Jump to content

Ken Anderson (wrestler)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SpeedyC1 (talk | contribs) at 20:47, 6 November 2007 (→‎Other Media). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ken Anderson United States
Born (1976-03-06) March 6, 1976 (age 48)[1]
Minneapolis, Minnesota[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Two Rivers Jack[3]
Ken Anderson
Mr. Anderson
Kamikaze Ken
Ken Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[4]
Billed weight247 lb (110 kg)[4]
Billed fromGreen Bay, Wisconsin[4]
Trained byEric Hammers[5]
Mike Mercury[5]
OVW staff
DebutSeptember 1999[5]

Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) better known by his ring name Mr. Kennedy, is an American professional wrestler currently performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand.

Career

After serving in the United States Army,[6] Anderson was trained by All-Star Championship Wrestling owners Eric Hammers & Mike Krause. He was invited to appear on WWE Jakked, WWE Velocity, and WWE Sunday Night Heat in a try-out basis as an independent jobber several times from 2001 to 2004. Anderson also made some appearances on TNA Xplosion and was initially approached for a contract at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling by Jeff Jarrett but communications broke down.[5] Anderson also competed in the 2002 and 2003 Ted Petty Invitational tournaments (the first one then known as the Sweet Science Sixteen tournament) but didn't come past the first round in either of them.[2] In February 2005, Anderson signed a developmental contract with WWE.[5]

World Wrestling Entertainment

2005

Upon signing with WWE, Anderson was sent to the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) farm league. After six months he was called up to work on Velocity. Before his first SmackDown! match, a victory over Funaki, he showed himself to be a cocky and arrogant wrestler with not only his mannerisms but by taking a microphone and performing his own ring announcement. He referred to himself as "Mr. Anderson" for this match. A few weeks later, to avoid comparisons with the more famous Anderson family, he changed his name to "Ken Kennedy", or "Mr. Kennedy" to himself.[5] This idea was initially suggested by Paul Heyman and was chosen as his name because it is Vince McMahon's middle name.[7]

Kennedy made his SmackDown! debut on August 25 2005, once again defeating Funaki.[8] Kennedy also created an ongoing "mini-feud" with SmackDown! ring announcer, Tony Chimel. The feud is based on Kennedy believing that Chimel's announcing is not done well enough or with sufficient respect, and thus he must either perform his own introductions or force Chimel to introduce him again. Kennedy's self-ring introductions before the match became one of his trademarks.[9] While working on Velocity and SmackDown!, he was also still working in OVW. Kennedy made his pay-per-view debut at SmackDown!'s No Mercy, defeating Hardcore Holly and injuring Holly's ribs during the match.[10]

Mr. Kennedy's trademark ring announcement.

On the November 11 edition of SmackDown!, Kennedy faced Eddie Guerrero for a spot on SmackDown's Survivor Series team. He lost the match when Guerrero tossed him a steel chair and played possum, a move which Guerrero had made famous. The groggy referee turned around and saw Guerrero on the ground with Kennedy holding the chair, and consequently disqualified Kennedy, awarding the place on Team SmackDown! to Guerrero. This was Kennedy's first loss. In retaliation, Kennedy struck Guerrero over the head with the chair after the match.[11] This ended up being Guerrero's final televised match, as he died on November 13 in his hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where a supershow taping of both RAW and SmackDown! was to be held. In interviews about the incident, Kennedy has stated that he considers this an "unfortunate honor".[7]

In December 2005, Kennedy participated in WWE's "overseas" tour. On the second day in Italy, Kennedy suffered a serious latissimus dorsi tear. He attempted to work through the injury, but was said to have been hurting so bad that he couldn’t even put his hand in his pocket to get his wallet at a restaurant. Seeing a doctor he was informed that he'd suffered a complete tear, compared to Batista's partial tear from earlier in the year. He was told that he would not be able to work through it, even with a somewhat lighter schedule, but would instead need surgery. The December 6 surgery was a success but Kennedy was still forced out of the ring for nearly six months while he rehabilitated the injury.[12]

2006

Though he couldn't wrestle, Kennedy still returned to SmackDown! on January 6 2006. This time, it was as a color commentator for a Cruiserweight Title match.[13] He continued to make appearances on SmackDown! and Velocity throughout January and February, making his ring announcement and commentating specific matches as a representative of The Network. He even made an appearance on the January 11 edition of Byte This! with Todd Grisham to maintain visibility.[14]

At the OVW tapings on May 10, Kennedy returned to in-ring action facing the OVW Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk, in a title match that Kennedy was unable to win.[10] Kennedy made his return to SmackDown! on June 9 with a victory over Scotty 2 Hotty after using the Kenton Bomb.[15]

