| Gene Snitsky | |
|---|---|
 Snitsky in 2005 | |
| Birth name | Eugene Alan Snisky |
| Born | (1970-01-14)January 14, 1970 (age 55)[1] Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn Snitsky |
| Family | A. J. Petrucci, Justin Snisky, James Snisky, Jason Snisky (cousins)[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gene Snitsky[1] Snitsky[3] Gene Mondo[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 307 lb (139 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania[3] |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i[1] A. J. Petrucci[2] |
| Debut | 1997[1] |
Eugene Alan Snisky[1] (born January 14, 1970)[1] is an Americanprofessional wrestler and actor, better known by hisring nameGene Snitsky, who is best known for his time withWorld Wrestling Entertainment. He played college football at theUniversity of Missouri.
Snitsky attendedPanther Valley High School where he playedfootball. While in high school, Snitsky played as apunter. During his senior year, he was named All-State. Upon graduating in 1988, Snitsky signed a full scholarship to theUniversity of Missouri where he played under offensive lineman coach and futureKansas City Chiefs Head CoachAndy Reid. After playing for the Missouri Tigers, Snitsky attended training camps with the goal of playing professional football. He was on the pre-season roster in 1995 for theBirmingham Barracudas of theCanadian Football League.[3] He eventually signed with theSan Diego Chargers. During training, Snitsky re-aggravated a shoulder injury that was previously misdiagnosed from his college years. The injury effectively ended his NFL aspirations.[4]
Snisky trained with theAllentown, Pennsylvania-basedWorld Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) and competed in the promotion under the name "Mean" Gene Snitsky. He won the tag-team championship along with his partner Robb Harper as the Twin Tackles, under a football gimmick. When he entered singles competition, he won theWXW Heavyweight Championship. In 2013, Snitsky was inducted into the WXW Hall of Fame.[5]
Snisky had a tryout match with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) the day after winning the WXW Championship on October 20, 2003, inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at aRaw taping. Snisky, wrestling as Gene Snitsky, was defeated by fellow WXW wrestler "Smooth" Tommy Suede. It was following this match that he was signed to a developmental deal and sent toOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Snisky wrestled in OVW as "Mean" Gene Mondo (a name inspired by"Mean" Gene Okerlund), and was presented as thekayfabe brother ofMike Mondo.
He made his WWE debut on the September 13, 2004, edition ofRaw[3] againstKane in a no-disqualification match. As Kane, a heel at the time, prepared to injure Snitsky, he was distracted byLita, who was (kayfabe) pregnant with Kane's child. Snitsky used the distraction to hit Kane from behind with the chair, causing Kane to fall on Lita, and causing Lita to miscarry her unborn baby. When interviewed about the incident, he claimed "it wasn't my fault" (which became his catchphrase). This facilitated a face turn for Kane and quickly established Snitsky as a full-time heel wrestler.
Snitsky, who had debuted against Kane as an apparentjobber, said years later that he was originally only supposed to make a one-night appearance, then return for OVW for more training before being called back up to the main roster on a full-time basis. The angle with Kane and Lita had gone over so well that WWE made a last-minute decision to promote him to the main roster full-time and flew him in toRaw on the company'scorporate jet.[6]
He was then situated in a majorfeud with Kane, which led to a match atTaboo Tuesday. In this match, Snitsky used asteel chair and crushed Kane'slarynx. WWE used thisangle as an excuse for Kane's absence, when in reality he was going to film theWWE-produced movieSee No Evil. This feud resumed at theNew Year's Revolutionpay-per-view, when Kane returned and defeated Snitsky.[7] On the January 31 edition ofRaw, Snitsky lost asteel cage match to Kane to end the feud.
AtSurvivor Series, Snitsky had an encounter with a character similar to his own,Heidenreich, in which they both exchanged their views on each other –"I like .. your poetry.";"I .. like what you do.. to babies." — while breathing hard, both their trademark ways of talking. Snitsky was then in the main event as part of Team Triple H and facing Team Orton. During the match he was busted open byMaven before being disqualified for attacking him with a steel chair. At the2005 Royal Rumble, the two met up again as Snitsky secretly partnered with Heidenreich, planning to interfere in Heidenreich'scasket match withThe Undertaker. It was later revealed that Kane was hidden in the casket, who pounced on both Snitsky and Heidenreich.[8] They continued their fight in the crowd, before letting the casket match continue. Later that night, Snitsky competed in the Royal Rumble match in which he eliminatedPaul London, before being eliminated himself byBatista.
