Nick Dinsmore, who appeared as the beloved character Eugene for WWE for several years, competed in a dark match prior to Thursday’s live Impact Wrestling broadcast on Spike TV. Under the Nick Dinsmore name, he lost to TNA Wrestling veteran talent Kazarian.

Dinsmore has ties to TNA as he works as a trainer and wrestler for developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling and also appeared as the character “Dr. Nicholas Dinsmore” for their Indian-based satellite promotion Ring Ka King last year.

Dinsmore’s appearance comes days after he “stood up for WWE” in response to negative media portrayals toward the Eugene character and the sports entertainment organization. Darien Times writer Joshua Fisher stated in an editorial last week blistering Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign that her job creation method included “making fun of retarded men” during her reign as WWE CEO, which spurred Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant to assert in an editorial that the Eugene character was “mentally retarded” and “unmistakably, played for laughs.”

WWE then issued a statement “setting the record straight” regarding its programming and storylines: “It is clear, based on Mr. McEnroe’s latest blog post, that he does not understand WWE’s programming. Like Hollywood movies and Broadway shows, it is an exciting blend of action, characters and fictional storylines of good versus evil that entertains millions weekly. His assertion that the Eugene character was “essentially a comic device” is inaccurate and lacks total perspective.”

In their statement, WWE enclosed a video of Dinsmore offering a “truthful portrayal” of Eugene where he argued that the character is an underdog who “always came out on top” and “overcame adversities.”