Thanks for the Fish

Low-Ki debuted in FCW last night, defeating Trent "Plazma" Baretta with the Warriors Way. I believe he has a developmental deal, and was waiting to report until after tour in Japan was finished. I wonder what name/gimmick he'll end up with and if he runs with it or balks and is released. Mysterio and MVP have been pushing for his signing, and Mysterio even went so far as to come up with storylines for him, one involving Low-Ki becoming a heel Mysterio imposter. Mysterio has certain clout in that he has yet to sign his contract extension, meaning the wwe wants to keep him happy. Also the wwe has few Latino/spanish speaking wrestlers and Mysterio is good with the kids which is a target demographic these days. Low-Ki doesn't need developmental time really, other than maybe getting used to the wwe rings. However it's never been his ring work that has stopped him from getting signed by the wwe, but rather backstage/attitude issues. He's seen as a guy who lives his gimmick and is pretty anti-social with the boys, and that will rub a lot of people the wrong way as the boys want deference from the rookies and Low-Ki doesn't see himself as a rookie. Low-Ki wants this, so I expect him to be on his best behavior, but one can only act that part for so long - especially with the lockerroom antics some in the wwe like to pull.

Didn't Kenzo Suzuki balk at being named "Hirohito" in the wwe because he was worried about eventually going back to Japan after having played that gimmick?

Terry and Dory Funk are going in as well. I wonder if Foley would be welcomed back to induct Terry. However if the Funk's are going in together like this, maybe they'd choose somebody connected to the both of them from back in the day.

Victoria's post-match farewell for those who can't get wwe.com vids to load (I assume it's the same) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35HTvfpkNW8

Sometimes the wwe lets talent keep their names if they want to build off of their amateur credentials - Lesnar, Benjamin, Haas and of course Kurt Angle at the time, or to build off of familial connections - Randy Orton, Ted Dibiase, Cody Rhodes etc. I don;t know why John Cena was allowed to keep his real name, I wonder if creative didn;t think he'd make it or something, or it was at the period of time where they didn't care about trademarking. CM Punk lucked out that Heyman wanted him called up and wanted to use his indie fanbase to help get him over, also Mike Knox for that matter, probably a case of Vince not paying enough attention to ECW at the time. Shad Gaspard, Brian Kendrick were lucky enough to keep their real names as well. It gives them certain leverage in the future and will probably make them more money both in the wwe and should they leave to work indies.

Would be better without Cena, but I bet he came cheaper than any of the other big action actors and with a built in fanbase. Of course it's probably not rated PG like wwe programming.

Thing I hated most about Holly, other than his name "Hardcore Holly" I mean who the hell chose "Holly", was that his ringgear always looked pink/peach and light blue on my television (at least I think it was my television).

From Victoria/Lisa Marie Varon's myspace regarding her retirement - I hope I do something cool enough in my life that I can maybe steal that line (bolded). (leave mma to the professionals)

Holly and Cappotelli released back-to-back - Together since the world began, the madman and the lover.

It depends. Given his size, he's surely going to do a lot more jobs than he's ever done in his career, however if the wwe runs with the Mysterio storyline, he'll get a huge push upon his debut. And if he starts being jobbed out he'll quit on a moments notice. He gets himself over wherever he goes, certainly has a quiet charisma about him and offers the fans something different. I just don't know if being a fake Filipino is the way to go with him. On a side note - why doesn't Vladimir Kozlov wear this badass looking singlet rather than the diaper looking tightie whities.

Kawal is filipino for Soldier - at least that's what the internet tells me. Now Low-Ki is of Puerto Rican/Italian heritage, though of course he'd just be playing a character.

From his wiki -

The wwe doesn't own the copyright and Low-Ki isn't selling it. CM Punk was lucky enough to be called up when Heyman was booking. I suspect there could be crowd issues, with "Low-Ki" being chanted during his matches as he's as well known as any indie wrestler can be these days.

I wonder if it's spelled Kiwol and is just a mash-up of Low-Ki, sorta backwards, but not. Otherwise it probably means something, but I agree it's pretty bad.

What a ridiculous thing to say. (If I am missing some sort of inside/board joke I certainly apologize)

Developmental Hade Vansen was released. Vansen was the wrestler who cut the cult-like promo on Undertaker in a vignette that aired once before Vince killed the idea. So he goes from being considered good enough to get a call-up to released in less than a month. I wonder if the hiring of Low-Ki has anything to do with this, as they were similar enough in-ring, look and size.

In what could only be seen as good news, Scotty Goldman has a new weekly vid blog/whatever over at wwe.com. http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/articles/8327862/9139662 I could be wrong, but something tells me that the wwe wants us to know that Scotty is Jewish.

Matt Cappotelli would have been a star. The kid just had "it", even if he did cry like a bitch on Tough Enough.

I think the Sting to the WWE ship sailed last year when he could have came in to be part of the Flair retirement storyline. I really don't see what he could offer, other than a notch on McMahon's bedpost.

It's the size of the roster that kills me. They have 13 wrestlers - Chavo Guerrero - Basically a SD! wrestler these days DJ Gabriel - I dug him early, but it's the same thing week after week. Evan Bourne - was transitioning to Raw even before his injury Finlay - Player/coach role means he'll never be a contender. just in case, Hornswoggle makes sure of that. Jack Swagger - ECW Champion John Morrison - Float to all brands, though being only tag team on ECW, never wrestle Mike Mizanen - See Morrison above Matt Hardy - finishing up in ECW, to move to Edge/Jeff/Christian storyline on SD! Mark Henry - Bad ass character, but he needs a bigger roster to work with. Paul Burchill - I liked his move here. His last chance. Ricky Ortiz - I HATE HIS GUTS The Boogeyman - Can't wrestle worth a lick Tommy Dreamer - No rub left to give. Seeing as how ECW is basically the wwe equivalent of the land of unwanted toys, would it kill them to send Scotty Goldman, Ryan Braddock, Kizarny, Manu, Charlie Haas and Jamie Noble there? Raw and SD! would miss exactly nothing and you'd give these underused talents a chance to get themselves over. D'Lo Brown would have been a nice veteran to move here as well. Gavin Spears deserved a longer opportunity. Wwe should cycle in midcard veterans to give the young call-ups an established name to work off of. There was nothing worse than those NTI matches with the call-up fighting Armando Estrada week after week or unknown call-up vs unknown call-up violence.

Three words - naked. divas. wrestling. Another surprise would be booking the tag division like it meant something.

No Kizarny again? I don't like these double tapings - the shows seem lackluster and the talent booked seems redundant. Then again, maybe because they've bcome so HHH-centric, and I can't stand the bugger. Benjamin might have had the most important match of his career last week. Sounds to me like he won a fan in the Undertaker.

No Kizarny? That's doesn't bode well for the resident carnival freak's longevity.

source: PWInsider.com Simmons would have been great in the on-screen player agent role that was once considered for him. He could have started with MVP, but could have formed a stable like an old school manager. Slaughter was great for nostalgia, but the wwe could probably get him in whenever they wanted him for those spots.

I'm not sure this is the spoiler some folks are making it out to be, because it seems like it could be fantasy booking/ a "what if" scenario for the magazine crew -