Kennedy lost by pinfall, ending his streak of never being defeated by pin or submission, on the July 14 edition of SmackDown!, when he was rolled up by Matt Hardy.[16]

On the July 21 edition of SmackDown!, Batista put out an open challenge to replace his opponent Mark Henry, who had been injured, at The Great American Bash on July 23 for the Number 1 Contender spot.[17] Kennedy accepted the challenge and went on to win the match by disqualification. However, he suffered a severe injury during the match after being thrown headfirst into the steel steps, resulting in an exposed cranium laceration which required 20 stitches to close.[18] He then entered into a short feud with Batista, defeating him by count out in their second match, but losing via pinfall in the third.[10]

Kennedy also helped Shane and Vince McMahon in their feud with D-Generation X, appearing at both SummerSlam and the August 28 edition of RAW along with Finlay and William Regal from the SmackDown! and RAW rosters, to attack DX.[19][20]

On the September 1 edition of SmackDown!, Kennedy defeated Finlay and Bobby Lashley in a Triple Threat match to win the WWE United States Championship, his first title reign in WWE.[21] On the September 8 edition of SmackDown!, Kennedy announced that he wanted to move over to RAW, as SmackDown didn't interest him anymore because he had already defeated every top performer on the roster. This led to SmackDown! general manager Theodore Long making a match between Kennedy and The Undertaker (who Kennedy had never faced) to be held at No Mercy. Kennedy went on to win the match by disqualification.[22][23]

On the October 13 edition of SmackDown!, Kennedy, now with a win over The Undertaker in the books, again stated his desire to move to RAW. Again, Long put him against an opponent who he had never faced - this time Chris Benoit - with Kennedy's title on the line. Long said that, if Kennedy were to defeat Benoit, he would be given his release and be allowed to go to RAW. Kennedy lost the United States Championship to Benoit after a distraction from The Undertaker, who was standing in the entrance. Kennedy tapped out to the Crippler Crossface, marking his first submission loss.[24] Late in 2006, Kennedy joined forces with Montel Vontavious Porter in matches against the Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker and Kane) in various combinations. On the November 3 edition of SmackDown!, Kennedy and MVP lost to the Brothers of Destruction. They first got counted out, and Theodore Long restarted the match with no countouts. Then they disqualified themselves with a low blow by Kennedy, and Long restarted the match again with no countouts and no disqualifications.[25]

Kennedy and MVP continued to feud with the brothers, with MVP feuding with Kane while Kennedy challenged The Undertaker to a match at Survivor Series, which was later announced as a First blood match. Kennedy won that match after MVP turned on him and aimed for his head with a steel chair, but missed and hit The Undertaker instead, busting him open. After the match, the Undertaker viciously attacked Kennedy, forcing him to bleed.[26] The Undertaker finally got his revenge at Armageddon, when he defeated Kennedy in a Last Ride match.[27]

2007

After a brief hiatus, Kennedy returned to SmackDown! on January 5 2007 and defeated Chris Benoit in a "Beat the Clock" match, with the overall prize being a shot at Batista's World Heavyweight Championship at the upcoming Royal Rumble.[28] After he prevented the Undertaker from beating his time, Kennedy's time of 5:07 ended up being the fastest.[29] At the Royal Rumble, he had Batista pinned for a three count while the referee was out of position but ended up losing the match anyway, as well as a subsequent rematch.[30][31] From there, Kennedy began a short feud with ECW Champion Bobby Lashley, leading to a match at No Way Out which Kennedy won by disqualification, preventing him from becoming champion.[32] Kennedy challenged Lashley unsuccessfully on ECW and SmackDown! as well.[33][34]

Kennedy went on to earn himself a spot in the 2007 Money in the Bank ladder match by defeating Sabu in an Extreme Rules match.[35] At WrestleMania 23, Kennedy won the Money in the Bank ladder match, giving him the right to challenge any World Champion in WWE at any date up until WrestleMania 24. During the match, Kennedy was nearly thwarted from getting the briefcase by Finlay's on-screen close friend, Hornswoggle.[36] Kennedy announced on the April 30 edition of Raw that he would be cashing in his Money in the Bank championship opportunity at WrestleMania 24.[37] However, on the May 7 edition of RAW, Mr. Kennedy lost his Money in the Bank opportunity to Edge, losing mere moments after a blow to the head from a monitor before the match began.[38] Mr. Kennedy never got the chance to win the briefcase back, however, as Edge cashed the briefcase in to win the World Heavyweight Championship from the Undertaker on SmackDown! the next day.

