In hindsight Mr. Kennedy was quite horrible

[mareek]

Every once in a while the WWE has a year where everything is straight golden and on point. It's like all the stars are aligned and they're just hitting all cylinders for a whole year straight. The last year this happened was 2011 which was a fantastic year for the WWE in terms of just pure entertaining the fans, but the year that always sticks out to me when I think of this is 2005.

In 2005 you had John Cena before he became JOHN CENA and he was still fresh and new. You had the rise of Batista who was just a physical beast that looked like he was going to become a mega star, in which he did. There was Edge, where he finally turned the corner and became BRILLIANT and was arguably the biggest heel in pro wrestling at the time. Christian was the best he's ever been in the WWE and in my opinion was the coolest bad guy since Hollywood Rock. You also had HBK, Orton, Angle, and a plethora of other superstars who were just on top of their game, and then you had Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy at the time looked like he was poised to be the hottest thing in a while. I used to be on forums where he was compared to as the next Austin or Rock and these comparisons at the time did not seem ridiculous at all. He oozed with charisma and everyone knew he'd be something big--then he left and nothing happened.

But looking back at that time Kennedy legit had nothing going for him besides his entrance. He was a very subpar wrestler, never really had any really good promos, and yeah he had a very charismatic presence but there was no substance behind it. All of this rings even more true when you look at what he's become today and realize he's FUCKING HORRIBLE!

 

[Ziirox]

I've held onto the same feeling for years. Mr. Kennedy/Anderson is quite possibly one of the most overrated performers in the last decade. Thank you! Since he's been in TNA, it's become more painfully obvious how sub-par he really is. He was never anything special in WWE either. Sure, his entrance was pretty great, but everything was very lackluster. Him winning the MITB briefcase was (to date) one of the worst booking decisions in WWE in the last decade. He just was not anything special. I'm glad he's floundering in TNA as a middle of the pack underling to a performer who is obviously better than him.

 

[Lord_Frish]

From around 2004 to about 2009 I didn't watch much wrestling, which did offer me a slightly different perspective on things during that time. The few times I did catch it, Mr Kennedy stood out. The problem was he stood out like the noisy person in the movie theatre, not like a huge star I could really get into or want to fail. Just that mildly annoying person that you knew you didn't have to put up with once that hour or two were over.

I think this shows in TNA where he can barely stay in the main event picture or at least feel like a believable threat in it. So many of the wrestlers just outshine him, even if they aren't as well rounded as Kennedy/Anderson. AJ Styles can do amazing things in the ring so his lacking promo skills are forgivable etc., but Anderson is just average or slightly above average at everything. I can't imagine him ever making a return to WWE now, and if he did I think he would be lucky to get a mid card title. I don't believe he deserves the main TNA title either to be honest. I think his best role is helping other talent advance to the TNA title, maybe holding a TNA mid card title, but I don't think he particularly needs that either.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Funny, I think bashing Anderson after his release from WWE is one of the main reasons why I joined this forum.

I would always laugh, when some people on here and Anderson himself suggested WWE never gave him a fair chance, because it's bullshit. Yeah, feuds and matches with The Undertaker, Cena, a WHC match with Batista at Royal Rumble 2007, a MITB briefcase win, AND before WWE released him, it was clear they were setting up a Mr. Anderson VS a WWE Champion Randy Orton feud. Anderson nearly re-injured a WWE Champion Randy Orton's shoulder with a bad suplex, and he was responsible for Cena's pec tear (although, WWE covered that up for storyline reasons with Orton causing the injury by RKOing Cena on the announce table). Anderson was sloppy in the ring, and things haven't improved too much in TNA.

Yeah, you could point tho the injury bug being a problem, but look at his tenure in TNA. They gave the guy TWO runs with the world championship as a heel and a face, and both runs flopped horribly.

I've seen a good amount of "what's wrong with Anderson?" threads on here over the past few years, and the simple answer is the guy is not that good. His mic skills are decent at best, and the only great match I remember Anderson having in TNA or WWE is his steel cage match with Kurt Angle at Lockdown 2010. Other than that, think of one Anderson match that was something to remember. You can't.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

Completly agree.

I've always had a feeling (Never read it online or anything, so if it's true please let me know) that Mr. Kennedy was bound to lose his MITB even if it wasn't due to injury. Especially after announcing he would cash it in at the following WrestleMania (24 if i'm correct)

I've always felt they'd realize Kennedy wasn't ready for the WWE title, and would have him drop the briefcase. Especially if he was going to cash in at WrestleMania.

He had his opportunities, he was just such a sloppy wrestler that the locker room refused to wrestle him due to fear of injury.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I felt like Mr. Kennedy was the shit maybe I was just caught in the hype but he always did well to me. There was one promo of his I really liked I think he was talking about Mr. McMahon I thought that was a good promo then his TNA promo where he imitated Triple H was good too. I never felt like he was too bad in the ring this is a risky business injuries are bound to happen but I felt like Randy Orton was acting like a little bitch and that is one of the main reasons while I hate him to this day. I think the main reason why he's seemed to have fallen off in TNA because he just doesn't care at this point he was poised to be the next big thing in WWE so screw TNA is what my opinion of what his opinion is. But if you notice he hasn't been injured in TNA in a long time.

 

[enviousdominous]

I honestly try to avoid criticising things I hate. I can have explanations on top of explanations to validate my opinion and be fully prepared to argue any point made to the contrary of my opinion. I learned my lesson when, as he was climbing the ranks, everyone had to have a John Cena sweat band. If it wasn't for Eminem and that stupid movie, John never would have happened. Just saying.

So now we're on Mr. Kennedy. I realize that it's very easy for me to say "I told you so" when I never really went public with the fact that I've always hated him. Sometimes I have to take a step back and realize that maybe I'm just not seeing what this guy has that's filling seats because my understanding of talent and foresight of potential are circumstantially limited. I'll now take my thoughts from back then into consideration.

Was he a good wrestler? He was passable. Honestly, he had a really stupid finisher. For some odd reason, he was being pushed to the stars by being granted (fluke) wins over former world champions. It all ended up just being a cheap setup for a United States Title match, but they were still some high profile wins. His finisher, in case some of you forgot or just didn't pay attention, was a rolling fireman carry from the top rope. Now, with finishers you have to believe that the opponent may have been so winded by the match that they had little option when stumbling into position for their opponent's finisher.

Take the powerbomb for example, you get kicked in the stomach and while doubled over in abdominal pain you suddenly realize that you're head is against your opponent's crotch. I find that pretty believable.

The Attitude Adjustment, or the Fuck You as it was when John Cena was still a pathetic Wanksta. You're stumbling in your fatigued stupor and John lifts you up onto his shoulders purely of his own strength. When it's executed without delay, you give your best "Oh shit!" face and you land rib first onto the mat. I can believe that.

Now then, the Greenbay Plunge as Mr. Kennedy called it. I have to say first, using the city "Greenbay" in your finisher just makes you look like an even bigger joke than saying your name twice in a failed attempt at dramatic effect. But anyway, the dreaded Greenbay Plunge. Have you ever had a complete brain dump? You ask yourself "What in the Hell did I just do? Oh for crying out loud, I feel like such a buffoon!". Mr. Kennedy wouldn't hoist you up and, in a feat of strength, climb to the top rope. That would be too believable. Mr. Kennedy would be on the top rope for whatever reason, he absolutely never initially intended to set up his Greenbay Plunge. Something would happen, maybe he lands on his crotch or maybe he's being setup for a super-plex. Mr. Kennedy and his opponent are on the top rope for whatever reason, again, absolutely never would it be so that Mr. Kennedy could conciously arrange for his Greenbay Plunge to be executed. Then a fluke would occur, Booker T or Rey would get distracted by something, and magically Mr. Kennedy's opponent would gravitate to his shoulders. This entire setup, in my opinion, is a fucking stupid set of occurrences to rely on if one intends to execute their finisher in every match. Before rolling forward, Mr. Kennedy would sing "LAAAAAAA!" in one of the worst baritones I've ever heard.

