Ken Anderson, formerly known as Mr. Kennedy, looks back on his victory in the Money in the Bank match and how this triumph quickly turned sideways.
Kennedy won the contract at WrestleMania 23, but he lost it just over a month later to Edge, who went on to cash it in and win the World Heavyweight Championship.
During an interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, Anderson was asked about this twist of fate and whether it bothers him. He responded by stating that he can't change what happened, but in hindsight, it's "crazy" how the situation unfolded. Anderson also recalled how he was told that the plan was for him to win the world title before he got injured.
“It is what it is. I can’t change things that happened in the past. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. Hearing the whole story of how it played out, I felt something pop in my triceps. My arm swelled up, my arm turned black and blue. Hornswoggle drove me to the hospital that night. I went to the emergency room, they did an MRI, which I hate, I’m like claustrophobic. So I did the MRI, and then I’m waiting in my hotel room. Stephanie called me and said, ‘Ken, you tore your triceps off the bone.’ Now, they had already told me two or three days earlier that I was gonna be winning the title from Taker. They told me that, because Taker was hurt, too. He needed to have bicep surgery. So we need this title off of Taker. What we’re gonna do is we’re gonna have him in this cage match, he’s gonna barely squeak out alive, and somebody else is gonna come out, beat him up some more. Then you’re gonna cash in your Money in the Bank briefcase and you’re gonna be the new champion. So I went home and I slept on it a couple days. Then the next time I took a bump, boom, I feel something pop in my triceps. Anyway, go to the emergency room, get that MRI, Steph calls my phone and she says, ‘You tore your triceps off the bone. You’re gonna be out for eight or nine months. Unfortunately, we still need to get that title off of Taker," he said.
He then recalled how he lost the briefcase to Edge, but another medical evaluation revealed that he didn't tear his triceps. Instead, he simply had a few popped blood vessels, which only sidelined him for five weeks or so.
"So they sent Vince’s jet to come pick me up. I flew into Penn State, where Edge challenged me for my briefcase, and I remember I couldn’t do anything. My arm was completely immobilized, so I really couldn’t do much. I he came out and jumped me before the match, rolled me in the ring, rang the bell, ding ding ding, Spear, one, two , three. I give it to him and then the next day, I flew down to Birmingham, Alabama, and I’m sitting on Dr. Andrews’ table, and he’s just feeling my triceps and he was like, ‘That’s not a tear.’ I was like, excuse me? He goes, no, I don’t think that’s a tear. Let’s check it out again. I can’t find your MRI, so we’re gonna have to have you take another MRI, thankfully.’ But then yeah, they did another MRI, and for sure, it was just some blood vessels that had popped in my arm, so I was out five or six weeks," Kennedy said.
When Fall noted that the booking of defending the briefcase when he didn't need to do so make Kennedy look "strange", the latter agreed. He noted that he could have taken time off without losing the case because he would have had a year to cash it in.
“Totally, and looking back on it, I see that same thing. Even at the time, I was like, ah, this makes me look stupid. I have a year to cash this thing in, even if I was gone for nine months. I could take the time off, get well, and then come back. I remember thinking there’s gotta be a different way that you can get the title off of Taker. Like what if you didn’t have the Money in the Bank? You’d figure something out. But I don’t wanna argue. I wasn’t gonna be one of those guys that argued and complained, so I just felt this is what they’ve got, this is what they’ve come up with. So I did my job, and yeah. Hindsight, I probably should have fought a little harder for it," Anderson said.
Matt Hardy recently discussed canceled WWE World Heavyweight Championship feud with Mr. Kennedy. More information is available here.
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