| May 14th, 07 •wwe.com article |
Pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes.
-Charles Macklin
This week, it’s safe to speculate that Mr. Kennedy had the worst week ever. In fact, the term “career suicide” might even be applicable. In losing the Money in the Bank contract to Edge, Kennedy went from being guaranteed the main event at WrestleMania 24 to sitting on the sidelines watching someone else bear the fruit of his labor.
The only questions one can really ask in this scenario are “what the hell happened?” and “where does Kennedy go from here?”
How must Kennedy feel about this week’s events? Losing the Money in the Bank contract isn’t just a small bump in the road; it’s a mountain. Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Anyone who starts out in this business dreams of making it to WWE, but just like the major leagues of any sport, only a small percentage do.
And just like the minor leagues of any sport, wrestling in the independents isn’t easy. Sometimes, you’ll perform in front of 50 people, making $20 a shot (or sometimes, even less). Mr. Kennedy knows that, because he did it for years, often performing in front of few and making very little for weeks or months at a time. Hell, it was only about 18 months ago that Kennedy was featured on Velocity every week, having to work his way up the ladder to the main event which was then still only a dream.
And finally, at WrestleMania, he broke the bank. That Money in the Bank contract is arguably better than being a No. 1 contender, because you can cash in at any time and use that stipulation when it is most advantageous.
Unfortunately, that dream is gone. So where does Kennedy go from here? Does he have to start at the bottom once again and work for another few years to get back to where he once was? Many fail to hit the end of that long hard road once, but can it be done twice?
Falls from grace are often swift and ugly; for instance, Lex Luger was in the one of the main events of WrestleMania X, challenging Yokozuna for the WWE Championship. One year later, however, Luger was in the opening match of WrestleMania XI. WrestleMania is the biggest event in the business, and on Monday morning, Kennedy was the only man guaranteed to even be there in Orlando next year. Now, there’s no guarantee he’ll be anywhere near the Citrus Bowl. Not only is that a blow to the ego, but to the wallet as well, because WrestleMania is the biggest payday of the year (even the loser’s share of the purse is substantial, as Gorilla Monsoon might say).
Ah, yes, ego. Is that the reason why Kennedy had the worst week ever? Look again at the quote at the top, and realize there is a fine line between pride and ego. Kennedy sure has both in abundance, and maybe that’s why he was goaded into possible career suicide. Not only did Kennedy know he was less than 100 percent on Monday, but he also knew that he won that contract fair and square, in a match Edge was IN no less. Would a man with a lesser ego have simply told Edge, a man who already knew what it was like to be Mr. Money in the Bank, to piss off and stand in line? Possibly, but Kennedy himself will tell you that he’s not a lesser man.
So where does Mr. Kennedy go from here? Well, he might not even know, but it appears he’s got some time to think about it as he rehabs his injury. And while he may have committed career suicide, he can at least take solace in the fact that everyone makes mistakes. After all, to err is human, but the true test of a man is how he learns from his mistakes.
Mr. Kennedy has plenty of time to think about the “mistake” he made on Monday night. Will he be able to recover and begin down the long road back to the top? Will he learn from what happened and use that knowledge to make him stronger? Or will May 7, 2007 go down as the day that Ken Kennedy committed career suicide?
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A 15 man over the top rope battle royal took place to determine the brand who would get the next two draft picks. Randy Orton [Raw] & Matt Hardy [Smackdown] were the Final two competitors. Hardy took Ortons offense and fired back with some of his own, but just as it looked that Raw was doomed Randy Orton took out Matt Hardy to gain the final two draft picks. The computer began to run through the superstars from Smack down & ECW and the first pick landed on Snitsky. Snitsky comes out on the ramp and poses. Snitsky walks to the back and the computer starts to rotate again this time landing on Mr. Kennedy. The fans cheer and Kennedy makes his way out onto the Ramp. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler put over Mr. Kennedy as a huge Draft pick. Ken stands on the ramp and does his signature pose mouthing out "This is MY Show", before smirking and walking to the back.
Ken Kennedy comes out and he has the Money in the Bank briefcase with him and the mic falls from the ceiling by the TitanTron. Kennedy says that last week he came out and made a bold statement. He wanted to remind everyone tonight because he is that type of guy. The official countdown is now at 328 days until Ken Kennedy cashes in his Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 24. That is 328 days until he cashes in the briefcase and 328 days until there will be a new champion and his name will be Mr. Kennedy. He tells the fans to wait for the second Kennedy.
