Crime Time gotta be up there right? Despite being cut, he was sent to developmental territory OVW to hone his skills and develop his character. 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. |-- General Discussion: Presidency [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". [22] However, the angle was soon dropped and, before the end of the year, Eugene became a face again. The Plight of the Mentally Disabled. 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.. 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. Pro wrestling has had its share of mentally challenged wrestlers. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Please comment below and let us know, and thanks for reading! WWE officials were tickled pink when they hired Kevin Thorn for their attempted revival of the ECW brand. When I was playing the role of Eugene, I wanted to display a character that had not only special needs, but incredible qualities; honesty, strength, very playful, quite nave at times. 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. 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. 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. Eugene had a lot of forces, a lot of bad guys against him. Hennig cut his teeth in the AWA, the promotion that made his father Larry the Ax Hennig, a star attraction. Muhammad Hassan and Daivari attacked him, only for Hulk Hogan to make the save. An offensive stereotype about us white folk! 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. 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. In the end, it was probably not in the best taste to cast a performer with a dimension of difference he did not actually representjust as the general consensus in pop culture has moved against casting an actor to perform a race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation they do not actually embody. Do you get more time for selling weed it in your home or outside? Rogers had apparently based the gimmick on his autistic son. Particularly early on, WWE planted hints that he was something like a wrestling savant. Be it because the performer didn't like or get into the act, the audience didn't get it, or the most likely reason of them all: It was just really stupid. In May 2004, Eugene began a feud with Jonathan Coachman, who attempted to banish him from WWE (only to be stopped by The Rock). 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. On the October 22, 2002, episode of Monday Night Raw, Triple H promised to present "the most graphic and salacious video footage" he'd ever seen, and definitely delivered on that front. 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. ", "Which WWE gimmick was worse: Eugene or The Red Rooster? On July 6, 1998, DX's latest bit of dubious comedy involved coming to the ring in costume as the Nation. [13] Eugene suffered an injury at New Year's Revolution on January 9, 2005, in a match with Christian and Tyson Tomko, after botching a dropkick. For instance, because Eugene is a wrestling fan at the end of the day, his signature and finishing moves include the Stone Cold Stunner, Hulk Hogan's leg drop, and Rock Bottom. A heel wrestler insulting a location as being inferior to their own hometown is a time-honored tradition in pro wrestling, but in 2018, WWE discovered that the politics of the Middle East are a little more complicated than the rivalry between, say, Boston and New York. [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. 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. Rather than getting a rub from The Hulkster, Eugene disappeared from the picturea set up man for the conquering heros return, not even a minor hero himself. RELATED: Former WWE Star Eugene Set To Retire After Latest Tour. He defeated Grado in his first match for the promotion. So, what happened to him? Darien Times writer Joshua Fisher slammed Linda McMahons US Senate campaign that her job creation method including making fun of the mentally handicapped. Though Street Fighter wound up being the more enduring franchise, in 1995 the fighting game series on everyone's lips was Mortal Kombat. |-- Topic Forums Poem writers and bullfighters, right there alongside a preacher and a teacher. Which WWE gimmick was worse: Eugene or The Red Rooster. Dinsmore was introduced as Eugene, the mentally disabled nephew of RAW GM Eric Bischoff. It's a classic example of how a promotion can mishandle a good talent and lead them to ruin. After finishing his WWE run on the SmackDown brand, Eugene got released by WWE in late 2007. He was good-looking, wore suits and elegant robes, and was pegged as a possible world champion someday. In real life, Michaels had become a born-again Christian a few years earlier and incorporated his beliefs into his onscreen persona as well. |-- Ask the Administrators Jesus christ I need a hood after saying that. [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. 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. Check on the link to your right for more information. 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. Eugene's character was not just mentally handicapped, he was an in ring savant that copied his favorite wrestlers and did it well. What are the names of the third leaders called? Instead, Vince won the match by pinning Michaels. Lots of people think it's fucked up to have a "retarded" character. He had it all. Not for one minute . Here are the most controversial things the WWE has ever done or been party to. Back in the Pre-NWO WCW days, Hulk Hogan was feuding with the heel stable Dungeon of Doom. Because of how compelling the character was, he was involved in some of the most entertaining segments on Monday Night Raw not long after making his debut. What's Eugene been up to since getting released by WWE in 2007? 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. 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. Luckily, Taylor found work as an executive with WWE, WCW, and also TNA and continued to thrive in the industry away from the ring. 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. 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. 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. When his action figure hit Walmart, however, a customer who saw it out of context and apparently had no familiarity with the show wrote a letter to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution decrying it as "a training manual for spousal abuse." Dinsmore married his longtime girlfriend, actress-model Stephanie Fischer, in Las Vegas in November 2015. Why he never became a bigger star: Snitsky is huge, but was stiff and awkward in the ring. The gimmick has followed him to the end of his career. I really disliked him This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast 0 Eugenes no different and the people treated him the same way, they wanted to see him succeed. He lost the title to Anthony Barvado on July 25, 2008. | ContactUs | PrivacyPolicy. Nor should he have feuded with Evolution, Benoit, Angle, Regal, etc. A Procession Of Them: The Plight Of The Mentally Disabled EUGENE RICHARDS Spring 2005 . When the team split up, Hennig would go on to rule as AWA world heavyweight champion for nearly a year. They made him act like a chicken, of course. Eventually, he was released and WWE has never looked back. Unfortunately, Macho Man passed away in 2011 due to a heart attack. 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