So his repitoire of moves sucks. He never had any interesting angles to his character either. I mean across the board, what he did in TNA is applicable as well. He went from a cheesy pretentious guy who loves old fashioned microphones, to the same thing in TNA, but this time he's ripping off Steve Austin. Not a lot of range on that one.

I'll say that his being fired from the WWE was bullshit. Randy used his bitch card and it was during an impromptu match that Vince whipped together because he was slighted by the owner of the Nuggets. Basically, not Ken Anderson's fault. Randy is still a whiner, and Vince is still having a train wreck of a mid-life crisis. I hate hate hated Ken Anderson, but I think he could have been great if he hadn't had to waste his talents in TNA.

 

[DarrenYoungsCleanAssFro]

IDK guys. As much as Mr Kennedy was over-rated he pales in comparison to this other guy that was in WWE around the same time. You guys might remember him. His name was Bobby Lashley. I swear as soon as this guy's music hit, I fell asleep. I damn near fell asleep typing his name!

The WWE couldn't stop shoving this guy down everyone's throat despite the lack of responses. They put the ECW title on him even though he was quite possibly the least "extreme" wrestler I had ever seen. I think it was because it was around the time that the WWE was trying to kiss ass to the military. I'm pretty sure Bobby Lashley is the basis for SUPER CENA or at least he is in John Cena's mind...

 

[Slash-LN]

I was caught up in the Kennedy hype when he came in. He was obnoxious and I thought it was funny. I never really rooted for him to be a world champion but I definitely thought he was well suited to be Intercontinental or United States champion as a singles wrestler or a tag champion with someone like MVP.
It did seem like the WWE definitely gave him a pretty good push and got behind him. And if the dirt sheets were accurate then he was slated to be revealed as Vince's "son" which probably would have led to a major push.
I can't say I miss him in WWE though and the whole "Asshole" thing in TNA felt like they were trying to be too edgy. My roommate at the time didn't really care for him in WWE because he felt like he was trying to hard to be like The Rock but wasn't on the same level with his mic skills.

 

[AJ1981]

To me Mr. Kennedy has been given every chance to succeed in wrestling but hasn't. In WWE they gave him shots a World titles, the MITB briefcase, would have been Vince's illegitimate son had he not got suspended and high level singles feuds with The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair & Batista. In TNA he's feuded with most of the top guys and had a World title run. Like others have said Kennedy/Anderson is only a basic in ring performer but had Rock level mic skills when he first started. I've always thought that due to his injuries and suspensions he seemed to lose interest and didn't seem to develop himself as a wrestler and developed an attitude that he was being held back. I get the impression that WWE management got frustrated with his lack of development and injuries/attitude and he didn't seem to undertstand why Randy Orton was so upset when he nailed him with a high back suplex when told not to because of Orton's shoulder problems that led to him being released from WWE. If Kennedy wants to know why he didn't get the opportunities he wanted he needs to look in the mirror

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Think that is a little harsh. Ken Kennedy was a good mid card wrestler. He had some compelling matches and he could demonstrate some charisma. He got injured just before he could cash in his MITB briefcase and that ruined his WWE career.

However, and I am limited on this, I do not think he was utilised properly in TNA. I hardly watch TNA Impact (even though it is on free tv in the UK) because the show is pathetic.

I once saw him running around shouting "i'm an asshole!" and it baffled me. Hard to explain how I felt about it... it's like when you socialise in a big group and there is that guy whose kinda cool; then he loses control of his drinking after a year or two and becomes a shell of who he was and is annoying and you lose respect for them.

I don't mean that to sound harsh but his character in TNA is dreadful.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Ken Kennedy was a good mid card wrestler.

As simple as that. Nothing wrong with a guy in the middle being given a shot at reaching the top, but many don't get there (Hello, Jack Swagger) and there's no shame in that.

