literally made of packing tape and bubble wrap. Teens and young adults especially loved the gory fatalities and cold-blooded characters. [18], On November 18, 2005, WWE.com reported Dinsmore was rushed to the hospital the previous night, after passing out in a hotel lobby in Manchester, and was suspended indefinitely. 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.. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. 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. [39][40] Dinsmore was re-hired by WWE on September 20, 2013, as trainer on NXT, and he lasted a year before he was released on October 2, 2014. Amidst this conversation, there could be some merit to a differently abled Superstar hanging on the WWE roster. Now Lashley is back in the WWE, and seems squarely mired in the mid-card, just like before. He would eventually be released from the company in 2007 before resigning with them in 2009. Why he never became a bigger star: Lance Cade is a talented wrestler, but he always seemed aloof and thus had difficulty getting fans emotionally invested in his character. Thorn was never a great wrestler, but he was big and mean looking, so he was pushed hard by OVW. Eugene was also the first wrestler to defeat Kurt Angle in his Invitational Challenge when he briefly feuded with him in 2005. However, fans felt forever cheated by Renegade, and despite a heavy push that included a clean pin of Television champion Arn Anderson, he failed to catch on. In October 2007, Dinsmore became the head official in charge of Derby City Wrestling, the intermediate-level group affiliated with Ohio Valley Wrestling, after Joey Matthews left the position. Eugene won this match (with help from Mr. McMahon) and subsequently shaved Bischoff's head. (pin) Eugene & Gene Snitsky & Jim Duggan & Val Venis & Viscera: 10-person tag: WWE Heat #415 Taping Jun 26th 2006: Eugene: def. 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. ", "Which WWE gimmick was worse: Eugene or The Red Rooster? The Nation was mostly made up of black wrestlers. Bret Harts days as a great world champion were balanced by years of him being stuck in the tag team ranks when he was more than ready for a solo run, not to mention getting temporarily passed over the top babyface spot for the likes of Lex Luger or Diesel. |-- Ask the Administrators Do you get more time for selling weed it in your home or outside? Often in the past, they have shown the ability to have a 'magic touch' when switching a performer's gimmick. It was one of the strangest transformations ever witnessed in pro wrestling. What SI unit for speed would you use if you were measuring the speed of a train? He was eliminated by Chris Benoit. Hennig cut his teeth in the AWA, the promotion that made his father Larry the Ax Hennig, a star attraction. Dinsmore debuted in 1996, and soon began wrestling in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The following week, he was tricked into thinking Deuce 'n Domino were helping him win his match against Mark Henry, which led to a quick defeat. How can a map enhance your understanding? Nicholas David Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), better known by his ring name Eugene, is an American professional wrestler. Everything from smashing a clock over his head--as in he is a waking nightmare--to eating live worms and allowing the disgusting morass of their internal organs to wash over his impeccably chiselled chest, was a shock to the system. 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. [46], The "Eugene" gimmick received mixed reviews. Rogers had apparently based the gimmick on his autistic son. Fans can combine all of these elements with WWE later switching Eugenes wrestling attire to something like a Superman costume. Moreover, his most famous WrestleMania moment was most likely when he cut an impromptu promo, marking out for the event in juvenile fashion. Introduced in 2005 yes, 2005, this century Eugene was played by Nick Dinsmore, an extremely talented but largely unknown journeyman wrestler. He's also someone who was caught on tape using incredibly offensive racial slurs. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Unfortunately, that would be his only title in the WWE. [17] Eugene then briefly teamed with Tajiri (who, incidentally, had also previously teamed with William Regal). While the fans mostly responded to Eugene in a positive fashion, they were also clearly made uncomfortable by the crux of his character. Why he was never a bigger star: Renegade's entire 'bait and switch' gimmick infuriated fans, who refused to get behind him even after he stopped dressing like Ultimate Warrior. [30] He formed a tag team with Zach Gowen at Up in Smoke, believing that he could be Gowen's second leg, but ended up costing his team the match by distracting the referee. You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. The feud with the Undertaker and Hassan's career with WWE were both finished in an eight-minute match a few weeks later. Although WWE believed the gimmick would be a positive role model for mentally disabled people. Forum Categories It's a classic example of how a promotion can mishandle a good talent and lead them to ruin. Worse, instead of creating an original character, WCW decided on a blatant rip off of Mortal Kombat fighter Sub Zero. I also think having him there supposedly portraying people with. How do you download your XBOX 360 upgrade onto a CD? The Most Controversial Things WWE Has Ever Done, Channel 4 didn't renew the deal when it was up, the Almighty's presence was represented by a spotlight that moved down the entrance ramp, Kofi Kingston touched on those issues in a statement on Twitter, he believed Hogan was "willing to fix it. In addition to his physical appearance, which included wild, unkempt hair, his wrists locked into an angle that parodied cerebral palsy, and exaggerated wide-eyed nodding whenever he got excited, Eugene also came to the ring in a jacket that was worn inside-out and buttoned incorrectly, accompanied by an entrance video that boasted his name in childlike scrawl. He once busted JBL's lip so badly that he needed stitches, and would tear his own bicep during a clothesline spot. no one really complained if those characters were portrayed accurately. [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. [1] Dinsmore also held the OVW Heavyweight Championship a record ten times. The young man got an immediate push because he was billed as Raw General Manager Eric Bischoffs nephew Eugene, and as a result was assigned William Regal as his kayfabe mentor. brand as their final pick of the 2007 Supplemental Draft. What are the names of God in various Kenyan tribes? I think it's pretty fucked up, personally. With that in mind, it probably wouldn't have been that bad if Michaels had actually won the match, especially given that he's usually regarded as one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time, and could pretty believably beat up a 61-year-old CEO and his non-wrestler son without actually requiring divine intervention. real . |-- Topic Forums Glacier looked so much like the character it's a wonder they weren't sued! The news media took notice, and while WWE initially attempted to spin it to give the Hassan character more material to work with, UPN, SmackDown's home network, pressuring WWE to remove the character from the show. Speaking on the Cheap Heat . Making fun of mentally handicapped people is pretty low, even for Vince. [7] Although Regal was originally dispirited at having to manage Eugene, he would grow fond of him and the two would quickly become firm friends. Taylor and Dinsmore are not in that group. 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