Could Mr. Anderson Be As Big As Stone Cold?

[CM Steel]

Mr. Ken Anderson. Most know about his friendship with WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin from back when Anderson was Mr. Kennedy in the WWE. Ken was a big fan of Stone Cold from back in the attitude era. And Anderson took advice from the rattlesnake closely. Now that Ken Anderson is in TNA/Impact Wrestling. Does he really have the tools Steve Austin gave to become a future wrestling legend like Austin? Could Anderson stand out that huge?

And what if Mr. Anderson would have stayed in the WWE if not for the bad spot thing with Randy Orton? Things like that happen in wrestling. Remenber the bad spot by the late Owen Hart on Stone Cold in 1997 with that bad tombstone piledriver? And see how things work out around from that. But now Mr. Anderson is a former TNA world champion.

Right now in the wrestling media people are screaming of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs CM Punk at Wrestlemania. Could it have been Mr. Anderson/Kennedy at this point in his career?

 

[GameOver]

Where have you been? Ken Anderson "Mr Kennedy" was being primed to be the next Stone Cold in 2008? he had won MITB and was gonna win the title no doubt but got injured so they gave it to Edge and then he pissed someone off so they released him (or that's what the rumours say) i think more likely he was too injury prone, he's been in TNA since 2010 and other then an initial push to the moon they haven't done an anything since.

He's a one trick poney as far as character goes, seems the same whether he's being heelish or not and other then his fued with Sting i think they failed him or he failed to capitalise.

Had he have stayed in WWE he definately woulda been a higher profile unless ofcourse he was doomed anyway and if he kept getting injured like he was there's No Chance In Hell he woulda survived longer, they certainly don't want someone injury prone or who injures others as there champion. I don't think he woulda ever reached Stone Cold popularity, definately a Main Event staple but not the face of the company for long and Cena would still have been the face of the company regardless.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There's not much of a chance of that happening. There's certainly no chance of it happening with Anderson in TNA and I doubt that he'll be back in WWE.

Not all that long ago, when TNA was heavily pushing Anderson, they went down the road of having Anderson be more alike Stone Cold Steve Austin. His mannerisms were similar and his general style of cutting promos were definitely inspired by Stone Cold. They didn't blatantly rip off Stone Cold's character or anything, but you could definitely see inspiration taken from it. For instance, pretty much every other word out of Anderson's mouth for a while was a swear word. TNA was trying to be "edgy" at that time by having their wrestlers swear a lot during promos, Anderson couldn't cut a promo without saying asshole at least a dozen times.

I don't know if Anderson was "injury prone" or not in WWE. All I do know is that they had big plans for him and invested a lot of time in him. However, in the midst of his big pushes, he'd get injured and the WWE would have to start over building his momentum up again. It could've probably happened to anyone but it did happen and WWE saw little return in the time and energy put in on Anderson. I also don't know about all the backstage stuff that was alleged to be going on. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, as it usually does.

I think TNA has ultimately lost faith in Anderson as a top guy in the company. His title runs were a joke and his career just hasn't been the same since. For me personally, I have trouble viewing Anderson as a main eventer again unless TNA really really really gets behind him again and builds him up. I just don't see that happening so I think Anderson is going to stay in the mid-card to upper mid-card range for the majority of the rest of his time in TNA.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was a character that revolutionized pro wrestling. Stone Cold changed how people view good guys and bad guys in wrestling and the effects of that change are felt to this day whenever you hear a dueling "Let's Go Cena, Cena Sux" chant in WWE. Anderson should take being compared in any way to Stone Cold Steve Austin as a compliment and just hang onto it, but he'll never, and I do mean NEVER, be as big as Stone Cold. The only chance he'd have had would be in WWE and even then, it's almost a guarantee that it wouldn't happen.

 

[Alex]

People have been saying this for years and while I was there a few years ago I'm not anymore.