Kennedy's early WWE days were pretty entertaining, although when I think of them, I get a vision of an old-time announcer's microphone dropping from the arena ceiling to the ring. That amused me more than anything he did after stepping through the ropes. ("Weighing in at 244 pounds......that's right, I gained a pound")

It was fun, it was unique.....and it was about all he had to offer. Again, he was a useful ring worker, but so are a lot of other people.

Really, I was surprised he didn't hit it bigger in TNA, although heaven knows they gave him every chance, as they tried to do with most WWE refugees.

As to him coming back to WWE? He can come.....or not. If he does, there won't be a Rob Van Dam type greeting awaiting Kennedy.

Ken Anderson is good; but not that good.

 

[akathelaw]

Stick a fork in him, he's done. Yes, the WWE hype machine trotted out the Kennedy character with a lot of bravado, and his unique comedy-infused entrance was a cool focal point for a while. My issues with Kennedy/Anderson have always been really simple:

1. He's small, and not ripped or toned. He looks like someone's tough baseball playing uncle, not a wrestler
2. His moveset in unimpressive, sloppy, and often dangerous looking
3. His mic work is a predictable, crass, egotistical guy act. I was tired of it a long time ago.

His WWE career is pretty laughable. The only guy to lose his case to someone else, followed by a string of injuries, a lame WWE movie role and a release after dropping Orton because he wasn't strong enough to lift him. His Youtube campaign to promote his TNA run was a great idea, and he came off funny and entertaining. In TNA he tried to get the "Asshole" gimmick over, but the only folks who liked it were the crucial crew. It was pretty funny to hear the crucial crew call themselves assholes in the crowd though. Being a TNA world champion did very little for his career, and with Impact's ratings in the NXT season 3 range, it's safe to say that he's not a main event guy. I'd argue that TNA has NO main eventers right now, because they can't draw in an audience larger than what they've pulled for the last few years. At this point Anderson should be in a tag team with an impressive young wrestler who needs amouthpiece. Either that, or Anderson should just become a manager. That way he can use his mic ability for some good, rather than attempting to be a main eventer and fail again.

 

[tears_of_rage]

I never got into him at all! I couldn't believe when he was in tna they actually thought he was such a big superstar. I always though he sucked!

 

[Spidey Revivey]

IDK guys. As much as Mr Kennedy was over-rated he pales in comparison to this other guy that was in WWE around the same time. You guys might remember him. His name was Bobby Lashley.

This. The difference being Anderson did get a good reaction from the crowd, whereas Lashley didn't get shit and you're lying to yourself if you think he did. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure by now everyone on here knows a little about Anderson's ring work and how he would really hurt his opponents. But to say he flat out sucked? I'm on the fence a bit.

Anderson had a unique gimmick that got the attention of the crowd the minute he threw his hand up in the air for his mic. He's not as great as some would make him out to be, but he wasn't the worst upper-mid card wrestler at the time.

I wouldn't even put him in the top 3

 

[CanadianDeviant]

Thumbs up to 2005.
Wrestlemania was awesome and Vengeance 2005 was one of the best PPV's I have ever purchased!
Kennedy had the tools to be very good, but just never improved

 

[NegativeFeedback]

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate, but I'm not going to full-on lie and say that Kennedy is a technical genius. He isn't. He's an average wrestler with an average move-set. But that's not what wrestling is all about. Hogan, Rock, Cena, Goldberg, Undertaker, Nash, etc. were all pretty bland in the ring, but they made up the difference by oozing personality. These guys weren't pushed because they were good between the ropes, it's because they were good on the mic, and eventually some of them were able to catch up on the technical side of things by working with other great wrestlers. Today, Undertaker, Cena and Rock have each had a couple of 5-star matches.

I always saw Mr. Kennedy as a similar type of superstar. He would ooze personality, but he was bland in the ring. He made it for that by having a great character, great entrance, mic skills, etc. Some parts of his character were hokey, and of it was up to Ken, he would have been even hokier, but WWE knew how to tune his character in just the right way for him to get over. I definitely saw Kennedy as one of WWE's future stars. Had things gotten differently, by 2011, I bet Ken would be putting on 4 star matches with Punk and Bryan. His ring skills would grow with time.

