Jim Cornette on Eugene / Nick Dinsmore's Retirement Tour
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- From Episode 222 of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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They should’ve done an angle where Eugene took a bad chair shot to the head or something and he came out the next week talking like The Genius.
Edit: *The Eugenius*
Now that’s good booking. WWE would fire you for that 😂😜
near the end of 2005 or start of 2006 would have been a great time to write themselves out of it. Eugene was as over as he was going to get by that point.
@@tw475
Yes! I saw him in ‘07 with the superhero gimmick and it was dead on arrival.
@@Mr.BeastFacts yeah and that was not long after they had the Hurricane doing it.
@@316whatupz lol, ain't that the truth.
That still remains true today “we hate when the WWE makes our wrestlers look like idiots on TV”
When the actual guy makes himself look like an idiot
Seems everyone’s forgetting several things.
Eugene was Nick’s idea.
It got over.
It turned William Regal babyface outside the UK.
And it extended Nick’s career for several years.
@@dafullclip no everyone in these comments
@Chinese Name I didn't realize it was his idea.
Someone could have said, put a pin it and just forgot he ever had that "idea"
Yes. I believe it was a collaboration between Dinsmore and Rip Rogers who had a son with autism. And then was pitched to Vince. Vince came up with the name Eugene because of a former WWF referee who brought his special needs son to shows, and often acted as a valet, and his name was Eugene.
His idea or not jt shouldn't have happened
Dinsmore was better than that and in the long term it might have ended his career faster
I guarantee if Eugene came out at the Rumble it would get a massive pop.
I think he was in a Rumble.
@@wolfhurricane897In 2006, yes.
Didn't Eugene actually get a win over Triple H on Raw?? Not many can say that.
the gimmick was supposed to be some type of wrestling savant, that would preform incredible skill when put under pressure. But even if he got over it was because he was just baby face meat to eat, the "savant" thing never took off.
@@ProtomanButCallMeBlues “If” he got over? My dude he was over.
@@CharizardMaster69 His career is mostly defined by getting beat up by Evolution though
He beat Kurt angle too !
I don't remember that. but they did push him hard at first. wwe obviously liked the character. he was in segments with Rock and Hulk Hogan, he was in that storyline with Triple H, him and Regal won the tag titles. they just ran with it for too long instead of writing a way out of it. what a heel run, they could have had. if it was revealed, he exploited people with disability to get sympathy and make money. everyone knows someone or of someone, who has a mental or physical issue they can't control. that would have got as much heat as Muhammad Hassan.
Nick himself created this character and submitted it to the WWE. He does have a play by play voice. He could be the next Jim Ross.
I know yet WWE gets blamed for it. I thought Dinsmore said he developed it with Danny Davis of OVW. But yet its WWE's fault.
Travis’ artwork is spot on as always!
About ten years ago, I went with one of my best friends who was an indie wrestler to a show he was performing at in Union City, TN. Nick Dinsmore was in the main event (as Eugene) against a local guy. Afterward, since I was there with my friend who performed on the show, I got to hang out backstage and friend and I chatted with Nick for a while. He was such an awesome, friendly dude. While I get the frustration of many that the Eugene character was like an albatross that kept him from getting more recognition, he seems like a really humble guy who embraces the character regardless.
I liked Eugene as well, and you could tell that behind the character was a really good wrestler.
I really liked how he was able to perfectly replicate the moves of his opponent as well, sometimes even better than the opponent
Nick was absolutely a special talent. Better than most!
I think most people saw him as a "special" talent for sure...
He still is?
probably - but i knew when he debuted the Eugene Gimmick, that this was the end for him - thats a gimmick on the Red Roster level, there is no coming back from that......
Special...I see what you did there haha
Look up MarkyD123 Ring Ka King to see Dr Nick Dinsmore in action....
I loved Eugene as a kid.
Dinsmore would have made an interesting Doink the Clown. Going from Eugene to a new Doink might have worked.
He actually did play Doink during his run.
Eugene getting over is what made me stop watching Raw. Once I knew Austin wasn’t coming back that it was nowhere but down from there. And…. I was right.
I get Eugene was very offensive, and I’m not excusing it as Last said, but he was great. Remember Rick Steiner in the early 90’s?
