Whatever Happened to Snitsky?

Brian Damage

He was once a heavily recruited defensive lineman in football. After an injury cut short his football career, he sought out professional wrestling. After working his way up through the independents, he finally made it to the WWE. Today on the blog, we ask ‘Whatever Happened to’ Gene Snitsky?

Eugene Snisky was a stand out high school football player who was recruited by several big time universities. He settled on the University of Missouri and was switched from defensive lineman to offensive lineman. His line coach in college was none other than the current NFL coaching great Andy Reid. After college, Snisky was invited to the San Diego Charges training camp….but suffered a shoulder injury that basically ended his NFL dreams.

Snisky was a life long wrestling fan and decided to give pro wrestling a shot. He joined Afa and Sika’s (The Wild Samoans) wrestling school in 1997. His first wrestling gimmick was that of a football player in a tag team with another former Mizzou teammate called ‘The Twin Tackles.’ They won the WXW (Afa and Sika’s) small indie promotion’s tag team titles. He also won the promotion’s heavyweight title.

It was his connections with the Samoans that landed him a tryout with the WWE. He eventually was signed to a developmental deal and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling. After a year in developmental….WWE called him up to the main roster for a one shot appearance. Snitsky was acting as a jobber to Kane and struck the ‘Big Red Monster’ with a chair. Kane then accidentally fell on a pregnant Lita causing her to miscarriage. The fans immediately started chanting ‘baby killer’ at Snitsky. The one shot angle got over so well…Vince McMahon decided to keep him on the main roster.

Gene Snitsky became most known for his phrase, “It wasn’t my fault” pertaining to his involvement in Lita’s “miscarriage.” Snitsky was also known for punting a baby doll into the stands…which Snitsky says got him a standing ovation from Vince McMahon when he returned to the back. He had his feud with Kane and then various other programs (including a foot fetish) before being sent away for repackaging.

When Snitsky returned, he was given a completely new look which included being clean shaven, bald head and yellow teeth. He was portrayed as a psychopath. According to Snitsky, it was all Vince McMahon’s idea. As his character was being used less and less…his breaking point came when Monday Night Raw was in near his hometown and wasn’t used. He had a meeting with Vince McMahon that night and requested and was granted his release.

Snitsky would return to the independents where he worked for several more years. His last major exposure came in 2014, when he briefly joined TNA wrestling. That was the last major exposure Snitsky got on the wrestling circuit.

So the question remains…whatever happened to Gene Snitsky? While slowing down his wrestling schedule, Snitsky began acting in several low budget movies. He officially retired from pro wrestling in 2018 and is now focused on running his own Outdoor and Sporting Goods Store called Priority One Surplus. He and his wife reside in a suburb of Pennsylvania.

https://www.priorityonesurplus.com/#/