I went on the internet this morning and was shocked (but not too shocked) to see that WWE has come to terms with the release of Mr. Kennedy.

Then, after thinking about it for a bit, I realised that Kennedy has had one of the most pronounced fall from graces of anyone not named Benoit in recent wrestling history.

This column, written in reaction to the release of Mr. Kennedy, looks at the main events that have contributed to him going from a sure-fire future headliner and World Champion, to a virtual non-entity and unemployment. But before we get to that, here’s a brief summary of why many thought Ken Anderson was destined for great things in WWE.

Debuting in the latter part of 2005, Kennedy was immediately pushed towards the upper midcard, most notably being in Eddie Guerrero’s last match on the November 11th Smackdown. Kennedy’s mic skills were competent from the outset, and his self-ring announcer gimmick was a big hit from day one. However, the Green Bay native suffered the first of his many injuries in December, a torn lat that would keep him out of the ring until May 2006.

At the time, many thought this was just an unfortunate one off incident, and on his return Kennedy went on his most consistent and lengthy run, competing in a compelling match with Batista at the Great American Bash (as a last minute replacement for Mark Henry), winning the United States Championship off Finlay, and then engaging in what will probably regarded as his most high profile feud in the WWE; a multi-PPV series with the Undertaker that ended with a compelling Last Ride match at Armageddon.

Although Undertaker triumphed in that match, Kennedy had been elevated to the extent (and was very popular with the people who mattered backstage), that many fans saw 2007 as the year that Mr. Kennedy would become a permanent main eventer. They were wrong.

2007 started very well for our man. Competing in (mediocre) World Title matches for the first two PPVs of the year, Mr. Kennedy then went on to win the Money in the Bank Match at WrestleMania. It appeared his future was assured. On Smackdown, Kennedy had what he says is his best match – a scorcher against Matt Hardy – but the real news was that World Champion Undertaker had suffered a serious biceps tear and that with a natural storyline and history, Kennedy was going to be the next Champion. This was when things started to unravel.

On May 6th, Kennedy suffered what was initially said to be a triceps injury and would have to sit out for around half a year. In response to this, WWE abandoned their immediate plans and instead transitioned the MITB shot to Edge. The way in which they did this, by having the R-Rated Superstar goad Kennedy into an impromptu match in which he had nothing to win and everything to lose, and then have him lose so quickly, put a big dent in both his character and credibility. That it was announced in the next week (whilst Edge was celebrating his Title win) that Kennedy’s injury was not so severe only added further insult to the lesser injury. Worse was to come.

WWE’s next major storyline was set to be the ‘death’ of Vince McMahon, and the development, through a convoluted twist, that Mr. Kennedy was his illegitimate son, leading to an extended feud for our man with HHH. Unfortunately for those in WWE, this storyline was basically cancelled almost from the outset after the Chris Benoit murder/suicide.

Kennedy was still in line to be revealed as a McMahon, but the resulting steroid fracas that followed the Benoit incident led to the suspension of several WWE wrestlers, including the subject of this column. What made it worse was an incredibly ill-timed interview that Kennedy had with FSM magazine that was published in the week after his suspension. In it Kennedy stated, on steroids, that: “everybody used to live that lifestyle and that’s what the business was.”

He added: “But you can’t get away with it nowadays, because we do have a drug testing policy, as much as everybody wants to say that it’s not legitimate. Well, it is legitimate, because they stand there and they watch you pee.

“It’s like, how much more do you want? And there are certain circumstances where guys have an elevated testosterone level, above 4:1. But if you do, you’d better have a damn good reason why, and a doctor’s excuse, and a legitimate doctor’s excuse, or you’re gonna be suspended and fined and potentially fired. And that’s just the way it goes: zero tolerance. And I hate it, it really irritates me when I see these people get on TV shows and say, well, their Wellness Policy is a joke and ‘They’re allowed to have ten times the legal amount of steroids in their bodies’. The fact is that we’re not allowed to have any steroids in our bodies. Period.”

So now it seemed that his personal credibility was also shot. It didn’t help Kennedy’s in-ring performances had been distinctly lacklustre since his return.

Given his suspension, Kennedy was again removed from what could have been his break out storyline, being personally humiliated by Vince McMahon on RAW in the process (it must have angered the McMahons that Kennedy had now twice bungled major pushes and thus negated months of build). Returning to competition in October, Kennedy faced John Cena in his first match back, and while probably not his fault, this was also the match in which Cena injured himself and was forced to vacate his title. Regaining some of his previous in-ring form, Kennedy looked good in his following PPV matches, but a lot of anticipation for him as a future headliner had now dissipated. Feuding with Shawn Michaels for a short period of time, Kennedy had his last really good singles match at Armageddon in 2007.

Without a WrestleMania opponent, Mr. Kennedy had to be satisfied with being a supporting player in the annual Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania XXIV; this would also prove to be his last PPV match with WWE. Feuding with RAW GM William Regal, Kennedy was ironically chosen to be the one to put the unlucky Brit out of action following his Wellness Suspension (who’s laughing now?), and in the process turned face before being drafted back to Smackdown. His face character, though, did not catch on with the crowds and before things could be rectified, Kennedy was injured again (his shoulder this time), and benched indefinitely.

Returning to television in November, while rehabbing his injury, Kennedy began incessantly plugging his straight to DVD movie Behind Enemy Lines III. Suffice to say, this movie was a bomb, and WWE’s typical over hyping tactics further tarnished Kennedy’s character.

Earlier this year, rumours began circulating that Kennedy’s shoulder injury was going to curtail his in-ring career. Kennedy went on record to say that he was upset over allegations that he was injury prone and said in a recent FSM interview: “I think that’s unfair – the shoulder dislocation I’ve suffered was caused by a freak accident…not by something I or my opponent did wrong in the ring.

“As far as I’m concerned I’m always safe in the ring, take all the necessary precautions both before with my warm-up and stretches and after a match too. I’ve just been unlucky… hopefully this will be my last [injury] and I can go on to achieve the goals I’ve set myself in the business.”

Kennedy was drafted back to RAW in this year’s draft, and videos soon started airing for his return. He did make his in-ring comeback on last week’s RAW as the mystery partner to the faces in the ten man match. Kennedy entered a decent performance, although the rumour coming out of the match was that he had injured his wrist on taking an RKO from Randy Orton.

Kennedy’s release on May 29th shows that even those who are seemingly can’t miss prospects with everything going for them can sometimes wind up on WWE’s scrap heap. In his recent interview, Ken Anderson said: “If I can just get a clear run of health, then the future should be very bright for Mr. Kennedy.”

Unfortunately for him, this did not happen.

James Mustoe
james@ifight365.com