He's the author of the wrestling book, The Long Way Home. Did a WWE Hall of Famer just say that AEW storylines are for 8-year-olds here, Be the first one to comment on this story. Perhaps he could have picked up the phone and warned his young counterpart of the dangers of accepting an awful assignment. But the Rooster gimmick rendered him a joke performer, and he was never taken seriously again. Nicholas Disworth (born December 17, 1975), also known by his This led to a match at the first-ever Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view on October 19. He was good-looking, wore suits and elegant robes, and was pegged as a possible world champion someday. Entirely at his expense. Sheffield would break his leg badly, and spend almost a year in recovery. Is the WWE wrestler Eugene really mentally disabled? During his time in the company, he was involved in various storylines and competed against such wrestlers like Triple H and Kurt Angle. The WWE has and continues to showcase a wide variety of characters and a fictious WWE Universe. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. WWE probably wouldnt try something like the Eugene character in the modern landscape, and thats probably a good thing. Unfortunately, Dinsmore's portrayal of Eugene was at best a thoughtless caricature. Eugene: WWE should live up to standards set by others' portrayal of mentally challenged . Worse, WWE's head of programming at the time actually thought Eugene would lead to big rating increases and merchandise sold. no one really complained if those characters were portrayed accurately. He started wrestling in the 1980s and would go on until 2005. He had a brief storyline in which he was infatuated with the wrestler Jailbird Man, inadvertently costing Jailbird his matches. Fans, of course, reacted with great enthusiasm, because it seemed a sure bet that the shadow they were seeing belonged to the Ultimate Warrior. While shooting T-shirts into the crowd via T-shirt gun, he accidentally shot Mark Henry. In the context of WWE, that discussion includes the womens roster being treated more seriously, not to mention the milestone of Big E defeating Bobby Lashley to become the first black Superstar to win the WWE Championship from another black Superstar. He was actually only called up to Raw for what was supposed to be a one night deal, knocking Lita off the apron for a controversial miscarriage angle. Muhammad Hassan and Daivari attacked him, only for Hulk Hogan to make the save. 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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Do you get more time for selling weed it in your home or outside? 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. 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." Calling pretty much everything WWE did with their Women's Division from the mid-'90s to about 2010 "controversial" is the most polite way to put it, but December 12, 1999, marked a definite low point. While this is normally the sort of thing that would be settled in a match, Yamaguchi-San opted to go for a more brutal form of revenge by waving around a sword and threatening to, and this is a quote, "choppy choppy your pee pee." Stephens won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in 2010. The former Tough Enough contestant survived the brutal first cut of that reality competition, but was dismissed because he lied about his age. [43] In December 2021, Dinsmore announced his retirement tour. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. He also worked as a trainer in NXT for 13 months in 2013 and 2014. Why fibrous material has only one falling period in drying curve? He teamed with Kane and Doink The Clown to defeat Kevin Thorn, Viscera, and Umaga.[24]. Video packages with trendy music and an ominous voice-over telling the wrestling fans 'they're coming.' RELATED: Eugene & 9 Other WWE Gimmicks That Would Never Fly Today. It hit its peak in July 2005 when Hassan and his manager, Daivari, were embroiled in a feud with the Undertaker, who rather than being a spooky undead cowboy or a sinister Lord of Darkness was in the "American Badass" phase of his career. Also read: Tegan Nox discusses reactions to her coming out as gay He worked as an enhancement talent for the WCW in 1998/99. it just disturbed me considering my situation. [25] On the June 29 episode of SmackDown!, Eugene debuted for the brand, losing to The Great Khali. Taylor, one of the smoothest technical wrestlers in the game, was the perfect 80's babyface. [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). Before long, however, there were rumors that Hogan and WWE would reach an agreement to see him restored to his previous status, and sure enough, they announced on July 15, 2018, that Hogan was being reinstated after a "three-year suspension," which was the first time it had ever been referred to as a suspension rather than a permanent removal. 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. Home 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. 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. Probably the meanest, nastiest, dirtiest, devious of them all was the sinister character Mr. McMahon. The first event they aired was, of course, Royal Rumble 2000. Despite his successes, and certainly proving himself as a skilled in-ring performer, theres also the reality that the Eugene character often got played for laughs. