The Nick Dinsmore as someone who is autistic and has adhd, I totally loved your run in wwe and wish only two things, that one it was longer as you are a brilliant talent and should have been there longer and two wish that you had off been around while I was younger, espically as a teenager, it would have helped me so much, as it did even in my 20s when your run was. Thanks for everything.
When Triple H called out Eugene, he sounded like a disgruntled mother who just got a call from her son's principal. It would've been perfect if he called Eugene by his full name.
That Regal promo that came out of that screaming. I always loved that one from Regal. Too bad that Regal's drug use kept derailing his career. Would have loved to see the title on his shoulders at one point.
As a kid, I liked Eugene a lot. Something about his child like energy & joy was just contagious. But today as someone who works with people with special needs, I think it is kinda corny & I can definitely see how it would rub some the wrong way. But I also think the character of Eugene did help bring awareness to the fact that people with special needs can be unbelievably strong and athletic when provoked or misled.
Imagine the heat Eugene would have gotten if he came out and insulted the fans for thinking he was retarded, and started acting normal? Best heel turn ever.
Imagine the hate fans would have spewed for such a dumb storyline. Not to mention the media being all over it like they did when Linda had her campaign.
Are you for fucking real? Do you think any top guy would want to put over any guy who had been on TV for six months? Let alone one that wasn't a serious character?
+fordulaad Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns were put over in a short span of time. I would also like to add that Eugene used to be Doink the Clown which was a 90s character.
Eugene isn't Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. And in case you're forgetting, not everyone was thrilled about putting over Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns has had a bit of a mega-push, but mainly to try fill the vacuum at the top of the card, he was also in the shield for much longer than 6 months
Saw him in Dublin about the about 6 years ago and he is one of the most humble incredible wrestlers he worked the crowd incredibly and even though he was heel the whole crowd was cheering for him by the end
@@kgrace1985 I'm pretty sure I said that your comment was an opinion not a fact which is factual. Couldn't care less if Regal gets in on or not, it's still opinion not fact.
Doug Rockford Oh damn, now I can't unsee it, now I can imagine Eugene being taken in by Bray, renamed Braun Strowman and giving him some weird backwater blessing from Sister Abigail to bulk him up hahaha.
I *despised* the Eugene character _when it was happening_. Later, I realized how smart the guy playing the character was. Like with Goldust, Dinsmore really got into the character's head and played it _really_ well.
I'm Autistic and to be honest, the way that other groups have been represented by WWE, I think I have it pretty easy. I feel sorry for the poor guys in Africa who're represented by Akim The African Dream and Saba Simba.
Dr Rainbows the Unicorn I felt this was pretty awful, but I'm glad you didn't find it overtly offensive. As for Africa, at least there are real wrestlers from the continent today. Even though that fact is not paraded about, it's a lot better being represented by Kofi Kingston rather than a southerner like Kamala parlaying a ridiculous stereotype, or a large caucasian man in blue spandex with an effeminate hand. One could say Justin Gabriel of Nexus 'fame' as well, since he is South African, IIRC he's in Lucha Underground today.
Honestly, at least the "Autistic" person was played by someone with real wrestling talent. That's what makes it ok with me, the fact that he could wrestle and he has genuine talent, rather than "Look at the Autist! He's weird! AHAAHAAHAHA!!" cos then that'd just be like High School.
You'd love my idea for The Architect Seth Rollins. He comes out in a polo shirt tucked into blue jeans, beats people with a tube that holds blueprints and always slips building puns into his promos.
As someone with ASD, I think the only people who find the character Eugene offensive are neurotypicals who think we're so helpless that we need someone to speak up for us, which is not only obviously not the case, it's also patronizing and offensive as hell. Eugene gave lots of people representation that we didnt have before.
Yep. I think the same. Especially in the times of 2004. Eugene was an eye opener for myself. Got my diagnosis way later. But he's on of the first moments where I realised who I am 😅
Precisely, it's people who have never actually spoken to or been around people with different levels of mental retardation, and they project their discomfort by calling everything offensive and "ablest". Another problem is the way they've been treated in schools in the last 20-30 years. In the 70s and 80s it was far more normalised because of a lack of knowledge of the disabilities, then when they started to learn about the different forms they started hiding retarded kids away from everyone else and overprotecting them instead of letting the other kids socialise with them and let everyone understand each other's differences. I mean for crying out loud they kept people with your disability in a caged off area in my school and told nobody to go near the cage, I'd go by almost every recess and lunch time and talk to a guy called Calum and some others, they were really nice kids CRAVING social interaction with people they were being hidden away from. How on earth are you supposed to have a chance of developing already retarded social skills if you can't interact with anyone outside of your 20 metre fkn box. Pisses me off to this day. Anyway sorry for the long rant.
