LionDen
03-22-2007, 05:55 PM
Today's Detroit News interview is with Ken Kennedy. He talked about how Steve Austin was his main influence for getting into the business, as well as a lot of other topics. Original article can be found by clicking here (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/ENT0101/703220388/1032/ENT).
lol I bet these comments make Stone Cold feel old.
For members convenience, I have posted the article below:
WWE's Mr. Kennedy: From bad to evil greatness
Adam Graham / The Detroit News
On TV, Mr. Kennedy is a brash, arrogant, no-nonsense kind of guy. In real life, Ken Anderson isn't much different.
"When I first got into this business, I heard the best characters are those who are people's actual personalities, just with the volume turned up," says Kennedy. "That's me."
Kennedy makes his WrestleMania debut April 1 when he competes alongside seven others in the "Money in the Bank" ladder match, with a title shot on the line.
Here's what Kennedy said by phone earlier this week about the match, his upbringing and how a bad break-up helped shape his in-ring character.
How did you get your start in pro wrestling? I was a fan when I was a kid, then I kind of grew away from it for a number of different reasons. One was: I got in a lot of trouble, and my parents told me I couldn't watch wrestling anymore.
They took away your wrestling privileges? They tried everything when I was a kid. I had a pretty hard upbringing in terms of things like that. I had very strict parents. My dad was always a perfectionist. I had to clean my room every Sunday, and he would come down and literally he would pull the books off the shelf and wipe (for dust). He would come down there, pick up the edge of a book and see a little dust mark or whatever, and he would trash everything in the room and say start all over again. It was kind of funny, when I got into the military later on, when I got to basic training, all the people were freaking out because the drill sergeants were doing similar things, but I was used to it by then. At that point, I was really thankful he had treated me like that growing up.
Back to wrestling: It was about 1996 or 1997, and I was at a friend's house, and he kind of forced me into watching wrestling. I remember seeing "Stone Cold" Steve Austin coming out and driving a pickup truck; he had a six-pack of beer in his hand, and he was flipping the camera guy off and beating people up, and I remember thinking this guy was awesome. Because I come from a small, redneck community of about 12,000 people, everybody was pretty much a blue-collar employee, and I can really relate to wanting to beat up my boss because I had several bosses who I would really like to go back in time and beat them up. So I started watching because of Steve and got sucked into everything else. Finally, somebody along the way said you should look into this.
Have you ever told Austin he's the reason you got into the business? Yeah. This was at the "Raw" homecoming, when "Raw" switched (networks) back from Spike to USA. Stone Cold was there. I remember I pulled him off to the side, I said to him, "Hey man, I know a lot of people probably come up to you and say this to you, but you're the reason I'm in this business. Thank you for inspiring me and continuing to inspire me." And he was just like, "Aww hell kid, I'm just a guy from Texas, I'm just an average Joe" but over last couple months he's actually become sort of a mentor to me. I got a call from him one day, and he wanted to tell me he liked one of my matches with Batista, and wanted to tell me what I could have done to make the match better. I get to pick his brain all the time now.
What do you like more, being a heel (bad guy) or being a face (good guy)? I like being a heel. Heels have more fun. I get to do and say all the stuff people want to do and say. When I go out in the ring and I get to portray this character, I'm getting to do and say all the things that a lot of people would like to say, but they have a filter on so they can't. I get paid to speak my mind.
What is the secret of being a good heel (bad guy)? For me, it's just reaching back into my memory bank and bringing up memories of all those people I went to school with and I couldn't stand, or people in the news I couldn't stand. Interesting story about when I first got started doing promos (interviews): I remember thinking, "I don't know who I am or what my character is in this business." I ended up breaking up with this girl who I'd been dating for awhile. I found out that (a friend) was going over there and spending some extra-quality time (with her). I remember calling this guy. I was at a friend's house -- two of my buddies were sitting there. I talked to this guy, and I cut a promo on him for 30 minutes straight, and these guys were just rolling around on the floor laughing. I remember getting off the phone, and they, between breaths, said, "Whenever you think about cutting a promo, if you're wondering who Ken Anderson is, just remember this time, think back to this. Because that's who you should be when you're speaking in front of a camera."
How do you feel about the "Money in the Bank" ladder match you're competing in at WrestleMania 23? First and foremost, I'd like to say it's been a dream of mine to compete in WrestleMania. I'm pretty sure everybody says the same damn thing, but I'm going to say it because it's true. To be at Ford Field in front of 70,000-plus and in front of a global audience of millions and millions, and to then wrestle for a chance to get a heavyweight title shot with these seven other phenomenal competitors, it's just awesome. I couldn't ask for more my first WrestleMania.
You've been involved with ladder matches on the independent circuit. Is there anything you miss about the indy circuit? No, not really. To be honest, I always have to scratch my head when these guys that work on the independents, independent "names," so to speak, get offered jobs by the WWE but refuse to come work for WWE because they don't want to get lost in the shuffle. These people are like big fish in a small pond, and they feel that if they come up here, they'll be a small fish in a big pond. And to me, that's just crazy. Living out of your car, trying to figure out where you're gonna scrape up enough money together to get gas for the next town, to buy food so you can have gas in your physical tank to perform, to work out at the gym, coming up with money to buy supplements and gym memberships, scrounging and scraping? I'm glad that I did it because it made me who I am today, but I definitely won't want to go back to it. I just really have to scratch my head when I hear people that just want to continue doing that because they're happy getting pops from 400 people. They're happy being the top dog in the company in front of 400 people every week. It's the same people who will complain, "Oh, I never got my break, I never got my opportunity," and whine whine whine. They'll be not wrestling, and then they'll have to work until they're 65 or 70. There's nothing wrong with working until you're 65 or 70, it's just not what I want to do.
