And now, for those who might think I’m so disenchanted with WWE programming that I have nothing good to say about any of it, here’s a positive column about a hot young superstar who I really enjoy watching on Friday nights. He hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He weighs in at a very impressive 243 pounds (he’s up a pound from last week). Mr. Kennedy… Kennedy.
TODAY’S ISSUE: Mr. Kennedy has the goods.
When it comes to being a total package in professional wrestling, Ken Anderson certainly seems to be on track at these early stages of his major league career. He brings an awful lot to the table: size, speed, a solid physique, great charisma, intelligence, and an overwhelming amount of self-confidence. The “Mr. Kennedy” gimmick was the final touch needed to set him off on a successful career in the WWE.
For once, I have to give WWE’s creative department credit. Just having him grab the microphone away from Tony Chimmel wasn’t enough. His latest self-introduction, complete with the spotlight and his overly dramatic reach upward for the descending old-school microphone, is just unique enough to be memorable and fun without being so over-the-top that it would become annoying. It’s perfect for the character.
When he debuted on SmackDown! last summer after a stint on Velocity, Mr. Kennedy was a true breath of fresh air. In the next few months, he got a solid push and seemed to be closing in on a US title reign sometime before WrestleMania 22.
Kennedy gets it done in the ring… his amazing finisher is a forward-flip fireman’s carry into a senton bomb-type landing from the second turnbuckle, which I believe may be called the “Kenton Bomb”. All good finishers need a cool name, and that one works nicely.
About 3 weeks before the injury that has currently sidelined Kennedy, he competed in what I believe was going to be a critical match in his character’s career.
Mr. Kennedy faced Eddie Guerrero in a Survivor Series team qualifying match, which was tragically, the final match Guerrero match ever televised. In fact, the match aired on SmackDown! just 2 days before the late, great Guerrero passed away. Mr. Kennedy was able to hang with the extremely talented ring veteran move for move, and cheap shot for cheap shot. He actually suckered Guerrero into the old “fake-handshake-slap-in-the-face” routine. Of course, he paid for that by igniting Guerrero’s famous Latino Heat. Later in the match, Kennedy had Guerrero in an arm bar, and displayed some true wrestling skill by stepping on Guerrero’s knee from behind, breaking him down and forcing Guerrero to relinquish his standing position. Of course that’s a little thing, but the great ones have always incorporated tiny touches of skill and pizzazz into their repertoire.
Kennedy countered the third of Guerrero’s famous “Three Amigos” triple vertical suplexes, causing Guerrero to go to his old standby, the false DQ. In his familiar conniving way, Guerrero took advantage of referee Charles Robinson getting bumped by faking a chair shot to himself, then tossing the evidence to Mr. Kennedy and causing Kennedy to be disqualified.
Kennedy was so enraged at being out-cheated and out-foxed to lose the opportunity to compete on Team SmackDown! at Survivor Series, he absolutely waffled Guerrero with the same chair that caused his unjust disqualification in the first place. He showed a violent intensity as he screamed into Guerrero’s unconscious face, “disqualify that!”
Two weeks later, he again displayed that rage. In a match against Matt Hardy, he left the ring and brought a chair back with him. He was disqualified this time before striking Matt, but the intension was shown: Kennedy wasn’t about to take any more nonsense. He was focused, serious, and hungry for respect. This was going to be the final tweak needed for his character to ascend to the top of the mid-card, at least for 2006, in my opinion. As I said earlier, I could picture him battling for the US strap, making a strong showing in the Royal Rumble match, and putting on a good match at WrestleMania 22, had it not been for his unfortunate injury.
However, WWE is so high on Kennedy, he’s still a regular character on Friday nights despite the fact that he is unable to compete in the ring. He’s made cameo appearances at the announce position during several recent episodes of SmackDown!, reminding the viewers about the fun, unique facets of his character and keeping himself fresh in the minds of the fans. Hopefully he’ll be back in condition to wrestle again soon, and this injury won’t prove to be the beginning of an injury-prone career.
Last Friday night, Kennedy went out of his way to find Chris Benoit in his locker room, preparing for another shot at the US Championship. Kennedy gave Benoit some guff about Benoit’s current string of “bad breaks”. Although he may have come out of the exchange with a sore shoulder, Kennedy certainly was not out of place verbally sparring with a man who many consider to be a living legend in pro wrestling, and one of the best performers of all time. That short segment spoke volumes about Kennedy’s place on the card, and on the SmackDown! roster.
Kennedy is fast, strong, and aggressive in the ring, and smooth, smart and funny on the mic. He has a good look, and a unique gimmick. With a combination like that, there’s no telling just how far he could go. The last WWE performer who possessed all those attributes collected 7 world championships, became a leading man in Hollywood, hosted Saturday Night Live more than once, and has been featured on magazine covers. If ya’ smellllllll what I’m cookin’.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality.
p.s. – Why do banks charge a fee for insufficient funds when they know you don’t have enough to begin with?