I actually like Eugene. He shaved Eric Bischoff bald, Beat The Coach at Bad Blood, won the World Tag Team championship with William Regal, Successfully defend it at New Years Revolution and beat The McMahons in a handicap match with the help from DX
It's a shame, his talent was clear, but he was stuck with this gimmick which initially got him over but couldn't be taken seriously enough to push him to anything serious. Maybe sort of like Tyler Breeze nowadays?
Yousexythang What I'm trying to say, he got over, but without any change he will never amount to anything that reflects his talent because he's becoming a joke act with this whole police thing
I think Breeze could have gone up the card a little furthr than he is, but he's held back by the writing not being up to making him seem serious, and the fact that The Miz already exists. You can have a big-league goofy heel, but the WWE keeps forgetting that to do that, he also needs to be capable of kicking ass to SOME extent.
xHaloxReviewerx117x I remember him, his pirate gimmick was alright, but it was way better than the incest angle they gave him when he was drafted to ecw
I don't think Eugene was an offensive character at all. There have been far more tasteless portrayal's of people with disabilities in wrestling. I think Dinsmore made that character mean something. I think we should remember that the character got over real strong.
@@SNOWQueen87-v1g to be honest with you I made this comment 5 years ago. My views on this character have changed a bit since then. I still stand by the statement that there have been far more offensive characters than Eugene in wrestling. However nowadays I think that Eugene was a poor character in terms of representing people with mental health issues.
As an autistic person myself, yeah, I like Eugene. He had some rough spots, but he was pretty likeable and he had a lot of skill. Great for a short-term face. Also, gotta love people who decide to get offended on behalf of others. Even worse when so many of them will try to silence the people they're trying to "defend" by claiming that those people "don't know any better". It makes me sick.
That Regal promo was one of my favorite promos of the Ruthless Aggression era. It was simple but Regal showed he could work the mic right there, and it made the match between him and Triple H must-see for me.
i think the heel turn also might've been better if Eugene would've been in "reality" been influenced by a heel into turning... lets take Triple H as example for this... Eugene starts his heel stuff... a few weeks later we see more and more of a person that talks to him in the locker room, telling him that he's special... all people are only laughing about him, but not the person that's talking to him at the moment and so on... and then... after a few weeks... Eugene Helps Triple H to defend/regain/whatever the WHC... and allies with him. They're not going to help each other to much but so, for sometime, Eugene would act as heel and from time to time help Hunter... Then, when Heel Eugene gets stale again, he finds out that Triple H was only using him etc. and turns face
it would of been a perfect way to push him up the card if somebody, say chris benoit showed him footage of them laughing at eugene, eugene could cry and tell william regal what happened. Then have Eugene vs Triple H, where Eugene would get a shock win.
I really fu--king loved Eugene, sure I shrugged a few times at how someone like him could take down Triple H but he was such a fresh spin on a world of exaggerated gimmicks. In a sense if you didn't know of his past, you'd truly believe he was handicapped. The only people being offended by the character are people who make it their job to be offended other other people's behalf.
This is going to sound weird but I think this gimmick could have potentially gave us Dinsmore. Have Eugene act "special" for a month but have him become Dinsmore in the ring. Eventually he would reveal that he used the Eugene character to get drafted so he could showcase his real talent. You can even add in authority element since Vince and co never really wanted to call him up to the main roster. Then you can let the guy shine as Dinsmore and see how the crowd responds to him.
Also I did like the Eugene character for a while and he was insanely over, so much that he got Regal, one of the best heels ever, probably the biggest face pop of his career when he defended Eugene. Was shitty that Benoit as champ actually was playing second fiddle to the HHH/Eugene story.
Personally I was fine with the idea, but then hearing the heel turn and it almost looked like he was making fun of autistic people, and honestly I do have 2 highly autistic siblings, so it was highly awkward to even see this gimmick in the first place.
I think the heel turn could have worked... since Eugene was watching wrestling as a Kid... the idea popped into his head that he wanted to be a heel... from the stars he was watching in between being injured... if they followed that instead of I'm special I'm not a heel...
Eugene was a great gimmick. They actually highlighted more his heart and competence in ring. They never made his 'mental strength' come off as a weakness
The promo Regal cut on Triple H over abusing Eugene's naivety is still one of the best promos he ever cut, which is saying something with how incredible the man is on the mic
You forgot one of the key issues with the Eugene-Angle feud: Eugene was getting booed to hell and back during it. Especially in Pittsburgh, when he declared himself an Olympic Gold Medalist, the crowd reacted as if he said that the Steelers were worst football team in the world.
I agree with The Know It All Fan (I think that's what you were calling him) look at the inspiration part of the character, in order to be an idol for someone, there is always the dark history to ad to it, because without it (This case The Evolution) what is their really to prove, heros are nothing without the villains, even a special-needs hero, the character needed Triple H, Uncle Eric, The Coach, and all the other enemies that he made to help the Eugene character to become an inspiration, so I was all for it
Sure it was offensive but it's not like WWE haven't done worse. I think the fact that we all remember Eugene and recognize him instantly while we can't remember most of the roster of that time, especially mid and lower card makes him a good character in the history of WWE and I believe that for the most part, we don't want to forget Eugene.
