10 Hyped WWE Debuts That Were Total Misdirections

9. Kizarny

emma lina
WWE.com

A casualty of WWE's bruised mid-2000s developmental system, Kizarny was the short-lived conclusion to Nick Cvjetkovich's two year stint with the organisation.

Having flirted with industry fame working as 'Sinn' back in TNA's weekly pay-per-view days, the slightly eccentric Cvjetkovich was christened 'Sinn Bowdie' in FCW, and took on a role as a general wrestling weirdo amongst the hyper-generic superstar factory of the day.

Just under a year later, slick vignettes began airing on Smackdown of a strange man talking 'carny' slang at a fairground.

The old verbal trick (inserting 'iz' into words) was actually used amongst old-school wrestlers wishing to discuss the industry amongst outsiders, so initial impressions pointed towards that tradition.

However, over months of skits, Kizarny did little more than hang out by the rides, eat candy floss and watch the carnival perfomers.

Despite a passable introductory victory over Montel Vontavious Porter, Kizarny's debut was his death knell. According to Cvjetkovich, a total lack of understanding and communication permeated through all involved.

Management were fundamentally unclear on his babyface/heel motivation, how the character would look on television, or what future the persona might have, and Cvjetkovich himself was released from WWE outright less than two months later.

In this post: 
emma
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett