OO Column: Online Onslaught by Rick Scaia (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWE, WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stacy Keibler, Divas, RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania

ONLINE ONSLAUGHT
Ken Kennedy: From Penthouse to Outhouse at Warp Factor 7
May 30, 2009

by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OOWrestling.com

Five days ago, Ken Kennedy made a surprise return on RAW, joining nine other top-line stars in a cheesy "Lakers vs. Nuggets" 5-on-5 tag match. Along the way, he re-introduced himself to fans and to Randy Orton with a promo that promised Kennedy would be in the WWE Title mix following the Extreme Rules PPV.

Today, Ken Kennedy has been fired by WWE, the announcement made last night on the company's website.

Though it is fair to say that many "smart" fans had their doubts about Kennedy's long term staying power in WWE, the timing of this move has to come as a major shock to anybody possessing a pulse. Kennedy's injury history is no secret, and he's been prone to making dipshit comments to the press during interviews, all of which work against him in the Court Of Meltzerites (and, presumably, with the WWE front office).

However, it sure as hell seemed like Kennedy returned to WWE on Monday with something of a clean slate, and a fresh push to the top of the card. This was no half-assed mid-card comeback, and contrary to some smark theorizing, Kennedy wasn't asked to "prove himself" by forming a tag team with Brian Kendrick... this was straight to the upper tier, where Kennedy was set to be a much-need breath of fresh air.

To have that new push cut off at the knees so abruptly is certainly grounds for confusion among fans, and also grounds for a fresh round of "conspiracy theories" regarding how Kennedy was always a designated whipping boy by the WWE Front Office, a goat to be blamed, almost in direct opposition to how Randy Orton has stood the test of time as their Golden Boy, never once having suffered a serious consequence of any of his real-life fucktardery.

In fact, the best Conspiracy Theory as of this writing brings the Goat and the Golden Boy into convergence, as some think there is evidence to indicate Orton may have used his "stroke" to get Kennedy fired following Monday's tag match.

What is true: Kennedy delivered a back-drop suplex to Orton during that match. Orton did not sell it at all, instead popping to his feet, shouting an expletive at Kennedy, and then tagging himself out of the match to sulk. The suplex was performed cleanly, it seemed, but did require Orton to land on his oft-injured right shoulder. None of this is in dispute, and you can feel free to review your own footage or youtube it at your liesure to confirm.

What is speculated: Orton's mid-match freak-out bubbled over to backstage, where he would have complained loudly and to anybody who'd listen about Kennedy not "protecting" his known injury adequately by just blindly going for that suplex. Threats may have been tossed out, promises to never work with Kennedy again made, and possibly (POSSIBLY) WWE just decided that Ken Kennedy -- already with baggage from injuries, drug suspensions, and idiot comments to the media -- was simply not worth the hassle if it meant putting Noted Anger Management Problem Child Randall Orton on tilt.

It's a fun theory, but please know that OO does not, as of yet, endorse its veracity. It's just one possibility that seems to fit the facts, especially given Orton's unprofessional mid-match breakdown (when he was more startled by an unexpected move than, you know?, genuinely wounded) and the likelihood that said anger would boil over to after the match.

Another (less sexy) theory is postulated by those who saw Kennedy holding his wrist/hand at the conclusion of the match. In this case, Kennedy's eleventeenth injury in the last 2 years would be sufficient grounds, all on its own, to cut bait.

Whatever the case, I'm left with little choice but to mark it down as a Bad Thing that Kennedy's been future endeavored. The timing alone is all kinds of ugly and counter-productive for WWE. But beyond that, there is the simple fact that Kennedy is one of VERY few WWE-developed stars of the past half-decade who actually has some kind of tangible "it" factor. The bland, forgettable cookie-cutter-ness of guys like Orton/Legacy and Masters and DJ Gabriel and countless others is not an accident: it's just WWE's way of leveling the playing field.... nobody may excel or attract attention to themselves, and the agents and writers will give you the material you are to perform. They WANT blank canvases, not interesting pre-formed personalities with unique skill-sets.

Kennedy was lucky enough to be in a group with the likes of Carlito and (so far) Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne who didn't have his "it" factor "trained out of him" by the WWE machine. He was a personal favorite of Paul Heyman's back during his OVW development (in fact, it was Heyman who suggested the name change to "Kennedy" as Heyman knew Vince McMahon would be a huge mark for his own middle name, and Heyman really wanted to see the then-named-Ken-Anderson succeed), and latched on almost instantly with fans upon debuting on the "Velocity" b-show. In his early days, he made another huge new fan, as Steve Austin has gone on record calling Kennedy the likeliest of the new crop of stars to get over huge.