Because of the injury Kennedy sustained at the hands of Edge, it was believed that his right triceps muscle tore off of the bone and he would be out for a minimum of 5-7 months. WWE.com reported that Mr. Kennedy was so distraught over another injury combined with losing his Money in the Bank shot that he would never wrestle again. WWE.com then reported that the injury was not as serious as once predicted; the triceps tendon did not tear off the bone but was, in fact, a massive hematoma.[39][40]

On the June 11 edition of RAW, Mr. Kennedy was drafted from SmackDown! to RAW as part of the WWE Draft. On the July 30 edition of RAW, Kennedy not only defeated Bobby Lashley, but seemingly injured him in the process. On August 20, Carlito hosted his interviewing segment, Carlito's Cabana, when Carlito challenged his special guest, Umaga for his Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. However, Mr. Kennedy came out and said he deserved a match with Umaga because he did what Umaga couldn't do, defeat Bobby Lashley and put him out of action. William Regal, RAW's General Manager, came out and and booked Kennedy vs. Carlito for later in the night, in which the winner would face Umaga at SummerSlam. After the match ended in a draw, Regal ordered that there would be a triple threat match at SummerSlam between the three men for the Intercontinental Championship; at the event, Umaga retained the title.[41]

On the September 10 edition of RAW, Mr. McMahon revealed that Kennedy had been (kayfabe) suspended for impersonating a McMahon. Originally, Mr. Kennedy was set to be Mr. McMahon's son (coinciding with RAW being in Green Bay, Wisconsin on that day); however, Mr. Kennedy was one of the 11 Superstars implicated in the steroid scandal[42] and therefore suspended for 30 days in accordance with WWE's Wellness Policy. The storyline was modified to use Hornswoggle, another Wisconsin native, instead.

Mr. Kennedy returned back on the October 1st edition of RAW after his suspension facing John Cena in a losing effort in the main event. During the match, Cena suffered an injury: a complete tear of his right pectoral tendon.

In wrestling

Kennedy's Green Bay Plunge.
  • Signature taunts
    • Methodically raises arm to receive microphone for speech.
    • Moving his hand to suggest an upcoming backhand slap.

Championships and accomplishments

  • Other titles
    • ACW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
    • ACW Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Mike Mercury
    • ACW Television Championship (1 time)[43]
    • MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • UPCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Big Daddy Loker
    • XICW Tag Team Championship (1 time)- with Joey Padgett

Other Media

He appeared in a feature film Fighting The Still Life, directed by Matt Burns, who wrestled under the name Sick Nick Mondo.[1]

On July 24 2007, Mr. Kennedy appeared on Tom Green Live in character.[44]

On November 5, 2007, he appeared on an episode of Family Feud with Batista,Candice Michelle, King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Layla, Maria, Michelle McCool, Ric Flair, and Jonathan Coachman.[45]

On August 15 2007, Mr. Kennedy appeared on Slime Across the UK & Ireland in character.[46]

On August 18 2007, Kennedy gave an interview to The Sun UK where he admitted to using steroids when he was on the independent wrestling scene, saying he quit the steroids because of the WWE Wellness Policy and that his job in WWE was worth more than an extra ten pounds of muscle mass.[47]

Twelve days later, on August 30 2007, Kennedy's statements were shown to be factually incorrect when he, along with nine other WWE superstars, were named in a Sports Illustrated article for being given illegal steroids not in compliance with the WWE Talent Wellness Program. Kennedy received anastrozole, somatropin, and testosterone between October 2006 and February 2007. Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Brian Adams were also discovered to have been given steroids prior to their death during this investigation, as well as former superstar Sylvain Grenier.[48][49]

Personal life

Anderson is the son of James Alan Holmes and Sheryl Anderson and has one sister, Jennifer Holmes. His father died at home on April 13 2006, after a two-year battle with cancer.[50]

Anderson is a graduate of Washington High School in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. During his time there, Anderson excelled at swimming and track & field.[2] He also announced school basketball games and did a radio assignment in his Mass Media class. When doing this, a friend suggested to Anderson to repeat the surnames again to make it funnier. That element would eventually be used again in his wrestling character when encouraged by Paul Heyman.[7][9]

Kennedy has a girlfriend named Shawn Trebnik.[51][52]

Before starting a wrestling career, Anderson worked at a nuclear plant as a security officer.[2] Anderson has also worked as a personal trainer.[9]

In his time off, Anderson enjoys playing video games and watching the show 24.[1] Anderson is also trained in Taekwondo and Eskrima.[2] --

It was noted during an appearance on WWE Byte This! that Kennedy came up with his Green Bay Plunge finisher when Ian Rotten told him to do something other than the Kenton Bomb (High angle senton bomb), because someone else was using it on the same show. He was working against Austin Aries who agreed to let Kennedy try the move on him.[14]

In the same show, he mentioned that his dream match would be to face Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was his inspiration to become re-interested in wrestling. His admiration for Austin extends to his wire-haired fox terrier, which he named Austin.[1].