As someone with both a mental and physical disability (I'm autistic and paraplegic), I loved Eugene. It helped me see the humor in my disability. I didn't see it as something offensive. And using the disability to get heel heat was a stroke of genius. Showing that someone who had a disability similar to mine could get over as a heel. Overall, I found it funny and also in a weird way, kind of empowering. It was used as a joke sometimes, sure, but the way Dinsmore played it was perfection.
You have GOT to have Know-It-All Fan on more often. He's great. He encapsulates all the cliches found everywhere in your comment threads. He's perfect. Great Video, BZ.
Hell, you could say the New Year's Revolution PPV was cursed throughout it's entire 3 year run with Eugene, Lita and Triple H in '07 all getting hurt at the event.
Same here. One of my friends, whose disabilities are worse than my own, even got into the wrestling biz because Eugene showed him that he doesn't have to be perfect all around to do what he wanted.
As someone with disability, I really dislike him. I like he make an impact for others, but for me it was facepalming and I was happy when HHH beat him down.
***** Yeah, that would be cool. I'm hoping he makes it out of the shit hole he's working in right now though. One of those small promotions that utilizes several wrestlers with little to no training, putting wrestlers with the training and talent at risk. My friend is in the hospital at the moment because his opponent, who was suppose to lose, threw a tantrum and kept dropping my friend on his neck.
You know what, I do miss characters like that. It`s kind of what WWE is missing these days. They shouldn`t over do it but a few more colorful characters would be nice.
I really liked the way that put this video together and put handled the subject (which we have to admit is a pretty hard one). I'm not being one of those know it all fans but I'm just going to say that personally as someone who has worked with special needs young people (some with very similar disabilities as the Eugene character) as seeing how this young people struggle with being different I've got to say I think it's wasn't right. The individuals I know would give anything to be like "normal" people and long for the chance to have the same opportunities as their peers who don't struggle with the situation they've been placed in. But once again a very good video
THANK YOU! I love both the realistic AND the goofy characters. I think it's okay to have a mix. I mean, The Blue Meanie and Goldust are two of my all-time favorite acts
The gimmick never really bothered me( and I have special needs myself) I just thought it was good to see a character showing the mentally disable can live their dream, like Freight Train. I also love the budding friendship between Regal and Eugene, you really get emotionally invested and their training montage was very funny.
That William Regal promo on HHH was utterly fantastic. "And if you want to fight, look no bloody further! Because I will quite gladly now, go and change into my ring attire, and I will join you back in that ring, and I will BATTLE YOU with EVERY OUNCE of VILE AND VENOM that RUNS THROUGH MY VEINS!"
Didn't Eugene also fight Miz (dressed up as The Calgary Kid) in a contract on a pole match? I forget the year the match happened, but I'm pretty sure Eugene and the Miz were involved.
Nick Dinsmore doesn't deserve ALL the credit for developing the Eugene character. The idea came from a brainstorming session between Dinsmore and OVW trainer Rip Rogers, who based the gimmick on his autistic son.
10:46 Perfect summary of my opinion on this controversial character;The character gets way too much flack despite how entertaining and tasteful (at least in comparison to how far south the gimmick could have gone) it was. Always loved Eugene but it's always been hard for me to articulate why... Thanks for another awesome episode, Zane! :D
I never really met him, but he did hand me the microphone once (I was filming the show, and after he finished his promo, he handed the mic to me because I was the closest staff member)
You know who else got behind Eugene?! Pat Patterson. That's what I heard. Regal missed Triple H. Did you know Lord Steven mentored Terra Ryzing?! Widely known fact.
I was pretty young when Eugene debuted and I loved him, it was like seeing a kid getting to live his dream and wrestle using all of his favorite finishers. It wasn't till years later that I realized how "special" he was and even then I didn't let that ruin the character for me.
I have to say I forgot the Forrest Gump sketch XD man this brought memories I loved him. Thank you for bringing them good memories back Brian / Know-It-All-Troll :P
I thought Eugene was hilarious; especially his time and promos with William Regal. It was fun to watch Regal detest Eugene but over the weeks slowly grow to love and appreciate him as a tag partner and a friend. Hallmark Moment yall
Thank you to Brian Zain for covering Eugene! We're glad we could help provide footage for this episode.
The Nick Dinsmore And thank you sir for your contribution in Wrestling History.
The Nick Dinsmore Did you misspell Brian's surname on purpose to sell the gimmick more?
You're a tremendous talent.