More like Rick Steiner in the 80s
I remember watching Nick Dinsmore on OVW. I was maybe 7-10 when he was in OVW. I remember thinking “This was THE guy in OVW.” So sad to see the gimmick they gave him once he got called up. He was a great worker. Eugene ruined his in ring character, sadly.
I thought Eugene was nicks idea?
You do realize Eugene was Nick’s idea? Also if anything it extended Nick’s career
He started getting popular here in Louisville among actual wrestling fans while i was in the Marines. My brother would tell me about these guys and how good they were in the ring. Fn wwe just killed most of good wrestlers and made stars of the shitty ones
@@lonnynix9362 So it’s WWE’s fault Nick pitched an idea they used?
@@CharizardMaster69 the gimmick might’ve been his idea but they should’ve had the common sense to turn it down
"John Laurinaitis knew not to take my calls on Wednesdays" - Jim Cornette
I liked him. Like Doink, he took a shitheap gimmick and made it work.
The original Doink was a good gimmick.
Babyface Doink sucked.
Matt Borne's Doink was great. Vince fucked it up.
Couldn't of been too bad Jericho was doink one time lol
Doink should've been WWE's mascot. Not A' Doink. But several Doinks. Midget Doink, Heel Doink, Face Doink, NWO Doink. What the goboldygoocker was supposed to be. Shows up, and entertains the audience like a mickey mouse suit actor waving at people in line to get a ticke to disneyland
Worst part of the gimmick was to be the nephew of Eric Bischoff lol
I disagree with Jim on one thing. Eric Young has gone back and forth from "wacky" to deliberate to dangerous over the years. Dinsmore was just never given the chance. If he had, he could have made it work and not have been labeled as just the Eugene character.
Especially now with his Violent by design group in impact
Lmaoooooo Eric Youngs gimmicks are horrible and the most non believable especially when he tries to be "violent" glad Rhyno got out of that group with the tiger king
Bubba ray lost and regained his stutter a few times !
Do you think it would have worked if Eugene went back to being Nick just after One Night Stand 2 while claiming the Eugene persona was something Eric Bischoff suggested to stop people accusing him of only hiring Nick due to nepotism? I was thinking it could have been interesting if Nick had achknowledged that it had worn thin so he may as well go back to being himself before becoming a sadistic heel who wanted to show what he could do when he wasn't pretending to be "special"?
I remember when he went like 15 minutes in competitive match against triple h at summerslam
Hey Dr umarr Johnson
When he turned on TRAIN it was legendary
He played Eugene well... But yes what a fucking curse of a gimmick.
Unfortunately for Nick he came to the WWE during the reign of terror.
Travis that rendering of Eugene is just as good as the vinnymac pic! I can't stop laughing, and how Jim's face has this, I dunno about this look, lol
"It was a better gimmic than most gimmics we now see today, GAWD............HELP HELP HELP lol!!!!"
If _Festus_ was able to be rehabilitated into Luke Gallows, you could have saved Nick Dinsmore after Eugene.
Festus wasn't booked as a sped, just as a brainless idiot which is easier to blame drugs on. Also, gallows is huge compared to this guy so even a giant idiot is better than a technical mental case.
and Eugene was way over festus
Honestly after Triple H took out William Regal they should’ve had Eugene snap like he completely brutalizes Triple H and Hunter is bleeding everywhere and now everyone knows that Eugene is tougher then he looks
That's a pretty good idea. I remember Eugene's strikes being pretty terrible but having him snapping and laying into HHH would have added a decent edge to his character.
And now he just disowned him on Twitter because he supports Trump.
I always loved the way Lillian Garcia would say his name “Eugene!!!”
Hahaha, she genuinely happy he was at work today!!
"Didn't know he still was around lol!!!"