HOWEVER, the dude was injury prone as fuck. I feel sorry for him, because it might not be his fault that he was born with paper skin and glass bones, but it is what it is. Not only did he get injured all the time, he would also injure everyone around him. After his magnificent start, it became apparent that keeping him around was a risk. And after injuring Cena, there was no way they would allow him to injure Orton. It was time to let him go and I agree with the release.

I doubt he has a place back in WWE. Never say never, but I don't think it would be worth the time or effort to reintroduce Mr. Kennedy and then have him injure Punk, Bryan and Orton in some horrible freak accident involving a mistimed triple clothesline.

 

[The Phantom Rebel]

Im a big fan of mr. kenedy/anderson . and he got injured and couldn't cash in MITB had he not gotten injured he would have been world champion. He is leaps and bounds above ADR. he can put on fantastic matches just look at some of his matches with kurt angle . people that complain about MR. Anderson being horrible are probably the same people that think the sandman is the grates of all time.

 

[shalliin]

from AJ1981:
Like others have said Kennedy/Anderson is only a basic in ring performer but had Rock level mic skills when he first started.

I read this and snorted my milk out my nose. The first thing through my mind was: Has to be a joke, Kennedy's never been as good as Rock on the mic. And I've never thought Rock was as good as he's hyped to be anyway. But then I started thinking, and realised that in a way this is correct. He was as good at the start on the mic as Rock was when Rock first started as Flex Maivia. Problem is Rock got better and Kennedy stayed the same.

In ring and mic wise, he's always seemed to me to be more along the lines of a weird cross of Bob Holly and Billy Gunn pre dx. Gunn improved but was always the lesser mic talent of the Outlaws though he could deliver that one line better then any one else in the group.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I hope this isn't bad but I've decided to revisit this thread because I've just finished watching Ken Anderson's shoot interview and I'm pissed. Saying Mr. Kennedy sucked is assisine because the guy was a fucking star. Dare I say that him being fired is part of reason that WWE is in the shit hole it's in now. He was going to be the top guy and rightfully so he's not horrible in the ring by any stretch of the imagination as he's had no bad matches. He was phenomenal on the mic. In the interview he says he doesn't know how someone could injure someone else by taking their move and all in all this makes sense for a hip toss your gonna crouch down and flip over the Cena's arm Cena fucking it up would have to cause the injury. As far as Randy Orton I think he was worried because Kennedy was going to take his spot. If you watch the video he is not dropped on his head, his neck never even moves in a non regular way and he rolls and pops back up right after it. That was just another case of Randy Orton being a baby and screwing over other stars. Like the saying goes this is not ballet and accidents happen and he wasn't even hurt he was doing the old backstage politicking that he does so well. He did suffer some injuries and as he explains a few of them weren't his fault and the one that caused him to lose his MITB contract was a misdiagnosis and he says he regrets not offering an alternative solution to the problem. To wrap up, Mr. Kennedy was and still is in no way horrible he was a victim of circumstance and Randy Orton and quite frankly he should be the face of WWE at this moment and the fact that he isn't is in my opinion one of the reasons WWE is where it is today.

If you haven't seen his shoot interview you should check it out it's very interesting and insightful it's on daily motion.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

While I admit to getting a bit caught up in the Anderson hype when he first debuted in the WWE, it's painfully obvious now that he sucks.

His unique promo style was very funny and totally original and he did ooze star quality, the sort that makes you think "this guy is going to make it". He continued this momentum with big wins in singles matches, a WHC shot, the US title and the MITB briefcase, but he stupidly got himself suspended then suffered injuries and injured other wrestlers resulting in his release. He has a reason to be annoyed at his release, but he can't have any complaints about his WWE career other than that.

The truth is, he just isn't that good of a wrestler. His moveset is very limited, he never added any dimensions to his character and his finisher, while spectacular is one of the most ridiculous and obviously fake moves in the business. It's awful.