The Nick Dinsmore as someone who is autistic and has adhd, I totally loved your run in wwe and wish only two things, that one it was longer as you are a brilliant talent and should have been there longer and two wish that you had off been around while I was younger, espically as a teenager, it would have helped me so much, as it did even in my 20s when your run was. Thanks for everything.
The Nick Dinsmore your act as Eugene was better than most on of the current WWE acts today
Eugene was literally more over than 95% of the roster today.
no
Rui Ribeiro er yes he was tit
Easily
Make it 99%
Yes
When Triple H called out Eugene, he sounded like a disgruntled mother who just got a call from her son's principal. It would've been perfect if he called Eugene by his full name.
+3DSDF EUGEEEEENE NICHOLAS DINSMORE!
Wrestling With Wregret
GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT, MISTER!!!!
I thought it was an audition for the WWE player's production of 'Streetcar Named Desire' and he got the name wrong.
3DSDF I was thinking the same thing. but imagined him hiding behind his cool uncle regal
That Regal promo that came out of that screaming. I always loved that one from Regal. Too bad that Regal's drug use kept derailing his career. Would have loved to see the title on his shoulders at one point.
As a kid, I liked Eugene a lot. Something about his child like energy & joy was just contagious. But today as someone who works with people with special needs, I think it is kinda corny & I can definitely see how it would rub some the wrong way. But I also think the character of Eugene did help bring awareness to the fact that people with special needs can be unbelievably strong and athletic when provoked or misled.
r*tard strength, i met a few people in prison with it, and uncontrollable anger
Imagine the heat Eugene would have gotten if he came out and insulted the fans for thinking he was retarded, and started acting normal? Best heel turn ever.
HikesHistory
You mean like Billy and Chuck revealing that they weren't really gay? That's a cop-out.
Based Smark
Imagine the hate fans would have spewed for such a dumb storyline. Not to mention the media being all over it like they did when Linda had her campaign.
Thanks for making me laugh that would have been awesome
You could've worded this better
I like Know-It-All-Fan.
me too
Yeah I was really thinking it would make it worse at first, but the dude knocked it out of the park.
He’s in the XFL review too
"FUCK YOU! '06 WAS AMAZING!!!" Idk why but this shit had me dying.
Rocky LXIX I lol'd as well, it kinda caught me off guard.
That was hilarious. :)
Rocky LXIX Brian Forgot the 2nd most important rule of the wrestling video game "Thou Shalt Not Mock SmackDown vs RAW 2006"
+Jane Ross FUCK YOU, IT WAS AMAZING!
Lone Wolf wasn't 2006 the game that had the stupid locker customization stuff or was that '07?
I loved when The Rock asked Eugene who his favorite wrestler was and he yelled out, "Triple H!!!"
No matter how overpowered Eugene was at the time he still cannot stop HHH's burial.
The Golden Shovel... (should of been an award every year to who got buried by HHH)
Are you for fucking real? Do you think any top guy would want to put over any guy who had been on TV for six months? Let alone one that wasn't a serious character?
+fordulaad Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns were put over in a short span of time. I would also like to add that Eugene used to be Doink the Clown which was a 90s character.
Eugene isn't Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. And in case you're forgetting, not everyone was thrilled about putting over Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns has had a bit of a mega-push, but mainly to try fill the vacuum at the top of the card, he was also in the shield for much longer than 6 months
Maverick Hunter X he was a fill in, they've used several Doinks
Random fact: William Regal deserves to be in WWE HOF!!!
Took any bad angle, owned it, didn't complain, and shit out gold in return.
Saw him in Dublin about the about 6 years ago and he is one of the most humble incredible wrestlers he worked the crowd incredibly and even though he was heel the whole crowd was cheering for him by the end
That's an opinion not a fact man.
James Terrell Tell me why Regal shouldn’t be in HOF
@@kgrace1985 I'm pretty sure I said that your comment was an opinion not a fact which is factual. Couldn't care less if Regal gets in on or not, it's still opinion not fact.
Ever notice how Braun Strowman looks like a giant Eugen?
Doug Rockford Oh damn, now I can't unsee it, now I can imagine Eugene being taken in by Bray, renamed Braun Strowman and giving him some weird backwater blessing from Sister Abigail to bulk him up hahaha.
o_O oh my god...
Killboy The Savage lol bring back Eugene but have Braun beat up people for making fun of him
He looks like white 2009 Mark Henry lmao
Doug Rockford When Braun Strowman was a Rose Bud for Adam Rose, I always tought that was Nick Dinsmore as Eugene..
I *despised* the Eugene character _when it was happening_. Later, I realized how smart the guy playing the character was. Like with Goldust, Dinsmore really got into the character's head and played it _really_ well.
@@suspiciousspam Dude. What's your deal?
I liked Eugene. But your comment is sooo true.