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. For instance, one of Eugene's most memorable moments was getting rescued by the returning Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on a May 2004 episode of Monday Night Raw, as the two laid the smackdown on Jonathan Coachman. Copyright: RU Sport Private Limited. The contract was signed, and weeks of vignettes were aired. He did end up with the big belt in that promotion, but despite being a gifted athlete he was never the draw they hoped he would be. board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules 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. "Eugene" is a very controversial character among wrestling fans. 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. Eugene was also the first wrestler to defeat Kurt Angle in his Invitational Challenge when he briefly feuded with him in 2005. Given his limited athletic ability and technical wrestling acumen, Ryback was basically just around for his chiselled physique. Eugene Allen Snisky's massive frame and long limbs landed him a spot on his high school football team. The young man got an immediate push because he was billed as Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff's nephew Eugene, and as a result was assigned William Regal as his kayfabe mentor. 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. It was a weird bit of realism for a character that, up to that point, had been the supernaturally tough, demonic brother of an undead cowboy and occasional Lord of Darkness. How do you telepathically connet with the astral plain? WWEs usage of Eugene was not entirely offensive. | Discussion real . Cade and fellow graduate Daniel Bryan made their way to Japan since WWE and WCW weren't interested. Was The WWE Wrestler Eugene Offensive, Or Actually A Good Character? He left WWE in 2008 and wrestled for a time in Japan before retiring. he still failed to resonate with fans and was released. Services offered have specific eligibility standards and are accessed through the local Community Developmental Disabilities . The basic idea was that Triple H had uncovered a shameful secret about Kane's past: a drunk driving accident that had resulted in the death of his high school girlfriend, Katie Vick. Pro wrestling has had its share of mentally challenged wrestlers. On June 17, Eugene was drafted to the SmackDown! However, in his second run with the company, he only featured once on television; losing to the Calgary kid who turned out to be The Miz. He also won the World Tag Team Championship with William Regal. And that's exactly how fans love it. His resume would go on to include featured one-on-one matches at consecutive SummerSlams opposite The Game and then Kurt Angle. [20] Striker ultimately defeated Eugene to end the feud. 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. He would be saved by returning Hulk Hogan, after he attacked the villainous duo. 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." |-- Political Videos Or if they are even the two of the worst ones in the history of WWE. [23] Eugene wrestled on the June 2, 2007 Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIV, where he debuted a new "Superman-esque" wrestling attire. After losing, McMahon shaved Eugene's head. In 2004, a well-liked veteran of the WWE developmental system, Nick Dinsmore, debuted on the WWE main roster. Here are the most controversial things the WWE has ever done or been party to. Back in 1998, the WWF introduced their audiences to the latest in a long line of characters who seemed to have taken up professional wrestling as their second careers, like the Big Boss Man (a wrestling prison guard), IRS (a wrestling accountant), and of course, the Undertaker (a wrestling undertaker). Alternately known as Garrison Cade, Lance McKnaught has some surprising connections to major WWE superstars. 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. The first live event was held November 7, 2015. He would soon be pawned off to Bischoff's assistant, William Regal, who would be a huge part of most of his storylines. pretty certain were all on the spectrum, we being wrestling fans. A little controversy can be a good way to grab headlines and get attention for the product, but as these examples show, there are plenty of moments that have gone too far. the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC. All rights reserved. Nowadays, people complain because these characters are either portrayed as too "angelic" in nature, or are used as simple comic relief. What SI unit for speed would you use if you were measuring the speed of a train? In 2004, a well-liked veteran of the WWE developmental system, Nick Dinsmore, debuted on the WWE main roster. The character was yet to be unleashed however. . 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. Daniel Bryan made their Way to Japan since WWE and WCW were n't interested November,. Would lead to big rating increases and merchandise sold and WCW were n't.... 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