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

9. Where Eugene’s Name Came From

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.