Wrestling Deja Vu 06.08.09: Airplane Spins and Flapjacks
Posted by Joseph F. Martinez on 06.08.2009
One would think that it takes great skill, psychology and intelligence to become a professional wrestler. These guys proved that wrong.
Hey yo. Welcome to the column. I hope you enjoyed the pay-per-view last night. It looked like an okay card on paper but the execution wasn't what I expected. I'm sure the main event (the only match yet to be done as of this editing) delivered, but the show was just there. I think taking the title off Orton was the right move because he has been stale as hell since he got beat by Triple H at Wrestlemania, but Batista isn't much of an upgrade.
Today on Wrestling Deja Vu we have two individuals who are definitely different from most wrestlers, but very similar to one another. This is also week two of reader request week, which lasts all of June. The reason for this occasion is simple. When I first started writing here, I wrote a calendar of potential topics. That lasted up to June and I'm writing up another schedule for the latter part of the year.
Anyways, on the article today is a breakdown of former WWE Tag Team Champion and kayfabe nephew of Eric Bischoff, Eugene and current WWE superstar Festus. First, banner and comments!
Looking back
Gavin : Reading (and watching the clip)... I miss Papa Shango in a way.
Papa Shango was around before I started watching wrestling, but the stuff on Youtube is pretty fun to watch. He was definitely a great character.
hartfan: dude, how about a column on the invasion angle? you could write about how it blew big ones, and is a major reason for a loss in viewership...or maybe another reason for loss of viewership, the name of the company just sounds silly, WWE? boy do i miss the WWF. how about how and why the wwf is no more? i always thought that it was silly that these guys are fighting for and over an entertainment title, it just doesn't make any sense. Now fighting for the title of a federation, it just sounds a little better, and it doesn't sound so damn fake.
This column is more of a comparison of gimmicks, but I've had a request of a battle between Starrcade and Wrestlemania that might be coming up soon. If I can think of anything relevant to the Invasion, I'll write something up.
who cares: Did the boogeyman take out his teeth? Does anyone know?
I can't help you there, hoss. I've checked the interwebs and I have some places that say he had his teeth knocked out in OVW and others saying he had them pulled earlier in his life.
AND INTRODUCTING THE PARTICIPANTS
Before Festus became Festus he played the part of fake Kane in a storyline designed to generate buzz for the WWE film See No Evil. After that flopped, he was given the gimmick of a southern simpleton. He and his partner Jesse would wrestle as a team on Smackdown, the catch being Festus was unable to do much before a bell rang. After hearing the ring, Festus would become a legitimate wrestler who was tough to beat. He even had a very decent match with Vladimir Kozlov. Unfortunately for the Corn-Fed Colossus, he would revert to his docile self after a separate bell was rang.
WHERE IS HE NOW?: Festus is still with the WWE. He doesn‘t appear as much as he used to be still makes an appearance every now and then.
Nick Dinsmore was a big deal in the then WWE developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. Dinsmore won the OVW World Title on nine occasions and some believed he had a very bright future ahead of him. Eventually he was called up to the WWE and waiting for him was the Eugene gimmick. Eugene was a simple person who enjoyed wrestling and was the nephew of Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff. Eugene had a decent career in the midcard but eventually drug usage led to his termination from the company.
WHERE IS HE NOW?: Eugene was released by the WWE in 2007 and now wrestles in the Independents as U-Gene. According to various sites, he wrestles occasionally as Nick Dinsmore.
A SPECIAL REQUEST
So I'm sure somewhere somebody once asked themselves what would happen if a mentally challenged individual decided to call in a favor from his wrestling General Manager uncle. I don't know what kind of state of mind one would have to be but I'm sure it happened. Anyways, this happened with the Eugene character. Inspired by a short-lived character from the WCW days and a fan of the WWE, Eugene was a wrestler who was supposed to be a completely innocent individual who just loved wrestling. Festus is also a "challenged" wrestler who has somehow made it to the world‘s top wrestling company. The Corn-Fed Colossus is a normally docile individual who can become enraged with the sound of a bell. Neither of these guys were completely there but they still were somehow able to be competent wrestlers.