I'm Autistic and to be honest, the way that other groups have been represented by WWE, I think I have it pretty easy. I feel sorry for the poor guys in Africa who're represented by Akim The African Dream and Saba Simba.
Dr Rainbows the Unicorn I shudder to think how badly Autistic people would've been represented in wrestling.
I think it was perfect timing, any other and it would of just been "look at the different person!"
Dr Rainbows the Unicorn I felt this was pretty awful, but I'm glad you didn't find it overtly offensive. As for Africa, at least there are real wrestlers from the continent today. Even though that fact is not paraded about, it's a lot better being represented by Kofi Kingston rather than a southerner like Kamala parlaying a ridiculous stereotype, or a large caucasian man in blue spandex with an effeminate hand. One could say Justin Gabriel of Nexus 'fame' as well, since he is South African, IIRC he's in Lucha Underground today.
Honestly, at least the "Autistic" person was played by someone with real wrestling talent. That's what makes it ok with me, the fact that he could wrestle and he has genuine talent, rather than "Look at the Autist! He's weird! AHAAHAAHAHA!!" cos then that'd just be like High School.
Dr Rainbows the Unicorn it's a narrow line they have to follow and certain times it would wonder into "are they taking the piss out of diabilities?"
You'd love my idea for The Architect Seth Rollins. He comes out in a polo shirt tucked into blue jeans, beats people with a tube that holds blueprints and always slips building puns into his promos.
Raab Savage and his tag team partner Bill Ding
Kevin Jackson punny
FRICKOLOGY Bill could manage Seth and measured the ring apron with a tape measure during Seth's matches. They would have the foundation for success!
The YETAY!!!!
Also, make Titus O'Neil the new Doink.
You forgot about when he was a superhero in 2007
Marc Gallagher Omigawd, you're totally right!
Marc Gallagher and getting caned by Sandman
Wait, he was Mr America?
No, that was Hulk Hogan
Marc Gallagher Who?
I liked Eugene. He was one of a kind. At the time he came along, it seemed like every guy's gimmick was "I'M LIKE STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN! HELL YEAH!"
As someone with ASD, I think the only people who find the character Eugene offensive are neurotypicals who think we're so helpless that we need someone to speak up for us, which is not only obviously not the case, it's also patronizing and offensive as hell. Eugene gave lots of people representation that we didnt have before.
@chilliecheesecake you couldn’t of explained it better!
Amen to that.
Yep. I think the same. Especially in the times of 2004. Eugene was an eye opener for myself. Got my diagnosis way later. But he's on of the first moments where I realised who I am 😅
You are using common sense that half of the comments section. Thanks
Precisely, it's people who have never actually spoken to or been around people with different levels of mental retardation, and they project their discomfort by calling everything offensive and "ablest". Another problem is the way they've been treated in schools in the last 20-30 years. In the 70s and 80s it was far more normalised because of a lack of knowledge of the disabilities, then when they started to learn about the different forms they started hiding retarded kids away from everyone else and overprotecting them instead of letting the other kids socialise with them and let everyone understand each other's differences. I mean for crying out loud they kept people with your disability in a caged off area in my school and told nobody to go near the cage, I'd go by almost every recess and lunch time and talk to a guy called Calum and some others, they were really nice kids CRAVING social interaction with people they were being hidden away from. How on earth are you supposed to have a chance of developing already retarded social skills if you can't interact with anyone outside of your 20 metre fkn box. Pisses me off to this day. Anyway sorry for the long rant.
I actually like Eugene. He shaved Eric Bischoff bald, Beat The Coach at Bad Blood, won the World Tag Team championship with William Regal, Successfully defend it at New Years Revolution and beat The McMahons in a handicap match with the help from DX
It's a shame, his talent was clear, but he was stuck with this gimmick which initially got him over but couldn't be taken seriously enough to push him to anything serious. Maybe sort of like Tyler Breeze nowadays?
***** I know, I did watch the video. But he got stuck with it and didn't develop into something more serious, that was the point I was trying to make.
Breeze's gimmick was decent, but unavoidably midcard.
Yousexythang What I'm trying to say, he got over, but without any change he will never amount to anything that reflects his talent because he's becoming a joke act with this whole police thing
I think Breeze could have gone up the card a little furthr than he is, but he's held back by the writing not being up to making him seem serious, and the fact that The Miz already exists.
You can have a big-league goofy heel, but the WWE keeps forgetting that to do that, he also needs to be capable of kicking ass to SOME extent.
Funny, both Eugene and Breeze came up with their gimmicks. Breeze was inspired by Gorgeous George, fun fact.
Ric Flair made Musical Chairs work. Proof positive that he's the greatest of all time.
Don't be dissing 'Pirate Paul' Paul Birchill was a grossly underused talent in WWE.
