10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (July 19)

9. Where Eugene’s Name Came From

Eugene WWE
WWE.com

Mentally-handicapped blast from the past Eugene is the kind of gimmick WWE could never get away with now, and it was even a bit touchy for some fans when he debuted in 2004. It's easy to see why the character, one said to be a genius pro wrestler who nonetheless needed constant supervision, offended a portion of the audience.

According to Jim Ross however, it was a tribute to a WWE super fan.

On his 'Grilling JR' podcast, Ross revealed that the real-life Eugene was actually a 40-year old man with down syndrome who's come to every show the company ran in Pittsburgh with his dad. The guy had a crush on The Fabulous Moolah (!?), and everyone liked to be around him. That included one Vince McMahon, who suggested a wrestler be named after Eugene.

That's when talented OVW star Nick Dinsmore was called up to WWE's main roster and handed the role. It'd typecast him for good in the promotion, but McMahon felt it was a nice nod to one of his biggest supporters.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.