Yoshihiro Tajiri had his ring debut on Smackdown - straight into the King of the Ring tournament!

I was like many wrestling smarks: I got very excited when it was announced that he signed with the WWF, but grew frustrated that he hadn't appeared. Then I heard he was asked to come to a RAW taping - but didn't appear on the show. He was there to debut as William Regal's new "house boy" for the Smackdown taped the next night. Again, I was disappointed he didn't appear in the ring - and he didn't for another month.

Now Regal's announcement that he'd compete. The fan cheers almost drowned out the skit. In the ring, many "ECW!" chants filled the air, as Tajiri did his thing: a basic squash against Crash that gave him a chance to show off what he's famous for: phenomenally stiff kicks, the Tarantula, and an overall phenomenal workrate.

He gave off a sense of great joy being in the ring, and the fans returned that sentiment. Even having him appear with Regal couldn't wipe out the appreciation of the fans.

I don't think the WWF plan to push him already to King of the Ring, but we can guarantee he'll have incredible matches no matter where he ends up in the tournament.