See the thing is Anderson isn't very adaptable. His entire schtick is to talk about himself and the crowd whether he's heel or face. Stone Cold could do some variety. Depending on what he was playing he could adapt to it, the reason people still liked him regardless of whether he was heel or face was because he was good.

In this day and age when good mic talkers are few and far between Anderson (who's decent/good on the mic) is seen as great. As Chris Jericho once said 'You people have been lead to believe that mediocrity is excellence'

Put it this way, after watching TNA regularly for a while I can say Anderson isn't in the top 5 talkers in the company (I'd hazard a guess he's not in the top 10)

Don't get me wrong I like Anderson and all, it's just I doubt he's gonna be the next Stone Cold

 

[yamesh2011]

Mr. Ken Anderson. Most know about his friendship with WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin from back when Anderson was Mr. Kennedy in the WWE. Ken was a big fan of Stone Cold from back in the attitude era. And Anderson took advice from the rattlesnake closely. Now that Ken Anderson is in TNA/Impact Wrestling. Does he really have the tools Steve Austin gave to become a future wrestling legend like Austin? Could Anderson stand out that huge?

And what if Mr. Anderson would have stayed in the WWE if not for the bad spot thing with Randy Orton? Things like that happen in wrestling. Remenber the bad spot by the late Owen Hart on Stone Cold in 1997 with that bad tombstone piledriver? And see how things work out around from that. But now Mr. Anderson is a former TNA world champion.

Right now in the wrestling media people are screaming of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs CM Punk at Wrestlemania. Could it have been Mr. Anderson/Kennedy at this point in his career?

Well a couple of things. First thing that except for hogan, only rock is as big or bigger than austin period. Not even cena can be compared, so as for kennedy he would have been a top midcarder at best never mind main event. And cm punk is a glorified mid carder at best just like edge. punk like edge were good in the ring, great on the mic, but never major impacts to the company.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Mr. Ken Anderson. Most know about his friendship with WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin from back when Anderson was Mr. Kennedy in the WWE. Ken was a big fan of Stone Cold from back in the attitude era. And Anderson took advice from the rattlesnake closely. Now that Ken Anderson is in TNA/Impact Wrestling. Does he really have the tools Steve Austin gave to become a future wrestling legend like Austin? Could Anderson stand out that huge?

And what if Mr. Anderson would have stayed in the WWE if not for the bad spot thing with Randy Orton? Things like that happen in wrestling. Remenber the bad spot by the late Owen Hart on Stone Cold in 1997 with that bad tombstone piledriver? And see how things work out around from that. But now Mr. Anderson is a former TNA world champion.

Right now in the wrestling media people are screaming of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs CM Punk at Wrestlemania. Could it have been Mr. Anderson/Kennedy at this point in his career?

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Kennedy was and still is the definition of average. The only great match I ever saw him was against Angle (no surprise there) and his mic skills aren't all that. Wow, he can say his name twice. Real captivating stuff there. I was on the edge of my seat every time. Plus, Kennedy was a walking injury in the WWE. There was no chance in hell he would have been anything close to Stone Cold.

 

[IHW]

I kind of laughed when I saw this thread title. I don't think Anderson, or nearly anyone, will ever be as big as Steve Austin in his own ways. Yeah, there is a comparison that can be made between the two, but it stops there. As much as I love Anderson, he just isn't at the level Stone Cold was, and I don't think he ever will be. Especially in TNA. Not dissing them in anyway, its just that Ken would need more exposure. It wouldn't work in the E either because they aren't near as big as they were in Stone Cold's day. It takes people to make people.

 

[anvilx8]

Could Anderson be as big as stone cold? WHAT makes anyone ask themself this question? Nothing Anderson has ever done has ever made me think in the least - that he has what it takes to be half as big as Austin was. His in ring stuff isn't great, his mic skills are pretty good but not even close to stone cold quality, and he lacks charisma big time. He doesn't done shit in months and months, and when I think of Andersons career highlights, I only think of his feud with Taker... which wasn't great either.

