Ryan Allen Reaves managed to get his foot in the door of the business by participating in one of WWE's Tough Enough reality shows. In its latest how dare you letter to a Connecticut newspaper, the WWE argues that Eugene is an underdog who repeatedly triumphs. But they were buried by Super Cena and split up. Nowadays, people complain because these characters are either portrayed as too "angelic" in nature, or are used as simple comic relief. He was already a former NWA National Champion and held the Mid-South North American title. Glaciers are big, slow, and don't really do anything exciting most of the time. (pin) Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon: no disqualification handicap tag: WWE Monday Night Raw Jul 3rd 2006: Johnny & Kenny & Mikey & Mitch & Nicky: def. no one really complained if those characters were portrayed accurately. Eugene was part of the WWE from 2004 to 2007 Pro wrestling has had its share of mentally challenged wrestlers. From the mid-'80s through the mid-'90s had a host of these types of goofy gimmicks. [17] Eugene then briefly teamed with Tajiri (who, incidentally, had also previously teamed with William Regal). [1] While still in OVW, Dinsmore also made some appearances as a jobber in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), first on an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night in 1999. Manage Settings Bobby Lashley can't seem to resonate with the fans, and it remains to be seen if WWE will find a way to get him over in the main event picture. 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. They formed a tag team in Frontier Martial Arts wrestling, a sort of ECW type promotion that also boasted stars like Gladiator Mike Awesome. the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC. [42] Dinsmore began running his own shows in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, under the banner of Midwest All Pro Wrestling. The feud culminated in Eugene's pay-per-view debut, when he defeated Coachman at Bad Blood. He is a former World Tag Team Champion, with William Regal. Join us to discuss WWE, AEW, NJPW, Impact, Stardom, ChocoPro, GCW, and every other promotion, big or small, past and present. In [the following video], we see him strolling a stadium corner, ogling a skin mag and sporting a huge my name is Eugene name tag. 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. 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. What are the names of the third leaders called? In 2019, he appeared in the Minnesota-based American Wrestling Federation in a televised match on Channel 45 Wrestling. Worse, instead of creating an original character, WCW decided on a blatant rip off of Mortal Kombat fighter Sub Zero. 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. Lashley had an on again-off again relationship with TNA/Impact for years, bouncing back and forth between wrestling and MMA. In May 2004, Eugene began a feud with Jonathan Coachman, who attempted to banish him from WWE (only to be stopped by The Rock). Perhaps he could have picked up the phone and warned his young counterpart of the dangers of accepting an awful assignment. Why fibrous material has only one falling period in drying curve? Often in the past, they have shown the ability to have a 'magic touch' when switching a performer's gimmick. Imagine their disappointment when instead of Warrior out came the Renegade, a cheap knockoff. Big Forums Also, the man playing Glacier, Ray Lloyd, may have been an excellent athlete but had little in the way of charisma or ability to garner empathy from the fans. The current run as a top heel for Roman Reigns has been a major success, but its tempered by years WWE trying to force him as a white meat babyface. Thorn was never a great wrestler, but he was big and mean looking, so he was pushed hard by OVW. (pin) Eugene & Gene Snitsky & Jim Duggan & Val Venis & Viscera: 10-person tag: WWE Heat #415 Taping Jun 26th 2006: Eugene: def. WWE "set the record straight" via WWE.com Tuesday regarding its programming and storylines following a negative blog post by Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant concerning the mentally . 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. The former WWE Tag Team Champion gave details on all three of his WWE spells, including the reason why he was released each time. [46], The "Eugene" gimmick received mixed reviews. Why he was never a bigger star: Boogeyman had a great gimmick, but his limited wrestling ability and the fact he got into the business very late probably hindered his career. And it accomplished one thing. He had a brief storyline in which he was infatuated with the wrestler Jailbird Man, inadvertently costing Jailbird his matches. He was working out in a gym when then WCW star Sid Vicious came in to work out. 43K views 1 year ago #eugene #wwe #hasanabi Hasanabi Reacts To WWE Fake Disabled Wrestler Eugene (WWE Eugene's Debut) WWE Eugene's Debut | RAW Apr 05, 2004 Video We reimagined. Hulk Hogan is one of the most well-known wrestlers in the world, a truly iconic figure who took pro wrestling to new heights twice in two different decades. 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. Considering the amount of offensive characters Vince has vomited out that are way, way worse, I'm going to say no. [43] In December 2021, Dinsmore announced his retirement tour. On September 1, 2007, Nick Dinsmore was released from his WWE contract.[26][27]. That didn't work either, and it wasn't long before he switched back to being a babyface. Also read: Tegan Nox discusses reactions to her coming out as gay. 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. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Follow him on Twitter @miketchin. In 2015, he opened his own promotion, Midwest All Pro Wrestling. WWE responded: It is clear, based on Mr. McEnroes latest blog post, that he does not understand WWEs programming. Usually, this came in the form of adding crosses to his ring gear and very visibly praying during his entrances, but when he signed on for a match against Vince and his son Shane, Michaels was a part of one of wrestling's most jaw-dropping moments, when he was assigned his tag team partner: God. Introduced in 2005 yes, 2005, this century Eugene was played by Nick Dinsmore, an extremely talented but largely unknown journeyman wrestler. In 2004, a well-liked veteran of the WWE developmental system, Nick Dinsmore, debuted on the WWE main roster. 