I forgot he was a thing
xHaloxReviewerx117x I remember him, his pirate gimmick was alright, but it was way better than the incest angle they gave him when he was drafted to ecw
Bad gimmick
Don't forget Eugene had a one off appearance against The Miz on RAW in 2009
The Calgary Kid
Thankfully it was a one-off appearance as a special needs gimmick would never worked in a PG atmosphere.
@@fro-zone2k The warrior award exist
This is so fake... A hater fan is never that poised and well spoken.
People aren't haters for criticising the bad parts of wrestling so grow up.
Wrestling is fake.
Xehanort10 r/wooosh
Xehanort10 you do know he’s joking right?
He's a stunt granny, I mean 'fan' ? 😆
I don't think Eugene was an offensive character at all. There have been far more tasteless portrayal's of people with disabilities in wrestling. I think Dinsmore made that character mean something. I think we should remember that the character got over real strong.
I disagree. I didn't like the Eugene storyline
@@SNOWQueen87-v1g to be honest with you I made this comment 5 years ago.
My views on this character have changed a bit since then. I still stand by the statement that there have been far more offensive characters than Eugene in wrestling.
However nowadays I think that Eugene was a poor character in terms of representing people with mental health issues.
This is gonna be Interesting...
Robert Wright Was going to literally type the exact same thing. Glad I didn't, otherwise I would have been accused of copying your comment.
Despite the context, that Regal promo going at Triple H was phenomenal. Probably one of the most standout moments of the entire Eugene time.
I've only known you 30 seconds and you're already making me mentally challenged!
- Kurt Angle
"What about Benoit?",
"Who??".... nah that joke is too easy at this point
As an autistic person myself, yeah, I like Eugene. He had some rough spots, but he was pretty likeable and he had a lot of skill. Great for a short-term face.
Also, gotta love people who decide to get offended on behalf of others. Even worse when so many of them will try to silence the people they're trying to "defend" by claiming that those people "don't know any better". It makes me sick.
"WWE's attempt to tackle the topics of..."
Words that should never, ever, be said. No matter what it prefaces, it is only a harbinger of evil.
Every time I see that still of Rikishi in the Don't Try This At Home segment:
"DISLOCATED MAH RIGHT SHOULDAH."
Oh god I heard that in my head, lol.
11:31 "FUCK YOU 06' WAS AMAZING!" Lmao
That Regal promo was one of my favorite promos of the Ruthless Aggression era. It was simple but Regal showed he could work the mic right there, and it made the match between him and Triple H must-see for me.
ChrIst ..Imagine Eugene and Festus tagging together....
Wasn't offensive for being special needs. Was offended his name was Eugene. Thank God this didn't happen when I was in school. My name's Eugene.
i think the heel turn also might've been better if Eugene would've been in "reality" been influenced by a heel into turning... lets take Triple H as example for this...
Eugene starts his heel stuff... a few weeks later we see more and more of a person that talks to him in the locker room, telling him that he's special... all people are only laughing about him, but not the person that's talking to him at the moment and so on... and then... after a few weeks... Eugene Helps Triple H to defend/regain/whatever the WHC... and allies with him. They're not going to help each other to much but so, for sometime, Eugene would act as heel and from time to time help Hunter... Then, when Heel Eugene gets stale again, he finds out that Triple H was only using him etc. and turns face
it would of been a perfect way to push him up the card if somebody, say chris benoit showed him footage of them laughing at eugene, eugene could cry and tell william regal what happened. Then have Eugene vs Triple H, where Eugene would get a shock win.
Yes, because Triple H was known for being extremely generous with losses to midcard guys back then.
Joe Homer
oh man... 1) Hunter was an example... used because he back thenw as the top heels of WWEs Top heels...
2) it's purely hypothetic anyway...
undertakernumberone1 stop using ellipsis
Twisted Chainsaw
nah... nope nope nope... dont want to...
it became a habit for me to use it....
I really fu--king loved Eugene, sure I shrugged a few times at how someone like him could take down Triple H but he was such a fresh spin on a world of exaggerated gimmicks. In a sense if you didn't know of his past, you'd truly believe he was handicapped. The only people being offended by the character are people who make it their job to be offended other other people's behalf.
Dinsmore was and remains a rock solid worker. One of the most underrated performers ever.
Fitting you said Rock solid as he used The People’s Elbow as Eugene
This is going to sound weird but I think this gimmick could have potentially gave us Dinsmore. Have Eugene act "special" for a month but have him become Dinsmore in the ring. Eventually he would reveal that he used the Eugene character to get drafted so he could showcase his real talent. You can even add in authority element since Vince and co never really wanted to call him up to the main roster. Then you can let the guy shine as Dinsmore and see how the crowd responds to him.
"You've made an enemy out of me!"
Should have had the biggest pop EVER.
I was really skeptical about the know-it-all fan commentary when it started but that dude definitely added to the video in a great way, kudos.