 

[asiatic7]

I don't think he would have been as big as Austin, but he definitely had a ton of momentum going in his direction around 06-07. I thought he would be a top guy for years to come during that time. The guy can talk his ass off and he was a decent worker in the ring. I think he was his own worst enemy at times and other times he was the victim of bad timing.

As big as Austin? No.
A top main eventer? Yes, I belive so.(When he was in WWE), But now that he's in TNA, I think he'll just be what he's been for the last couple of years. Some guys, you gotta strike when you're hot and he's pretty luke warm about now...too late.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Yes, aliens could take over our minds and force us to worship Ken Anderson.

Otherwise no. I don't even think he has made the BFG card. He's become a substitute wrestler on the 2nd promotion in the US. His SCSA impression from last year was figured out by everyone and failed. TNA has apparently lost faith in the guy. Even if the faith was still there, what else does he have in his arsenal, at age 37ish?, that we haven't seen already and who does TNA have to put him up against to make themselves bigger let alone Ken Anderson.

Stop with the awful threads. You're making my post count go up for all of the wrong reasons.

 

[Pink Hole Slam]

No disrespect to Anderson but I think all these injuries have finally caught up with him. His in ring work has taken a HUGE hit lately. It was a bummer watching Joe carry him through that television title match. Anderson is a mid-card guy and that's all. Kind of disappointing the way things turned out for him considering his great WWE beginning.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

1.) Anderson does not, in my opinion, have the potential to be as great as Stone Cold. Not on the mic, not in the ring. He's a good talent, but he's not something you look at and think, wow...this guy is better than anything I've seen in 10 years. He's not even better than Rob Van Dam, another guy floating around aimlessly in TNA's midcard. Maybe he could be without enough creative focus and time spent developing his character, but that leads us to my second point...

2.) Anderson doesn't have the drive to become as great as Stone Cold. He's been in wrestling long enough that if he was going to show something worthy of busting open the industry, he would have already. Nobody told Austin how to be Austin; he took everything given to him and made it his own. He took shitty gimmicks and turned them into gold. He came up with his own lines, and despite the "machine" he got himself over. Once he was over - much like CM PUnk - he let the machine do the rest of the work. When was the last time Anderson did anything worth mentioning? I believe it was getting fired from WWE.

3.) There's not a product out there to allow him to be as big as Stone Cold. WWE doesn't want him; if they did he'd probably have already been back there. But even if Anderson went back to WWE and they gave him fully control to do whatever he wanted, there's not a product or audience out there to be as big as Stone Cole. Austin had the Attitude Era, and the boom of wrestling in the public eye. Anderson has a bunch of jaded cynics on the internet. Myself included. As much as I like TNA and Impact Wrestling, he's not gonna get as big as Devon, let alone Stone Cold, while he's there.

So no. On all accounts.

 

[ABMorales787]

Clearly he's not doing a good job of taking notes then. In WWE, he probably wasn't given much to work with but TNA gave him all the free space he could have. Aside from repeating a promo from Wrestlemania 23 which was indeed damn fine ("Nice guy finish last. Thank God I'm an asshole.") The rest of his work is nothing but fart noises. The part is I'm not making it up. Most of his promos do indeed involve fart noises.

Don't get me wrong. Anderson has natural charisma and can get any crowd behind him. But if he's been under Austins wing, the feathers clearly obstructed his hearing and vision.

 

[wrestlingfan]

Mr. Anderson is 36, If he isn't as big as Stone Cold now, I don't know when. TNA just isn't a big enough company to have one of their wrestlers be as big as him. They tried to make Mr. Anderson, their Stone Cold in 2010, and it was semi successful.

 

[HBsam31]

There was a time around 06 that I thought he was going to be huge. Not Stone Cold huge, but a top main event star anyway. After that though I think his time in TNA has been average, and it doesn't seem like he is going back to WWE anytime soon. At this point even with tons and tons of work there is no way Anderson will get close to Stone Cold.