The first time I ever saw Nick Dinsmore wrestle was at the first Brian Pillman memorial show in 1998. He reminded me so much of one of my favorite wrestlers, Dean Malenko. Someone later told me Malenko had trained him. Got to see Dinsmore wrestle a lot in Hwa in the late 90s, he was fantastic. A few years later, I couldn't believe it when I read online that Eugene was actually Dinsmore!! Didn't even look like the same human being...what a shame. At least he made some money I guess 😒
Eugene got me to like William Regal as a kid who hated heels
I still chuckle at the forest Gump skit
Corny gives vince too much credit, the reason the talented wrestlers weren’t pushed like the others is vince didn’t want wrestlers. He never truly did, his whole ides for wrestle mania 1 was too cater too rich people dining in whilst watching his “performance”
Now more then ever in hindsight the truth is blatant, BOTH vinces meaning Russo too never cared about the wrestling side like corny. He saw that as dead as per the few years before attitude era ratings tanked ( for then ) Vince wants actors, who look the part and can play the part he wants. Why do you think he don’t call it wrestling? If you can’t read into how much vince dislikes actual wrestling then there’s no hope for you. It’s why he was attracted to Russo B.S in the first place. Vince does not like wrestlers or long wrestling matches, it’s entertainment, it’s a t.v show for him which is where this disconnect comes from with you the fans.
Who’s here after Jim sunk his friendship with Nick after he supporte Trumpamania on Twitter?
Nearly 20 years later and here we are WWE still making stars from their developmental look like idiots
Well, to be honest, WWE makes their entire roster look like idiots.
@@chuckycheesechucky I mean you're not wrong, unless maybe you're Roman Riegns and Brock Lesnar at the moment
@@liquidhazetv8756 or Cena
@@royalty843 it's hard to say with him where he isn't around as much at the moment. If he was full time? Oh yea they'd find a way to get him involved with stupid shit
@Liquid HazeTV Like who?
Sometimes you just have to Look at an idea and say "No..."
I legitimately was just thinking about Eugene a few days ago
So long pal
See, I think they should've given the Eugene gimmick to Brock Lesnar. Imagine, if you will, Brock wearing velcro sneakers, a crash helmet, and an adult diaper, yelling incoherently while destroying everything and everyone in sight...
Tremendous
Why the adult diaper?
Eugene for the 2022 Royal Rumble!!!
Gimmicks like this only work if the guy knows how to work.
Nick Dinsmore is among the kindest people i have met.
This Eugene gimmick has not aged well over time. It was so much that WWE doesn’t even mention it
I met Nick and William Regal on a WWE show in Ireland. They were very nice but he was in character the entire time. He did it really well, he was so talented and committed to the character, but it was still a bit uncomfortable when meeting him in "real-life"
I always thought the best exit for that gimmick would have been Eugene tricks a top heel meeting with him (triple h or whoever) and reveals himself to actually be this ultra intelligent character that was manipulating people. So that gimmick going forward would have so many options
They never did they though and that's unfortunate
I was thinking something similar could have worked if he'd claimed around the time he was getting X-Pac Heat that the whole thing was just to stop people hating him because he's Eric Bischoff's nephew (the idea that Eric not wanting him there and only hiring him as a favour to Eugene's mother would just have been a ruse all along). Turning him heel while keeping the special needs gimmick was just silly (as Lance Storm said, expecting people to boo someone like that was never going to go over well).
He’s the guy who took the dentist gimmick and made it work. That has to count for something.
Now Cornette wants nothing to do with him. Sad.
I still cannot believe that Eugene was a thing. I loved him but goddamn that gimmick would not fly today!
Hell no it wouldn’t work Today’s society is too damn soft
Eugene was great at the peak, when he was using different guys finishes and being friends with the guys in the back. "Friends with Eugene?" Instant babyface. It worked. Till they fkd it up like usual. Plus kids liked him, which apparently never matters unless you're John Cena for some reason.
One of the best matches I’ve ever watched is Nick Dinsmore vs Chris Benoit OVW Christmas Chaos.
The explanation for why Eugene happened: Vince's mean spirited nature.
Nope
It was Nick's idea. Not Vinces. If anything it was Vince's good nature to give him a chance
I'm talking about promoting a fake r3t4rd on television and booking him to be Eric Bischoff's blood relative.
Um k
@@bigrigjoe5130 He doesn’t know that because he’s a smark who’s a man child
You know I’m sure the cult would chew me out but when he rocked the Eugene gimmick I wished he would of been in a hardcore match and instead of tacks he breaks out legos lol.