In TNA his weaknesses have been shown up even more, like a second rate version of his WWE character trying to be edgy by saying asshole on TV, and he just looks bored and uniterested every time he is on screen. He has become stale and incredibly dull, and his 2 TNA title runs have been total flops. There isn't a single memorable match in his career, and I do not see WWE ever being interested in bringing him back.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There were a lot of issues with Kennedy but first off let's look at the good. The mic skills were not A level but on their way and the entrance was unique and remains quite fun.

What did for him in the WWE wasn't his attitude or injury but that age old phenomenon of his peers watching their own backs. Guys like Cena and Orton were literally waiting for their opportunity to nail his coffin so to speak. When the injury happened and he was out, people in "high places" could say "he's unreliable, I've never had a day off injured".

But Vince clearly wanted him to succeed but he signed the death warrant for Kennedy's career by deciding he would be his "son". Look at it from KK's point of view, he had this great chance and he screwed it by getting his wellness violation. THEN he got hurt and when it's your first match back in months, you're nervous and working with guys who clearly don't want you around, you feel you have to prove yourself all over again and something went wrong - he got hurt again AND nearly injured Orton.

To this day I think Orton was wrong to speak out and "get him fired" but it was almost a self fulfilling prophecy. They put too much pressure on him to become this main event star, far quicker than he should have been. With a more patient build he could have easily been where Orton is today.

It's a cautionary tale WWE didn't learn from cos they are constantly making the same mistakes - taking a talent, pushing them hard, then singling out their flaws and de-pushing them making them seem under more pressure. It's happened to Barrett, Bryan, Ziggler, ADR and now seemingly the Shield and is why they can't "create new stars"...

Guys like Rock, Austin, Angle, Edge took time or unique events to get over. Bret was in the company 8 years before his title win and push, Shawn near the same. It's not realistic to make talents in such a short space of time the "plan" or "method". Someone like Kennedy needed the time and space that Edge got, and had he done so he'd be a major player.

 

[Toothlessagression1980]

this thread is old but fuck it!! I agree 100 percent. And Kennedy wasn’t even supposed to win money in the bank, nor be in the match, flair stated in a shoot interview that he was supposed to wrestle kennedy at wrestlemania 23. So that brings the question who would have won money in the bank? My guess is either punk or hardy. I think hardy should have won it regardless he was getting over as Hell in 2007.

 

[The Reality]

Every once in a while the WWE has a year where everything is straight golden and on point. It's like all the stars are aligned and they're just hitting all cylinders for a whole year straight. The last year this happened was 2011 which was a fantastic year for the WWE in terms of just pure entertaining the fans, but the year that always sticks out to me when I think of this is 2005.

In 2005 you had John Cena before he became JOHN CENA and he was still fresh and new. You had the rise of Batista who was just a physical beast that looked like he was going to become a mega star, in which he did. There was Edge, where he finally turned the corner and became BRILLIANT and was arguably the biggest heel in pro wrestling at the time. Christian was the best he's ever been in the WWE and in my opinion was the coolest bad guy since Hollywood Rock. You also had HBK, Orton, Angle, and a plethora of other superstars who were just on top of their game, and then you had Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy at the time looked like he was poised to be the hottest thing in a while. I used to be on forums where he was compared to as the next Austin or Rock and these comparisons at the time did not seem ridiculous at all. He oozed with charisma and everyone knew he'd be something big--then he left and nothing happened.

But looking back at that time Kennedy legit had nothing going for him besides his entrance. He was a very subpar wrestler, never really had any really good promos, and yeah he had a very charismatic presence but there was no substance behind it. All of this rings even more true when you look at what he's become today and realize he's FUCKING HORRIBLE!

Um what? 2011 was a shitty year outside of the Summer of Punk. 2016 and 2018 on SD were easily just as good and 2018 SD was the last “golden year”.

Cena wasn’t fresh or new in 2005, the fans started turning on him in droves. Christian was certainly not cool in any way and Orton had a poor year.

Kennedy had good moves and charisma. Bad luck is what caused him to fail.

 

[Greg4WWE]

He was alright in TNA, but i never understood his facial expressions. Made him look mental.