Also I did like the Eugene character for a while and he was insanely over, so much that he got Regal, one of the best heels ever, probably the biggest face pop of his career when he defended Eugene. Was shitty that Benoit as champ actually was playing second fiddle to the HHH/Eugene story.
I'm have a disability myself, but I wasn't offended by the whole Eugene gimmick. Weird.
dito... Asperger Syndrome so i'm an autist... no problem with the Eugene Gimmick in any way
Mustn't be a real disability then, its like the law that you have to be offended by this shit.
The Engie That Cried Nope I'm also retarded, I don't understand what this video is about.
Personally I was fine with the idea, but then hearing the heel turn and it almost looked like he was making fun of autistic people, and honestly I do have 2 highly autistic siblings, so it was highly awkward to even see this gimmick in the first place.
I think the heel turn could have worked... since Eugene was watching wrestling as a Kid... the idea popped into his head that he wanted to be a heel... from the stars he was watching in between being injured... if they followed that instead of I'm special I'm not a heel...
Eugene was a great gimmick. They actually highlighted more his heart and competence in ring. They never made his 'mental strength' come off as a weakness
The promo Regal cut on Triple H over abusing Eugene's naivety is still one of the best promos he ever cut, which is saying something with how incredible the man is on the mic
You forgot one of the key issues with the Eugene-Angle feud: Eugene was getting booed to hell and back during it. Especially in Pittsburgh, when he declared himself an Olympic Gold Medalist, the crowd reacted as if he said that the Steelers were worst football team in the world.
Scrolling through the comments for know-it-all fans.
they should of done a heel turn where he started taking limitless pills and was smarter than everyone else
This should be a top comment lol
Tj Montoya hahaha I completely forgot I commented that, and you’re right
Eugene has better mic skills than Roman Reigns
Crazedgamers17 No
And Triple H
Thank you for having me, Brian!!
I agree with The Know It All Fan (I think that's what you were calling him) look at the inspiration part of the character, in order to be an idol for someone, there is always the dark history to ad to it, because without it (This case The Evolution) what is their really to prove, heros are nothing without the villains, even a special-needs hero, the character needed Triple H, Uncle Eric, The Coach, and all the other enemies that he made to help the Eugene character to become an inspiration, so I was all for it
As a 15 year old with mental disabilities (ADD, ADHD,CP etc) this really made me smile, thank you Brian for making such great videos
I loved Eugene. he was the Voice for several disabled people.
Lmao, Know-It-All Fan's voice and speech patterns sounded like Paul Heyman sometimes, haha!
Sure it was offensive but it's not like WWE haven't done worse. I think the fact that we all remember Eugene and recognize him instantly while we can't remember most of the roster of that time, especially mid and lower card makes him a good character in the history of WWE and I believe that for the most part, we don't want to forget Eugene.
As someone with both a mental and physical disability (I'm autistic and paraplegic), I loved Eugene. It helped me see the humor in my disability. I didn't see it as something offensive. And using the disability to get heel heat was a stroke of genius. Showing that someone who had a disability similar to mine could get over as a heel. Overall, I found it funny and also in a weird way, kind of empowering. It was used as a joke sometimes, sure, but the way Dinsmore played it was perfection.
Always remember the golden rule: "When Eugene reaches into his backpack, it's time to run"
HAPPY YOU WENT WITH THIS
I've always had soft spot for Eugene. He's a special guy outside but in the ring he was a ring master. Sounds like an impeccable gimmick!
You have GOT to have Know-It-All Fan on more often. He's great. He encapsulates all the cliches found everywhere in your comment threads. He's perfect.
Great Video, BZ.
Is it bad that I wish Eugene stayed around
I'm just glad they never had an angle where a chair to the head made Eugene "normal"
Hell, you could say the New Year's Revolution PPV was cursed throughout it's entire 3 year run with Eugene, Lita and Triple H in '07 all getting hurt at the event.
as someone with a disability, I enjoyed Eugene for the most part.
Same here. One of my friends, whose disabilities are worse than my own, even got into the wrestling biz because Eugene showed him that he doesn't have to be perfect all around to do what he wanted.
As someone with disability, I really dislike him. I like he make an impact for others, but for me it was facepalming and I was happy when HHH beat him down.
*****
Yeah, that would be cool.
I'm hoping he makes it out of the shit hole he's working in right now though. One of those small promotions that utilizes several wrestlers with little to no training, putting wrestlers with the training and talent at risk. My friend is in the hospital at the moment because his opponent, who was suppose to lose, threw a tantrum and kept dropping my friend on his neck.
Eugene was pretty cool. Every year I hope he makes an appearance in the Royal Rumble.
The gimmick of that nature would never work in a PG atmosphere.
You know what, I do miss characters like that. It`s kind of what WWE is missing these days. They shouldn`t over do it but a few more colorful characters would be nice.