 

[Slash-LN]

Definitely not.
He's mediocre in the ring.
His mic skills aren't on par with Austin's.
He doesn't offer anything new or different.

Stone Cold was different in the WWF when he was allowed to go out and be himself. The fans weren't used to guys like him at the time so they took notice. He was at the right place at the right time with the right fans who were ready for a change.

Mr. Anderson is pretty much a ring entrance and not much more. Even that is starting to grow old.

I liked him when he was in WWE but I'm tired of him in TNA. I think the time for him to be the next Stone Cold has passed and he's just another guy on the roster with nothing really special about him.

 

[waylon p]

Regardless of his actual ability, there absolutely no vehicle for this man to be as popular as stone cold. If you added up everyone watching wrestling these days, the numbers still would not equal the people watching at the height of Austin's popularity. You could take raw and impact and assume there was no crossover, so every person counted at least once, throw in ROH and chikara, and you would still not get the ratings needed to get anyone to that level of popularity. It is a silly proposition to begin with.

 

[New Hot Fed]

Definitely not.
He's mediocre in the ring.
His mic skills aren't on par with Austin's.
He doesn't offer anything new or different.

-When Austin got big as Stone Cold he was all banged up and the WWF kept limiting him wrestling too much. And all his matchs consisted of wild short brawls. Anderson is better in the ring now that Austing was THEN.
-All Anderson is doing these days is talk in his big mic and say assholes. When was the last time he delivered a promo in the ring?
-Anderson was new and different early on. Hell Austin had to be 3 different characters for him to catch on.

Stone Cold was different in the WWF when he was allowed to go out and be himself. The fans weren't used to guys like him at the time so they took notice. He was at the right place at the right time with the right fans who were ready for a change.

See that's the thing, you say Austin was allowed to go to the ring and be himself. Austin was given a tremendous amount of freedom and he shined at it. It's been a while since we've seen Anderson be allowed to do anything. The last time he was really given the ball was in early 2010 in his feud with Kurt Angle and he was great in it. He had finally became the star people were waiting for him to become. I espcially loved his promos on the show ReAction. Then Hogan turned him face, they decided to focus everything on the Asshole catchphrase and it killed his character.

Mr. Anderson is pretty much a ring entrance and not much more. Even that is starting to grow old.

I liked him when he was in WWE but I'm tired of him in TNA. I think the time for him to be the next Stone Cold has passed and he's just another guy on the roster with nothing really special about him.

Frankly I blame Hogan in his ilk. They dropped the ball with him and then decided he wasn't worth it as a top guy. Give him the chance. Hell he could reinvent himself and maybe a new character for him will be the one that puts him over.

Mr. Anderson is 36, If he isn't as big as Stone Cold now, I don't know when. TNA just isn't a big enough company to have one of their wrestlers be as big as him. They tried to make Mr. Anderson, their Stone Cold in 2010, and it was semi successful.

The thing is, at 36, Austin had done a lot more than Anderson for a different set of reasons. Remember Austin started in the late 80s being trained by Chris Adams in the AWA then got to WCW as Stunning Steve with the long hair and shinny Flair robes. Then cut his hair and became a tag team specialist. Then left for ECW and reinvented himself there. Then in the WWF he was the Ringmaster. Then he went for the Stone Cold moniker. Then he left Ted Dibiase, became a lone tough heel. Then turned face and the Stone Cold phenom was born. It was a long process with many different types of changes and characters until one caught on. Anderson was never allowed to make than much mistakes and times to change because he has not been in wrestling long enough. And I think TNA is the worst place to reinvent itself when you're already a star because they hire guys for their name. Anderson will always be the "big mic guy" there. With the WWE they bounce you off walls until you catch on. This happened with Jericho, Edge and many others.

I still think Anderson could be a star but it will happen in the WWE or never. I also think he would bring life in the place.