8 Reasons WWE Dropped The Ball With Damien Sandow

8. He Was Trained By Killer Kowalski

Damien Sandow may have been a relative young talent, but he had a connection to wrestling's old school (beyond his name, anyway) - he, like Kofi Kingston, Chyna, Perry Saturn, and 14-time world champion Triple H - was trained by the legendary Killer Kowalski.

Sandow actually began training under Kowalski when he was only 16 years old, then made his wrestling debut three years later. He first competed for Massachusetts independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling, where he captured tag team and heavyweight gold, then worked for the state's World Wrestling Alliance, where he feuded with Tough Enough alum Jonah Adelman over that group's heavyweight title.

It was clear that Sandow took many of Kowalski's lessons to heart. Even though he portrayed a pompous intellectual during the most high-profile run of his career, his ring work was still characterized by a vicious mean streak reminiscent of "The Killer." It made for an interesting dichotomy that not only strengthened his performance, but made him more compelling as a character.