Mr. Kennedy

[Circled Square]

Random thread but I hear people say he was a great talent, with great mic skills. He had a lot of hype, but didn't deliver, mostly due to injury. Do you buy, or did you buy, the hype? Could he have been king shit? Why or why not?

[Hanley!]

He's weird. He's the perfect example of a wrestler who could have been a big star with the right push and the right booking, but he couldn't get there on his own.

There's some guys who are so talented that even with shit booking, they'll eventually rise to the top. I think Edge was that way. He was such a good all round talent that he eventually kinda fell into a main event role. CM Punk was definitely like that. The company did all they could to ignore him for years, but his mic work was so much better than just about everyone else in the company, that eventually he had to be given a main event spot. Even though none of the higher ups seemed to want him there.

Kennedy was never that good. He could put on a good match, yet he was sloppy in the ring often. He could cut a hell of a promo, but you had to give him the right material.

He also didn't have a great physique. In fact it was maybe the kind of physique that bugs Vince most. He didn't look like a hefty guy like a Bray Wyatt or a Kevin Owens. He looked like a Randy Orton type who had just started to let himself go a little.

At the beginning of his career he was super over, because they booked him fantastic. The gimmick of beating former world champions was brilliant. Announcing himself was a nice, obnoxious heel trait. He had the skills to take that gimmick right to world champion status if you ask me. But once they went cold on him (as they do with every new guy at some point), he didn't have the skills to stay over to the same extent. Which made it easy for them to can him when he annoyed Orton.

It's sad, because he has certain traits that I really enjoy. In Aces & Eights in TNA, I thought he showed a lot as a supporting character. Outside of Bully Ray (who is a top quality heel), he was by far the best actor of the group. He'd always be doing something in the background to make himself seem like a dangerous gang member. Little facial expressions or pieces of body language. He does have some acting skill and a decent amount of charisma. But he just can't quite put the pieces together himself. He needs someone to do it for him, and TNA were probably never going to be the promotion to pull it off.

It's a pity that early run in WWE never went anywhere. He got really unlucky to get injured while he was holding the Money in the Bank briefcase. I had been imagining a moment back then when he would cash in the briefcase on Undertaker to win the title. Then he'd bring the lights down, get the spotlight on him, the mic would come down from the ceiling. And Kennedy would stand over Undertaker's prone body and announce himself as the new world heavyweight champion.

That moment would have made him a massive star instantly, if you ask me. It would have been the perfect image to end a show on. If he hadn't gotten injured, who knows where his career would have gone? I don't think he could have sustained a main event role in WWE for that many years, but he could have potentially been there for a while.

[Circled Square]

And that's it ladies and gentleman, hope you guys have a good night.

Credits:

Hanley
Circled Square

[VaderBomb]

Before I came into this thread I saw that there were three posts and the first and third were by CircledSquare and I said to myself, "I bet Hanley said the good word and /thread" and here I witness exactly what I assumed.

[lyonssv]

I remember when he made his face turn and started a feud with William Regal when Regal was commish and also won KOTR. Regal was playing an awesome heel and Kennedy returned as a face and was massively over. The feud was great but got cut wayyyy short because Regal got busted for drugs and was terminated and/or suspended. After that, I don't think Kennedy did anything of significance. It was a shame because I was a fan.

[Str8Shooter]

Wasn't he supposed to be Vince's "son" in that whole paternity storyline? But they soured on him or something and it ended up being Hornswoggle. I wonder if Kennedy lays in bed at night wondering what could have been if that would have gone the way it was supposed to?

[Hanley!]

Wasn't he supposed to be Vince's "son" in that whole paternity storyline? But they soured on him or something and it ended up being Hornswoggle. I wonder if Kennedy lays in bed at night wondering what could have been if that would have gone the way it was supposed to?

If I were him, I'd be laying in bed wondering about what would have been if he had won the title with Money in the Bank that one time. People made a big deal about that Vince's son angle, but lets be honest: that was always going to be a disaster. Even if Kennedy had been named instead of Hornswoggle, that angle was never going anywhere good.

[Twister]

I quite like Mr. Kennedy/Anderson, Hanley once again has put us all to shame and summed him up perfectly

[JPG619]

I normally don't get hyped if a new wrestler come into the WWE. I like to wait and see what the WWE does with him or her first because what they did outside of the WWE sometimes doesn't translate to what they do in the WWE.

The last time I really was hyped back when Jericho first joined the WWE and since internet was just starting out back them we didn't have that much information besides in local news papers and wrestling magazines that leaked the information