Eugene, Snitsky, Koslov, Cena/ Edge as Champ and getting the “F” out….Ohhhhhhhhhhhh How much I Fucking hated the RA Era
Met him numerous times at airport/hotels when he was in his WWF run and he was so much fun always in character
Are you one of those wierdos that stalk wrestlers and check their flight plans?
Should of been a little more Rick Steiner varsity club and less Dave Sullivan Dungeon of Doom
KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
That's depressing. Nick Dinsmore could have been a non-murdering Chris Benoit...
Chris didn’t HAVE to murder anybody either, ya know…
He runs a school that does lots of shows around the area. I wish I wasn't broken now so I could go be a job guy for them.
I saw the specific PPV when his knee got blown out. Sad.
Corny recently trashed Eugene for supporting Trump lol
Eugene was awesome in WWE. The heel turn at the end of 2006 is what killed him
nah getting squashed by hhh is what killed him
@@darylhall2198 Wrong smark
@@kamfisher1714 you tell me what value eugene had left after hhh insulted him and then beat him in like 10 seconds.....casual.
@@darylhall2198 He was relevant because of HHH
@@kamfisher1714 no.....he wasnt.
Lets do whatif booking
He keeps outsmarting every heel, do moves of all faces he is with.(for pops)
Eric gets really mad of this and something triggers him to go find if Eugene is really special or not. Then do a some gimmick segment in his high school in which Eric finds that Eugene was playing him along. Then Eugene come out on raw well dressed as Nick and cut promos on uncle Eric. And goes on to have long career..
He owns Midwest All Pro wrestling in Sioux Falls South Dakota
I've done 800 wrestling interviews, including Jim 3 times. I've never paid for an interview. Nick Dinsmore asked me for $100 for a 30 minute phone interview. He's not the first to ask. But, it stuns me that some people who have something to promote don't do press unless paid. Respect the guy. Great worker. But, I ain't paying him $100 for an interview. I didn't pay the Hulkster a penny. What makes Eugene worth the money?
I will say, if how they treated the NXT guys when they got called up is anything like how the OVW guys were treated when they went to WWE, yeah, can see how the OVW fans could find that frustrating.
Nothing ever compared to that first OVW class.
Great work, Travis 😊
Say what u want about the Eugene character but Nick Dinsmore got it over & Eugene was one of the most popular characters for that 1st year.
I always thought Eugene had some potential, sadly the WWE's non-Creative team had no follow through, instead of being the Idiot-Savante they just made him an Idiot. And rehabbing the image when it ran its course would have been easy, but again nobody bothered with a follow through.
0:30 in fairness to counter that statement. 1. Eugene was Nick's idea since he wasn't getting called up. And 2. Nick has said that he has been approached by kids with special needs and special Olympians who said that he has inspired them. If the Eugene gimmick can make that positive impact isn't that what matters the most?
At the time the theory about Eugene's gimmick was that at some point he would turn heel after revealing that he was faking it the whole time. In other words the "real" gimmick would be Nick Dinsmore the supreme con man. If that idea occurred then it could have saved Dinsmore's career because he wasn't actually Eugene and it would explain away why he was now acting like a person of normal intelligence.
This same thing can be said about the Damien Mizdow character
I lived in the same town as Nick while he was in WWE and I remember a family friend seeing him and saying he's so good looking and he's not actually special needs
Loved me some original Eugene back in the day. Granted I was 10 but loved me some Eugene
When I hear about Eugene, all I can think of the spectacular Freight Train promo.
Choo Choo!!!! Yuuuuuu geeeen
Did Eugene ever win any medals in special Olympics wrestling?
I guy who got given a bad character and did something nobody else could do or would dare do today and turned it into gold. He got over with it. Kinda like what Jim was saying there’s no real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with it at the end of the day.
The only one I seen to overcome such booking was Festus/Luke Gallows
Luke Gallows overcame something? Luke Gallows is terrible 😂😂
lets face it, nick dinsmore was never going to make it big without the eugene gimmick at wwe or tna. nothing about his look, mic skills or in ring ability really stands out from the rest. nick dinsmore came out with the eugene gimmick, and it got over with vince and the audience. without the eugene gimmick, he would be just another average indie wrestler
Eugene(Nick Dinsmore)was a terrific wrestler. The special needs gimmick I really didn't care for but the Raw segment with him, Jonathan Coachman and the Rock in 2005 was great. Coachman fired Eugene but the Rock surprisingly showed up and said, "Eugene, you ain't going nowhere."😁
I one hundred percent agree with Mister Cornette. I hated that idiot crap gimmick ,so who cares! Riddle is a recycled offspring of that joke crap!
