Opinion by fakelodi

When it was announced that OVW mainstay Nick Dinsmore would finally be called up to the main roster but would be saddled with the gimmick of a slow, mentally handicapped comedy figure, no one gave it a chance to succeed. It sounded like one of those ill concieved ideas from the clearly moronic WWE writing staff that gave us Katie Vick, Rico and almost brought back the Papa Shango gimmick. However, once the character debuted, people seemed to like it, casual fans and internet community alike. It wasn't in overly bad taste as some thought and seemed to have some potential as the buzz for Eugene's first match was as big as anything else on that packed card that night. Eugene's push continued as his crowd reaction got stronger, thus leading WWE to use it's already established superstars to give him the rub, starting with the Rock and then Kane and then Chris Benoit and then Chris Jericho and last night the big showdown with HHH. They've given Eugene a bigger push than they've really given anyone since Brock Lesnar and it has seemingly paid off. Eugene is clearly over.

I guess my biggest problem with Eugene is not Eugene but how Eugene represents how WWE views it's audience. The "suspension of disbelief" is something often discussed as it relates to pro wrestling. Since the walls of kayfabe were finally broken down in mid/late 90's the fact that wrestling is "fake" is something that no one denies, other than someone having to define "fake" as "predetermined." The problem is, WWE doesn't want us to take their product seriously. On any given WWE program there are countless examples of why it's impossible to take WWE seriously. I realize I'm not covering new ground here and I understand that WWE has never shown any sign of wanting to skew their product to a more realistic approach and so a rant like this serves no purpose other than to explain my dislike for something that for some inexplicable reason I still watch every Monday night.

It's a common belief that a wrestler needs a "gimmick" to get over and it's been Vince's philosophy that it's the "gimmick" that gets over and not the wrestler who uses the gimmick. It is contradictory to what Vince and other WWE officials have said makes the best gimmick, one that is based on who the worker is and amplifying those characteristics...prime examples of this being Steve Austin and The Rock. To this day, the line between Steve Williams the guy who used to be a pro wrestler and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is a blurry one, which is why he was such a success. Did I believe that Austin really ruined Vince's Corvette with a cement truck or any of the other memorable Austin antics? Of course not but I was able to suspend my disbelief because it was easy to buy into the Austin "character" or "gimmick" because it felt real.

Eugene doesn't feel real to me. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I know he's not real. I would assume if you asked most people in the crowd of Raw last night if they thought Eugene was really mentaally handicapped or slow, they would say no, and that's fine because I wouldn't expect nor would I want the crowds to think what they were watching was real. Wade Keller of pwtorch.com wrote a great article last week regarding the Lita pregnancy angle where he called WWE's storytelling irresponsible because of their inconsistencies as far as what their performers are aware of during the course of a given program. This is how I feel about WWE programming in general. I know that Shawn Michaels didn't really get carried off in an ambulance and I am slightly annoyed when the announcers sell an angle that we've seen a million times as something special but it's the tone of the Michaels/Kane angle that I would prefer to see carried throughout WWE storylines. I want to be able to believe what I'm watching is real, even if I know it isn't...you know, like every other program I watch on t.v.

The biggest problem I have with the Eugene character is that Dinsmore doesn't play Eugene as a slow, mentaally handicapped adult who enjoys professional wrestling, he plays Eugene the way an unskilled actor or in this case, unskilled writers, would portray a mentally handicapped adult. For starters, despite the fact that Dinsmore doesn't have that physique that would have promised him a different kind of push, he DOES look like someone who works out and not a slow, half witted wrestling fan. But his physique is something that can be explained, it's the over the top, cartoonish nature of his mannerisms and facials that take me out of it. I've actually worked with some autistic children and they don't act like babies in adult bodies. I think if Dinsmore was more subtle with the portrayal of the Eugene character, it would be easier to get behind, for me anyway.

It's the same problem I have with The Hurricane. Why, am I, a 23 year old viewer in the prime of that 18-30 demo that WWE covets so much, supposed to get behind this guy who acts like a 5 year old with a towel tied around his neck? The way he jumps around and acts like he's a super hero...that's supposed to get me interested in this guy? It doesn't and I'm a comic book fan. The flipside of this problem is when WWE doesn't give a worker a personality at all...see Shelton Benjamin. Here is a guy who they gave an absolute perfect push to and within a few weeks, he's on Heat. What about fleshing out Shelton Benjamin? What about telling us more about him before he made it to Raw. Talk about his amateur background and more than just a brief mention of it from JR in the commentary. Feature the fact that he was able to transition from tag wrestler to singles wrestler. The idea that a guy has to have some sort of hook to get over is true but the hook doesn't have to be over the top and cartoonish.

As an example of the direction I'd love to see WWE go, I'll point you to the NBA Playoffs. The Los Angels Lakers losing in the Finals, was in essence, the culmination of a great storyline and wasn't even predetermined or written by a whole crew of "writers." It's started last year when the Lakers lost early in the playoffs and the following summer, they announced the signings of two future Hall of Famers in Karl Malone and Gary Payton. They suddenly became the overwhelming favorites to win the championship the following year. The next day...Kobe Bryant is accused of rape and suddenly we have our first swerve. There were questions regarding whether he'd even be able to play all season, let alone be around for the playoffs. But soon, that was overshadowed by the war of words between Kobe and Shaq. Which was followed by a great start by the team which was followed by a string of injuries and a lackluster season, until they got to the playoffs and then the finals. I could write a whole column on the twists and turns of the Lakers season and how it was a great angle but my point out of all of this is, Shaq doesn't have a "gimmick." Shaq has a personality and people are familiar with it. Kobe has a personality. The Detroit Pistons have a personality. And then when you have someone in the NBA with a "gimmick" (Dennis Rodman) it gets over that much more for being outrageous because you compare it to the 'normal' NBA player.

WWE prides itself on selling it's performers as athletes and while we all know they're not actually competiting, we're supposed to believe they are. They're supposed to want to win matcehs and titles, like other athletes. The WWE title should be treated the same way that pro athletes treat their respective championships. It should be a big deal to win the title and it should be a big deal when they don't. Some of the greatest pro athletes in history have to deal with the fact that they never won the championship and how that effects their legacy. WWE tried this with Chris Benoit and in reality did a great job with the Benoit push but that's only half the battle. What about The Hurricane? Why does he do this? Why does he go out every week and get beat down? Clearly it's not to win a title. Does he enjoy acting like a moron in front of thousands of people? Or is he not really acting? He really does believe he's a superhero? I don't get it.

Why can't WWE wrestlers have personalities instead of gimmicks? Some of them do. As mentioned before, Austin became much more of a personality than a gimmick, the same can be said for The Rock, HHH, Benoit, Jericho, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero...the list goes on. Personality over gimmick can work and when the WWE pushes that instead of hokey, cartoonish characters, it makes for a more compelling show. I'm glad the NBA Finals featured two teams who had worked hard to get to the "championship match" instead of the Lakers taking on a lovable high school squad that had no business being there. It made for much more interesting sports entertainment.

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