He has a red and black designed signature tattoo on his upper back,[53] which he describes as "pretty painful" and took nearly eight hours to complete.[54] He also has a clown tattoo on his biceps[53], which he got at age 19 because he was voted class clown in high school and is always clowning around, but says it did not turn out the way he wanted it to and plans to get it replaced with another clown that more closely matches what he originally requested.[54]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Ken Kennedy facts". Ken-Kennedy.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mr. Kennedy profile". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  3. ^ "The Sun Online - Wrestling Podcast". thesun.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  4. ^ a b c "Mr. Kennedy profile". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Ken Kennedy interview". Ken-Kennedy.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  6. ^ Graham, Adam. "WWE's Mr. Kennedy: From bad to evil greatness". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  7. ^ a b c Pollock, John. "Ken Kennedy interview on injury, name, Guerrero and future". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  8. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 25, 2005". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  9. ^ a b c Varsallone, Jim. "Introducing WrestleMania's Mr. Kennedy . . . Ken-a-deeeeeeee". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  10. ^ a b c "Ken Kennedy profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  11. ^ "SmackDown! results - November 11, 2005". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  12. ^ "Kennedy sidelined six months". Ken-Kennedy.com (originally WWE.com). Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  13. ^ "SmackDown! results - January 6, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  14. ^ a b "Byte This - Ken Kennedy". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  15. ^ "SmackDown! results - June 9, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  16. ^ "SmackDown! results - July 14, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  17. ^ "SmackDown! results - July 21, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  18. ^ "The Great American Bash results - Batista/Kennedy match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  19. ^ "RAW results -August 28, 2005". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  20. ^ "SummerSlam results - DX/McMahons match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  21. ^ "SmackDown! results - September 1, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  22. ^ "SmackDown! results - September 8, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  23. ^ "No Mercy results - Kennedy/Undertaker match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  24. ^ "SmackDown! results - October 13, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  25. ^ "SmackDown! results - November 3, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  26. ^ "Survivor Series results - Kennedy/Undertaker match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  27. ^ "Armageddon results - Kennedy/Undertaker match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  28. ^ "SmackDown! results - January 5, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  29. ^ "SmackDown! results - January 12, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  30. ^ "Royal Rumble results - Batista/Kennedy match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  31. ^ "SmackDown! results - February 9, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  32. ^ "No Way Out results - Kennedy/Lashley match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  33. ^ "ECW results - February 20, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  34. ^ "SmackDown! results - March 2, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  35. ^ "ECW results - February 27, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  36. ^ "WrestleMania 23 results - Money in the Bank match". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  37. ^ "The Kennedy countdown is on". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
  38. ^ "RAW results - May 7, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  39. ^ Lennie DiFino. "Kennedy: Sidelined and silenced". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  40. ^ Zack Zeigler. "Speedy recovery for Kennedy?". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  41. ^ "SummerSlam 2007 Results". PWWEW.net. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  42. ^ Daniel Pena. "Confirmed Names of The Eleven WWE Suspensions". Lords Of Pain, via Dave Melzter's "Wrestling Observer Newsletter". Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  43. ^ Kennedy's Title History
  44. ^ "WWE Raw Superstar Mr. Kennedy Dropping In". The Channel Guide. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  45. ^ Medalis, Kara A. (October 30 2007). "Tune in to WWE week on 'Family Feud'". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ "Mr Kennedy on Nickelodeon (YouTube video)". Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  47. ^ "'WWE stopped my steroid use'". The Sun UK. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/08/30/wrestlers/
  49. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/31/AR2007083101961.html?hpid=moreheadlines
  50. ^ "Obituary for James Alan Holmes". WrestlingWire (originally from Herald Times Reporter). Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  51. ^ Joseph Tirella. "The Real Mr. Kennedy". WWE Magazine (September 2007 issue). Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  52. ^ "Picture of Ken & His Beautiful Girlfriend Shawn". Ken-Kennedy.com.
  53. ^ a b "Mr. Kennedy tattoo photos". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  54. ^ a b Zack Zeigler. "Mr. Kennedy clowns around". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Ken Anderson (wrestler).


Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ken_Anderson_(wrestler)&oldid=169676815"