When his rivalry with Kane ended, Snitsky had a shot at theIntercontinental Championship, which then was held byShelton Benjamin. Snitsky lost by disqualification after hitting Benjamin with a steel chair.[9]
He was absent from WWE television between April and May 2005 due to ablood clot in his stomach. He returned to action on May 28, and reappeared onRaw on May 30, where he began in earnest his televised feud with house show opponentChris Benoit.[10] The feud concerned Benoit's appearance atECW One Night Stand; Snitsky was a "hired gun" for Eric Bischoff'sRaw volunteers, brought in to try to invade the pay-per-view and ruin the ECW reunion.[11]
Snitsky was then used byEdge and Lita to attack Kane and by Eric Bischoff as punishment to anybody that he did not like. On July 11 episode ofRaw, Edge informed Snitsky that he knew about his femalefoot fetish and offered Snitsky to "have a go with Lita's feet" if he'd help him in a match against Kane.[12] His history with Lita was addressed when she thanked Snitsky for his actions nine months earlier, stating that she was better off for not having given birth to Kane's offspring and then gave him a kiss as payment.
On the July 18 episode ofRaw, Snitsky facedWWE ChampionJohn Cena in the Lumberjack match whereChris Jericho picked all heel lumberjacks to make the odds unfair for Cena.[13]
After a few weeks mainly wrestling onHeat, Snitsky formed atag team with an initially reluctantTyson Tomko. In their first team match together, theysquashed the tag team ofViscera andVal Venis. The pair had some success as a tag team, becoming the number one contenders for theWorld Tag Team Championship at one point. They lost their shot atBig Show and Kane, both of whom Snitsky had feuded with in the past, and broke up in April 2006 when Tomko left WWE.
Following that, Snitsky turnedface and formed a tag team withGoldust, defeating various teams of wrestlers onHeat, which eventually earned them an unsuccessful title shot againstSpirit Squad. The team broke up when Goldust was released from WWE.[14]
In 2007, Snitsky's character underwent a drastic overhaul and was now portrayed as a psychotic madman with a grotesque appearance. To this effect, all of the hair on Snitsky's head and face was shaved off (including his eyebrows), his teeth were colored a dark yellow, and several red marks were placed on his face. On the February 6, 2007, edition ofECW on Sci Fi, avignette introduced the newly changed Snitsky to the viewers and announced him coming to ECW. Later during the same show, Snitsky debuted and assaulted theECW World ChampionBobby Lashley.[15] This re-established him as a monstrous heel, similar to Kane's unmasked gimmick. Over the next several weeks, Snitsky would run into the ring after matches and attack various ECW superstars, includingCM Punk,[16]Hardcore Holly,[17]Balls Mahoney,[18] andMatt Striker.[18]
On April 3, 2007, Snitsky faced Holly in a match, which he won. After the match, Snitsky wedged Holly's arm in between two steel steps and repeatedly hit the steps with a steel chair, in storyline, breaking Holly's arm.[19] Snitsky then began a short feud with Balls Mahoney.[20] Then, he would begin another short feud withRob Van Dam. During this feud, Snitsky would suffer his first ECW loss when he was defeated by Van Dam by disqualification.[21]
On the June 11 edition ofRaw, Snitsky was drafted fromECW back toRaw as part of theWWE Draft. Snitsky made his return to the brand on the July 9 edition ofRaw, defeatingSuper Crazy.[22]
Snitsky continued to go undefeated onRaw throughout the summer, having pinfall victories over various wrestlers including Super Crazy,Val Venis,Rory McAllister,[23] andRobbie McAllister.[24]
On August 20, Snitsky competed in his first one-on-one main-event match since losing toJohn Cena onRaw in 2005, once again against Cena, which he lost via disqualification whenRandy Orton interfered.[25] This was Snitsky's first loss since returning to the Raw brand. On the September 10Raw, it was revealed that Snitsky was not Vince McMahon's illegitimate son. Snitsky returned on the October 8Raw, defeatingVal Venis, substituting forSantino Marella, who was feuding with Venis.[26] On December 3, Snitsky was pinned byJeff Hardy in anIntercontinental Championship match, his first pinfall loss in the year.[27] Snitsky last appeared on WWE television on the November 24, 2008Raw, losing an Intercontinental Championship tournament match toCM Punk.[28] On December 11, 2008, at his request, Snitsky was released from his WWE contract.[6]
