HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
OWW Wrestler of the Week — Kizarny
Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, profiles the newest member of the Smackdown roster. The Carnival Freak defeated MVP in his debut match on the Blue Brand.
The week between Christmas and New Years is notorious as a slow time in wrestling. Many stars take the time to spend with their families. The biggest news of the week in the WWE was the arrival of Kizarny. The former Sinn Bowdee/Bowdie really surprised a lot of people with his agility and power. This veteran of the ring wars is this week’s OWW: Wrestler of the Week.
The Canada Days
Nick Cvjetkovich was the child of a British mother and a Serbian father. He grew up near Ontario, Canada. From very early on, Nick wanted to be a professional wrestler. When he became old enough to enter the business, he contacted Rob Fuego and Ron Hutchinson. Both men felt that Nick’s ethnic mix gave him a unique look. Nick also gained a black belt in martial arts. Nick first started wrestling under his given name. An offer from Border City Wrestling changed Nick’s identity. Nick was under contract to wrestle under his given name for AWF. The only way that he could work for Border City was under a new name and character. Enter Lucifer Love. The oxymoronic name didn’t really click with the crowd. Nick would undergo several identity adjustments over the next few months.
During his early days in Canada, Nick met and befriended the men that would later become Edge and Christian (Cage). Edge was working as Sexton Hardcastle,at the time. Nick actually adopted the identity of H.N. Hardcastle, for a while. He was pushed as a relative of Sexton’s. It was never made quite clear how they were related.
Nick got the opportunity to take a European tour in 2001. He learned his finisher, the Double Underhook Rolling DDT, from the master of the DDT, Jake “The Snake” Roberts. When he came back from Europe, Nick worked numerous independent feds around Canada. During this time, Nick wrestled veterans and future superstars like: King Kong Bundy, Robert Roode, Jim Neidhart and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. A chance meeting would bring out the most well-known character in Nick’s career.
Send in the (Psycho) Clowns
In the fall of 2003, Nick returned to the Ontario area to wrestle. He was teamed with “Dark Omen” Elvis Elliot in the Sideshow Carnival Diablo (an odd Dark Carnival clique). Nick became the so-called Strong Man of the group. Much like Mark Henry, Nick did several feats of strength to impress the crowds. During this time, his began to use the name Nick Sinn. The fun vignettes that have run in the WWE over the past few weeks are based on the Sideshow Carnival Diablo days.
Nick Sinn came to the attention of both TNA and WWE. He and Elvis Elliot (later Elvis Ozbourne) worked dark matches for both companies. The two men went through a few identity adjustments during this time. Elvis morphed into Helvis (still one of my favorite wrestling names). Nick went from The Original Sin to Nick Sinn to Sinn.
The New Church
Nick was an early part of TNA. He joined Slash (Wolfie D) under the management of “Father” James Mitchell. The duo were a solid threat to the then-NWA World tag team titles. They never actually managed to capture the titles but they made life difficult for all the major teams, especially Raven and his Gathering.
TNA went through several growing pains and people came and went. Sinn appeared a few times after his initial run with the New Church, including a reunion of the Carnival Sideshow Diablo with Helvis. Eventually, Sinn left the organization and went back to the indies.
Developing the Inner Freak
Nick was signed to a developmental deal with the WWE after he left TNA. He was sent to OVW, the main WWE training area. When WWE cut ties with OVW, Sinn Bowdee was sent to FCW. While in OVW and FCW, Sinn Bowdee mastered his Carnival Freak character. He named his finisher the Tallulah Belle, the name of a legendary carnival performer.
Carnival Freak Sinn Bowdee became a central player in the FCW scene. Fans called for months for Sinn to get “called up”. Fans expected Sinn Bowdee to get sent to ECW, as a replacement for the injured Boogeyman. Instead, Sinn underwent another name change and was moved to Smackdown. Kizarny, a variation on the Carnival term Carny (a carnival worker). Kizarny utilized an odd language that was similar to the Bill Cosby character, Mushmouth. Kizarny ran several weeks worth of carnival vignettes before arriving on Smackdown to defeat MVP.
Odd facts about the Oddity
Nick/Kizarny has a brother who wrestles as Kobra Kai. Nick has published a long-running comic book called Fred the Possessed Flower. Nick is also a published novelist, with his brother. Nick was also the main character in the independent film, Enter…Zombie King. He was once romantically linked with Traci Brooks.
In Conclusion:
The future looks very bright for Kizarny. He might join a long line of oddball characters like Repo Man, Papa Shango, Boogeyman, and Doink the Clown. He might well end up as a serious threat to the US or Intercontinental title. Regardless of where Kizarny ends up, he should be successful and fun to watch. For his dedication to the sport and his successful debut on Smackdown, Kizarny is this week’s OWW: Wrestler of the Week
–Jay Shannon
[email protected]
(1/5/08)