YOU WOULDN‘T LIKE ME WHEN I‘M ANGRY
While a gimmick like this is harmless in itself, it can get stale after a while. This is why these guys need a little extra in their characters. When an opponent would take advantage of Eugene, he would sometimes cower in fear and allow the opponent to look good. After a while, Eugene got tired of being pushed around and he would "hulk up," just like legendary wrestler, Hulk Hogan. Eugene was also known to pull out the trademark moves of WWE Hall of Famers, something he rarely did when he wasn't in his hulk up mode. Festus suffers from some sort of personality disorder. In a normal setting, he is calm and collected but does a complete 180 once he hears the ring of a bell. This is especially handy with wrestling since a calm individual wouldn't fare well.
Eugene and Festus are pretty popular with the fans and these little quirks definitely helped.
ONE MORE FOR THE BAD GUYS
As mentioned earlier, Eugene and Festus are supposed to be innocent characters. This eventually leads to someone taking advantage of them. For Festus, he (and his partner Jesse) feuded with John Morrison and The Miz. In the ring, Festus almost always had the upper hand, but Morrison and Miz would play around with the bell and ring it constantly to bring Festus in and out of his serious mode. Eugene had more run-ins with people trying to take advantage of him. Heel wrestlers would see Eugene's ability and try to use it for their advantage. Jonathan Coachman, Triple H, Kurt Angle and Matt Striker were all wrestlers who tried to get rid of Eugene or use him for their goal.
THE RUNDOWN
The Eugene gimmick was offensive to some people because they felt he was making fun of the mentally challenged. Personally, I think it's just more of the same from wrestling. They try everything and see how it works. The gimmick was just another gimmick and the fans enjoyed it. Festus' gimmick doesn't draw much criticism but it is pretty similar to Eugene in that both are innocent and both have some sort of button that forces them go into attack mode. Neither really have had success with other gimmicks which may say something about the gimmick. It sticks to the person and it may be difficult for the fans to take said wrestler credible.
In Case You Missed It
Here are some of the columns posted over the weekend. Don't forget to check out all the Extreme Rules coverage that this site provides.
Randy Harrison has all the news you need to know from last week.
Kevin Ford talks some CHIKARA in his latest article. Those guys at CHIKARA really know how to design a DVD cover.
Julian Bond has a comparison between TNA and Heroes.
Goodnight, Travel Well
• Tonight, Raw embarks on the journey to The Bash. Unfortunately for everyone, that pay-per-view is in 2 weeks, which is pretty ridiculous but it is what it is. I'll miss the old WCW nickname, but a name won't damage the quality of the PPV. I hope that The Bash isn't a rehash of a bunch of matches from last night's PPV because that'll mean two straight pay-per-views were basically rehashes. I'm not a fan of this method but at least after that they'll get a full month to build to Night of Champions.
• …and we've reached the conclusion of yet another rendition of Wrestling Deja Vu. As always, I'll be back in seven days with another look at some of wrestling's recycled gimmicks. Bookmark 411mania.com for all of your pop culture needs, leave any comments below and thanks for reading.
Adding in analisys of Norman the Lunatic and George "The Animal" Steele might've been instructive.
Posted By: Iron Knee (Guest) on June 08, 2009 at 01:05 PM
For all the crap that Eugene and Festus get, they are GOOD performers.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on June 08, 2009 at 01:26 PM
i am primarily interested in how and why wwe lost the wwf moniker(i know about all the world wildlife fund stuff)...so maybe, why didn't they go back to wwwf, or even wwfe? i mean with the wwe, to me, it sounds like they are contracting entertainers, whereas back when they were called the wwf you just knew that they were a federation of wrestlers, which to me made it more real(even though i knew it was fake)...i know all this sounds stupid but any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted By: hartfan (Guest) on June 08, 2009 at 02:19 PM
McMahon's long wanted to distance his product from "rasslin'"; thus he likely saw the removal of the Federation as a first step toward a less wrestling- oriented product. Also, it allowed him to indulge his puerile sense of humor with "Get the F out" attire.
Posted By: Iron Knee (Guest) on June 08, 2009 at 05:55 PM
Is there some reason who dropped the "dream match" portion of your column?
Posted By: JLAJRC (Guest) on June 08, 2009 at 06:15 PM
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