Wrestling doesn’t often imitate real sports.
But sometimes it does.
Mr. Kennedy was fired by WWE when he suffered a wrist injury in his first match back after missing nine months with a dislocated shoulder. He’d previously missed significant time with a triceps problem. Kennedy also put Randy Orton at risk with an awkward back suplex, a move that led to Orton chewing out Kennedy backstage.
If Kennedy feels hard done by, he should. He was.
But there’s an old saying in sports: “You can’t help the club in the tub.” Injuries usually aren’t an athlete’s fault. They just happen. But when injuries pile up, the athlete’s employer rightly starts thinking, “Well…it’s not my fault, either.” And the athlete gets released.
Kennedy didn’t do himself any favors when he boasted in an interview that he’d been steroid-free since 2005 only to have an article in Sports Illustrated reveal that he had received illegal steroids between October 2006 and February 2007.
WWE doesn’t care if you take steroids, talk about steroids, or lie about steroids – just don’t get caught. It’s like Major League Baseball.
I don’t feel even a little bit bad for Kennedy. This is the business he’s chosen. Orton matters more than him. If Orton did, as rumored, successfully lobby to have Kennedy fired, keep in mind Kobe Bryant once got Shaquille O’Neal traded. There’s always a pecking order.
I’m not sure about Kennedy’s potential. He’s a good interview, and the KENNEDY! shtick is priceless. But he’s a clumsy worker, and his look is average. Witness that weak jawline.
You can tell WWE has doubts about Kennedy’s potential. Reverse what happened during the Kennedy-Orton match. Say Orton gets hurt – again – and puts Kennedy at risk. Does Orton gets fired?
Hell, no. Orton is a proven commodity. He could accidentally impale an opponent on a samurai sword but unless it was Triple H, it wouldn’t matter. Orton has earned the company money, which has earned him benefit of the doubt. Kennedy has earned neither.
Where does Kennedy go from here? TNA, of course.
But here’s the problem: He can’t call himself Kennedy. Which means he can’t yell KENNEDY! If he can’t do that, why would TNA want him? That’s his whole persona. Remember what happened when Sandman became Hardcore Hak and couldn’t enter the ring to Metallica or drink beer en route. There was nothing left. He disappeared.
But don’t worry. I’m sure TNA will come up with something for him. He can be Kute Ken and feud with the lame ass, Billy Gunn.