Should have had the UnderTaker warp him.
Orange Cassidy is the new Eugene
I loved Eugine at first, but that gimmick overstayed its welcome.
eugene was such an awful gimmick, just plain out offensive and didnt bring anything good to the art of wrestling, but nick really was a great performer and did the best he could with such a terrible gimmick
Still Better than 95% of today's gimmicks
They should have gone dark with Eugene, that’s what I was waiting for. Doink the clown was best when he entered the ring chewing a cigar as a heel.
Its incredible that nick densmore wasnt able to be himself. Cause his feuds with the damaja and conway in ovw was really good. Nick could cut a promo and naturally was talented. The eugene character and festus character were similar but luke gallows easily changed cause he was a killer in his festus gimmick
Am I the only one that actually liked Eugene? Dude used to crack me up as kid 😂
2004-2005 it was entertaining and he got over. but it went too long without writing themselves out of it. he got less over and was on tv less by 2006 he was just another guy.
If they really wanted to do something great with the Eugene character and extend his shelf life, they should have done a twist like at the end of The Usual Suspects (or Scary Movie).
Honestly they could've gone anywhere with the Eugene character, it just would've taken some decent writing, and a year or so to develop his character. I would've put him with a manager that can effectively act compassionately, and created a story where he'd never had anyone really teach him about the world. You show the manager realizing Eugene isn't an idiot, he's just neheive from lack of teaching, and Guyanese. Take a year or so to slowly change his mannerisms, and speech patterns under the managers guidance with with taped vignettes backstage videos, and short matches. Everytime the audience sees him, he's made noticeable progress. After a year or so, his mannerisms, and speech is completely different, he's more aggressive and confident in the ring, and the other wrestlers start showing him more respect, and treating him as an equal. From there you have go to the ring and cut a promo, this is the crucial point where he's either turned into a huge baby face, that's overcome adversity, and has to prove himself against a bullying heel, or he could be a brutal heel that tortures his opponents because he realizes everyone has been making him the butt of the joke his whole life.
*This sounds awful. Never be a booker. Or writer.*
that sounds sorta what they did with him and William Regal
Literally sounds like what they did with Regal but I dunno why either of them should be Guyanese
They could've just fastracked all of that and had him battered in the head with a chair and explain that when an intelligent person gets brained it turns them dumb so with Eugene it just worked backwards.
Its a stupid idea but with all the stupid ideas they had it wouldn't be out of place and people would quickly accept it.
I always thought wwe missed out on a heel turn for Eugene. 2006 when it had been going on for a few years. he should have revealed he fooled everyone! he pretended to have a disability (like Johnny Knoxville in the Ringer) and it got sympathy and he got rich. he was in the ring with The Rock, Hulk Hogan, people sent him money and letters saying what a inspiration he was to them. that would have got heat.
He's a phenomenal wrestler. A really unfortunate what if given how he made garbage work for him and no chances to run with something better
A very good example of the E doing what the E does best. Nick for this generation, Terry for the previous one.
Eugene was Nick's idea and there's no way nick was having a summerslam program with HHH on summerslam
I will always think of him as Nick Dinsemore
Still holds true today wwe needs to quit ruining people. Goddamn its obvious
He was part of the best rock and Hogan return ever
I always thought that when WWE relaunched ECW that Diinsmore could have come out, cut a promo saying "I'm not Eugene, I'm Nick Dinsmore and I'm a wrestling machine" and he would have had a great chance at doing something.
Eric Bischoff should be on that tour just to have an explanation of who Eugene is for the unawares
The weirdest thing about is was that by 2003 (or 04 or whatever it was), the Eugene gimmick was already about 20 years behind the times in terms of cultural sensitivity.
This character could be risky in todays times, I see comments on videos of Eugene that call it offensive today. Yet, it was still over.
I liked the Eugene gimmick. It was different. It was fresh. He did it extremely well. I remember it clearly. Hes famous from it. What's the problem?