On November 6, 2023, Snitsky made a cameo appearance on Raw backstage withChelsea Green saying his famous line "It Wasn't My Fault".[29][30]
After his release, Snitsky worked in the independent circuit, mainly inWorld Xtreme Wrestling, where he won theWXW C4 Ultimate Heavyweight Championship on April 20, 2012.[31] He vacated the title on November 3, 2012. On November 4, 2017, Snitsky won the Right Coast Pro Heavyweight Championship in Delaware-based promotion Right Coast Pro Wrestling. On May 19, 2018, he relinquished it due to injury.[32] On June 22, 2018, Snitsky announced that he plans to retire from professional wrestling after working a few more shows.[33]
Snitsky, along withRycklon, debuted forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the June 25 taping ofImpact Wrestling (which aired on July 24) as aheel, attackingTommy Dreamer,Bully RayandDevon, ostensibly aligning withDixie Carter.[34]
Snitsky and Rycklon were fired by Carter on the August 7, 2014, edition ofImpact Wrestling. Earlier on the show they were in an Eight-Man Hardcore War asTeam Dixie (EC3,Rhino, Rycklon and Snitsky) lost toTeam Bully (Bully Ray,Devon,Tommy Dreamer andAl Snow).[35][36]
On May 24, 2023, it was announced byMajor League Wrestling that Snitsky would be making his return to professional wrestling on July 8 atNever Say Never.[37] He won his debut match by defeating Yoscifer El in a singles match.[38] On September 3, 2023 atFury Road, he faced off againstAlex Kane, but in a losing effort.[39]
In 2009, Gene Snitsky appeared as abiker in themusic video for the song "Free Your Soul" by Vyrus.[40] He also appeared as an actor in the role of a biker and a criminal on ABC'sPrimetime: What Would You Do?, in February 2011. He has appeared in other episodes, including one where he played a person harassing a little person. In 2013, he was announced to play a role in the first episode of a non-profit Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fan series titledMMPR which never materialized.[41]
Snitsky became a pitchman for Tristar Products' Power Pressure Cooker XL and has shot a series of videos for YouTube where he demonstrates how to prepare various foods in the pressure cooker. Two examples of these are alow country boil andbuffalo wings.[42]
Snitsky starred in the 2019 horror film100 Acres of Hell as Buck Severs.[43]
Snitsky lives with his wife Carolyn inOrwigsburg, Pennsylvania, where they often spend time outdoors.[44] He has a father who served in the Air Force and a brother who served in the Army. After his release from WWE, Snitsky began running an Army surplus store inHamburg, Pennsylvania, where he also spends time riding bike trails.[4]
Snitsky has afetish for women'sfeet, something he is open about.[45]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | The Hero: Love Story of a Spy | Russian Terrorist | Also stuntman |
| 2013 | Bikini Girls vs. The Surf Wolf | Carny Jack | |
| 2015 | The Tour: Blunder Down Under | Himself | |
| 2019 | 100 Acres of Hell | Buck Severs | Also writer, co-producer and stunt coordinator |
| 2023 | The Beast Comes at Midnight | Mr. Leavitt | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | What Would You Do? | Bully/Wanted Man | Episodes: "How Would You Do It?", and "Wanted Man" |
| 2015 | The Adventures of Turkey Dude | Turkey Dude | Mini-series |
Snitsky has also made several appearances in WWE video games, includingWWE Day of Reckoning 2,WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2006,WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007,WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 andWWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.[46]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database