I liked Eugene because as you said, he was an inspiration for some people and i think thats great that he could inspire others.
i didn't like the character but this retrospective made me feel different.
"Fuck You! 06 Was Amazing!" I'm weak AF
Even Snitsky had signs in the crowd. He even had one of those multiple signs where people hold up separate letters spelling out his name.
I liked Snitsky
SmoJoe???? who's that??
Ghost_Vinyl_Media58 Samoan Joe idk y he said it like tht
+Ghost_Vinyl_Media58 Listen to the How2Wrestling podcast for context! :)
isn't that how Steiner called Samoa Joe a few times.
THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE!!!
AND THEY SPELL DISASTER FOR YOU AT SACRIFICE
Another awesome video Brian!
I really liked the way that put this video together and put handled the subject (which we have to admit is a pretty hard one). I'm not being one of those know it all fans but I'm just going to say that personally as someone who has worked with special needs young people (some with very similar disabilities as the Eugene character) as seeing how this young people struggle with being different I've got to say I think it's wasn't right. The individuals I know would give anything to be like "normal" people and long for the chance to have the same opportunities as their peers who don't struggle with the situation they've been placed in. But once again a very good video
"Fuck you 06 was amazing!!!" had me dying
4:52 on the bottom right why is there just a picture of the mat
THANK YOU! I love both the realistic AND the goofy characters. I think it's okay to have a mix. I mean, The Blue Meanie and Goldust are two of my all-time favorite acts
The gimmick never really bothered me( and I have special needs myself) I just thought it was good to see a character showing the mentally disable can live their dream, like Freight Train. I also love the budding friendship between Regal and Eugene, you really get emotionally invested and their training montage was very funny.
Thanks for another great episode Brian.
The way he knocked out Know It All Fan....he really IS the illegitimate son of Cornette!
I wouldn't even mind Eugene to return tbh.
Very entertaining. Should have been sweet chin music at the end though!
I'm not that flexible...it would have been more like Sweet Shin Music!
Dick Kick City?
What about hitting the RKo?
let's go retro ... how's about the Rude Awakening? or even a simple inverted atomic drop which no one seems to use these days.
No way in hell he's getting that dude up for a RAD lmao
That William Regal promo on HHH was utterly fantastic.
"And if you want to fight, look no bloody further! Because I will quite gladly now, go and change into my ring attire, and I will join you back in that ring, and I will BATTLE YOU with EVERY OUNCE of VILE AND VENOM that RUNS THROUGH MY VEINS!"
Didn't Eugene also fight Miz (dressed up as The Calgary Kid) in a contract on a pole match? I forget the year the match happened, but I'm pretty sure Eugene and the Miz were involved.
Nick Dinsmore doesn't deserve ALL the credit for developing the Eugene character. The idea came from a brainstorming session between Dinsmore and OVW trainer Rip Rogers, who based the gimmick on his autistic son.
I know this was from 2016, but can we get more of Chris White?! He’s hilarious that “know it all fan” character...
I can't believe I only recently discovered this channel. Your videos are amazing
Does anyone remember win Eugene fought the Miz (fighting as the Calgary kid) in 2010 in the contract on a pole match?
*when
Pepperidge Farms Remembers
10:46 Perfect summary of my opinion on this controversial character;The character gets way too much flack despite how entertaining and tasteful (at least in comparison to how far south the gimmick could have gone) it was. Always loved Eugene but it's always been hard for me to articulate why... Thanks for another awesome episode, Zane! :D
Fuck offense, Eugene was fuckin hilarious and entertaining
But we never got the Eugene vs. Ralphus dreammatch. 🏆😥
I kinda like Pirate Paul.
You forgot to mention Eugene getting Boo'd at One Night Stand
I want to see Eugene to return at the royal rumble in 2019!
I never really met him, but he did hand me the microphone once (I was filming the show, and after he finished his promo, he handed the mic to me because I was the closest staff member)
You know who else got behind Eugene?!
Pat Patterson. That's what I heard.
Regal missed Triple H.
Did you know Lord Steven mentored Terra Ryzing?!
Widely known fact.
I was pretty young when Eugene debuted and I loved him, it was like seeing a kid getting to live his dream and wrestle using all of his favorite finishers.
It wasn't till years later that I realized how "special" he was and even then I didn't let that ruin the character for me.
Eugene was a fuck load better than Santino and the fucking cobra
Amazing video as always Brian!
This Was One of the most underrated Awful Wresting storylines
I have to say I forgot the Forrest Gump sketch XD man this brought memories I loved him. Thank you for bringing them good memories back Brian / Know-It-All-Troll :P
I thought Eugene was hilarious; especially his time and promos with William Regal. It was fun to watch Regal detest Eugene but over the weeks slowly grow to love and appreciate him as a tag partner and a friend. Hallmark Moment yall
Mate, that was excellent. Popped hard at the end, Brian punches the comment section, lol.