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. Anyway, Dinsmore has been around forever and. The character Eugene was unique in the fact that he was a person with special needs. [1], Dinsmore also appeared in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from August 1998 to January 1999, mainly used as a jobber on WCW Saturday Night he also worked on two episodes of Thunder (losing to Ernest Miller and Kanyon), and on two episodes of Nitro (first teaming with Lenny Lane to lose a handicap match to Scott Steiner, then losing a singles match to Wrath). This also cost him the World Tag Team Championship, which Regal lost to La Rsistance when forced to defend at a house show on January 16, teamed with Jonathan Coachman as a substitute. Entirely at his expense. The Eugene character was over-the-top several years ago, and there's no way WWE would even attempt it today. He lost the title to Anthony Barvado on July 25, 2008. They've been able to pick up a wrestler who may have been someone else in another place and time, place them in colorful spandex, and give them a whole new persona. |-- Editorials & Other Articles In real life, Michaels had become a born-again Christian a few years earlier and incorporated his beliefs into his onscreen persona as well. |-- Topic Forums All were portrayed by competent wrestlers, and all were doomed to fail because of how hokey they were. He would soon be pawned off to Bischoff's assistant, William Regal, who would be a huge part of most of his storylines. Eugene established himself as a rising star in the WWE. What were they thinking? Unfortunately, that would be his only title in the WWE. Eugene and Regal even won a tag title together, and thats not to mention the youngster lasting nearly fifteen minutes in a competitive match with Triple H at SummerSlam 2004. Unfortunately, Macho Man passed away in 2011 due to a heart attack. Eugene Palermo passed away Sunday at the age of 57. [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. He would eventually be released from the company in 2007 before resigning with them in 2009. pretty certain were all on the spectrum, we being wrestling fans. And the world of wrestling will never be the same. Services offered have specific eligibility standards and are accessed through the local Community Developmental Disabilities . | Donate, AboutDU Unfortunately, Dinsmore's portrayal of Eugene was at best a thoughtless caricature. on World Wrestling Entertainment's RAW brand. Video packages with trendy music and an ominous voice-over telling the wrestling fans 'they're coming.' In time however, Regal would grow fond of Eugene and the pair would even go on to win World Tag Team Championship. Jesus christ I need a hood after saying that. The problems with this particular incident went beyond the viewing audience and actually hurt WWE in the international market. [10] The next week, they had a steel cage match, which Eugene lost and suffered a kayfabe dislocated shoulder, ending the feud. After appearing at ECW One Night Stand,[20] Eugene formed a tag team with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. When he made his debut on ECW, it was using a 'vampire' gimmick, which fell largely flat with the wrestling audiences, even on the Sci-Fi channel. So you have a massive man, with a chiselled physique, and bonafide wrestling credentials AND he's a former soldier? Sheffield would break his leg badly, and spend almost a year in recovery. page. Hidalgo, Mexico, October 1999. He was the Red Rooster. Your login session has expired. |-- The DU Lounge WWE is a proud supporter of The Arc (the worlds largest community-based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Special Olympics. 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. Furthermore, from the start of his tenure on Raw, William Regal became his mentor as the two became very close, going as far as winning tag team gold. Going into the 2006 Backlash event, Vince McMahon was feuding with Shawn Michaels. Not every wrestler needs to be WWE Champion, as some might say that Eugene was the perfect comedy character to have on a wrestling show. Trish Stratus Returns On RAW, Explains Why She Turned On Becky Dustin Rhodes On Cody Losing At WrestleMania 39 Theyre Making Reason Why Becky Lynch Wont Be Appearing On Tonights Episode Of New Photos Of Gigi Dolin, Chelsea Green, Cora Jade, Carmella, Trish Update On Jordynne Graces Contract Status With Impact Wrestling. 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. One never knows what might have happened had WCW not tried to fool the fans into thinking he was someone else. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Characters like that have to overcome adversities and face everyday challenges, and they always come out on top. | Discussion In 1995, video game consoles such as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn were just hitting the market. A brain storming session with former wrestler and OVW trainer Rip Rogers gave birth to the character of Eugene; a mentally challenged character who could outwrestle anyone in the ring. And who could forget the entertaining July 2004 episode of Monday Night Raw where Eugene became the general manager for one night, where he held a musical chairs contest to see who'd face Randy Orton for the Intercontinental Championship later that night. Cade and fellow graduate Daniel Bryan made their way to Japan since WWE and WCW weren't interested. Some have resulted in massive success. [8] Eugene then feuded with Triple H,[1] which led to a match between the two at SummerSlam, which Eugene lost. When the team split up, Hennig would go on to rule as AWA world heavyweight champion for nearly a year. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka was chosen over Kamala and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, and pinned Conway with his Superfly Splash to win the match. 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. Despite the crowd's shockingly positive reaction, the skit was monumentally offensive at the time and certainly hasn't aged well in the 20 years since. 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. Not even a pre-presidential Donald Trump could get Lashley over. After losing a rematch to The Spirit Squad, Eugene attacked Duggan, turning heel. 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.. 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.. Eugene: WWE should live up to standards set by others' portrayal of mentally challenged . New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The Office of Developmental Disability Services (ODDS) offers services to adults ranging from supports to assist an individual to live in their own home or with family or friends, to 24-hour comprehensive services. Nwa National Champion and held the Mid-South North American title were portrayed accurately offensive characters has. Say no their disappointment when instead of creating an original character, WCW decided a. Of goofy gimmicks unfortunately, that would be his only title in the WWE developmental system, Dinsmore... 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