But through it all, as he was actually possessing a personality and displaying charisma and having matches fans seemed to instinctively care about, Kennedy was laying the foundation to rub people the wrong way. He was one of the many steroid users on the roster, and when he quit using them, his body became more fragile. Making matters worse, he'd lie about his steroid use to the press, then get caught in his lie 2 weeks later, requiring a suspension to go with his injury hiatus (and also basically making WWE and their wellness policy look bad). WWE took a chance on him in early 2007, making him Mr. Money in the Bank, and shortly after that, Kennedy went on a string of two full years of being either injured or suspended, with few (if any) memorable on-screen performances in between.

That recent track record makes it a little bit more difficult to feel too terribly for Kennedy. There's some of this that falls under reeping what he sowed... but at the same time that you credit some of this monumentally sudden downfall to his own decisions and fragility and self-promotional tendencies, you still can't help but look at this outright firing and go "What the hell, WWE?".

If this were a company where character mattered for shit, and they had a staunch policy of not putting up with total morons on their roster, then fine: Kennedy can be fired for violating that one simple rule. But this is NOT that company. This is a company where some people are allowed to be the most ridiculous of cosmic jokes in their real life behavior (from Randy Orton's anger issues and drug use to Bob Holly's belief that beating the shit out of young guys in real life earns him the right to be a main eventer to JBL's beloved soap rapings) and never suffer the consequences on screen, but others are not (witness Kennedy's insta-firing or Carlito always being on the brink of being fired for the crime of knowing he's more talented than everybody else or the seeming hesitation WWE has to ever fully capitalize on Jeff Hardy's popularity due to his flakiness).

When rules are rewritten or ignored for the benefit of some, but aggressively enforced for others, THAT is when I get a little annoyed. Because if you're going to do that, you should at least have the sense to look the other way for the most talented and capable performers, in order to assure a solid bottom line and strong on-screen product. You know: like how most people gave Barry Bonds a free pass for so long, because, goddammit, he was good and he was a draw. If you're going to selectively enforce the Stupidity Rule, there should be a sliding scale of "ability" to go with it dictating just how stupid you're allowed to be before getting sanctioned.

In Kennedy's case, the simple fact is that he has more "it" factor and watchability than almost any other real-life-dipshit WWE has opted to protect. And if I can't watch my rasslin' and know that all the guys on my TV are swell fellas that are totally smart and with-it and would be fun to have a drink with, then goddamit, WWE should at least see fit to put the MOST ENTERTAINING of the douchebags out there on TV for me to enjoy.

Ken Kennedy may not seem like a guy who'd ever be a fast-friend of mine, but he sure made RAW and SD more fun to watch. Which is a lot more than you can say for certain other WWE Developed Robots.

As for Kennedy's future: all should keep in mind that WWE owns "Kennedy" and all his catchphrases/gimmicks (they were developed partly in OVW -- still on WWE's dime -- and partly upon being called upt o WWE). His "starting over" in a place like TNA would be on par with what the Dudleys had to do: new names, no "whassup," and so on and so forth. That may diminish his value, somewhat, especially if there is a perception that on the PHYSICAL side of things (where Kennedy is also more than capable), the guy is "fragile" and thus likely to depend more on his personality and hooks (which are owned by WWE).

Then again: if there is anything to the "conspiracy theory" side of things, then there's always a chance this could blow over and Kennedy could be back in WWE in six months. The company HAS shown the ability to un-do some of their most flamboyantly dumb firings (i.e. Cryme Tyme) after a few months and time for cooler heads to prevail. Perhaps that's what'll happen here: get away from the heat of the moment, and quietly bring Kennedy back to SD where he doesn't have to cross paths with Orton. We'll see.

Oh, and as a final tidbit to this update: Monday's RAW set yet another 2009-to-date record low in the ratings. A 3.2; not only does that speak to the stupidity of Vince's belief that a Death Feud against the NBA would spark viewership, it also means that in Orton's five weeks as champ, he is the owner of the four worst ratings of the year. And the one rating that spiked up to a 3.6 was probably all thanks to Ric Flair's surprise return.

Not good.

And since I truly believe Kennedy was a guy who -- just by virtue of being unique and fresh -- could have helped RAW out of its rut, his firing looks that much more like a rash and unwise decision. More on this story throughout the week here at OO.

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Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH. He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.