What would you like to see happen in the Trump/McMahon match? I'd like to see them both get their head shaved.
After all the grief they gave you when you were younger, how's your relationship with your parents now? We ended up being great. I lost my father almost a year ago; he had cancer. But it was one of those deals where he got to see me have my first match in the WWE. He got to see me, to some degree, fulfill my dream. He got to witness his granddaughter being born -- I have a niece -- he got to see that stuff before he went, and hopefully, he's up there looking down on me now. My mother continues to be a huge supporter of me. I actually brought her on our European tour. The guys still ask me every week, "How's your mom doing?"
lol I bet these comments make Stone Cold feel old.
For members convenience, I have posted the article below:
WWE's Mr. Kennedy: From bad to evil greatness
Adam Graham / The Detroit News
On TV, Mr. Kennedy is a brash, arrogant, no-nonsense kind of guy. In real life, Ken Anderson isn't much different.
"When I first got into this business, I heard the best characters are those who are people's actual personalities, just with the volume turned up," says Kennedy. "That's me."
Kennedy makes his WrestleMania debut April 1 when he competes alongside seven others in the "Money in the Bank" ladder match, with a title shot on the line.
Here's what Kennedy said by phone earlier this week about the match, his upbringing and how a bad break-up helped shape his in-ring character.
How did you get your start in pro wrestling? I was a fan when I was a kid, then I kind of grew away from it for a number of different reasons. One was: I got in a lot of trouble, and my parents told me I couldn't watch wrestling anymore.
They took away your wrestling privileges? They tried everything when I was a kid. I had a pretty hard upbringing in terms of things like that. I had very strict parents. My dad was always a perfectionist. I had to clean my room every Sunday, and he would come down and literally he would pull the books off the shelf and wipe (for dust). He would come down there, pick up the edge of a book and see a little dust mark or whatever, and he would trash everything in the room and say start all over again. It was kind of funny, when I got into the military later on, when I got to basic training, all the people were freaking out because the drill sergeants were doing similar things, but I was used to it by then. At that point, I was really thankful he had treated me like that growing up.
Back to wrestling: It was about 1996 or 1997, and I was at a friend's house, and he kind of forced me into watching wrestling. I remember seeing "Stone Cold" Steve Austin coming out and driving a pickup truck; he had a six-pack of beer in his hand, and he was flipping the camera guy off and beating people up, and I remember thinking this guy was awesome. Because I come from a small, redneck community of about 12,000 people, everybody was pretty much a blue-collar employee, and I can really relate to wanting to beat up my boss because I had several bosses who I would really like to go back in time and beat them up. So I started watching because of Steve and got sucked into everything else. Finally, somebody along the way said you should look into this.
Have you ever told Austin he's the reason you got into the business? Yeah. This was at the "Raw" homecoming, when "Raw" switched (networks) back from Spike to USA. Stone Cold was there. I remember I pulled him off to the side, I said to him, "Hey man, I know a lot of people probably come up to you and say this to you, but you're the reason I'm in this business. Thank you for inspiring me and continuing to inspire me." And he was just like, "Aww hell kid, I'm just a guy from Texas, I'm just an average Joe" but over last couple months he's actually become sort of a mentor to me. I got a call from him one day, and he wanted to tell me he liked one of my matches with Batista, and wanted to tell me what I could have done to make the match better. I get to pick his brain all the time now.
What do you like more, being a heel (bad guy) or being a face (good guy)? I like being a heel. Heels have more fun. I get to do and say all the stuff people want to do and say. When I go out in the ring and I get to portray this character, I'm getting to do and say all the things that a lot of people would like to say, but they have a filter on so they can't. I get paid to speak my mind.
What is the secret of being a good heel (bad guy)? For me, it's just reaching back into my memory bank and bringing up memories of all those people I went to school with and I couldn't stand, or people in the news I couldn't stand. Interesting story about when I first got started doing promos (interviews): I remember thinking, "I don't know who I am or what my character is in this business." I ended up breaking up with this girl who I'd been dating for awhile. I found out that (a friend) was going over there and spending some extra-quality time (with her). I remember calling this guy. I was at a friend's house -- two of my buddies were sitting there. I talked to this guy, and I cut a promo on him for 30 minutes straight, and these guys were just rolling around on the floor laughing. I remember getting off the phone, and they, between breaths, said, "Whenever you think about cutting a promo, if you're wondering who Ken Anderson is, just remember this time, think back to this. Because that's who you should be when you're speaking in front of a camera."
How do you feel about the "Money in the Bank" ladder match you're competing in at WrestleMania 23? First and foremost, I'd like to say it's been a dream of mine to compete in WrestleMania. I'm pretty sure everybody says the same damn thing, but I'm going to say it because it's true. To be at Ford Field in front of 70,000-plus and in front of a global audience of millions and millions, and to then wrestle for a chance to get a heavyweight title shot with these seven other phenomenal competitors, it's just awesome. I couldn't ask for more my first WrestleMania.
You've been involved with ladder matches on the independent circuit. Is there anything you miss about the indy circuit? No, not really. To be honest, I always have to scratch my head when these guys that work on the independents, independent "names," so to speak, get offered jobs by the WWE but refuse to come work for WWE because they don't want to get lost in the shuffle. These people are like big fish in a small pond, and they feel that if they come up here, they'll be a small fish in a big pond. And to me, that's just crazy. Living out of your car, trying to figure out where you're gonna scrape up enough money together to get gas for the next town, to buy food so you can have gas in your physical tank to perform, to work out at the gym, coming up with money to buy supplements and gym memberships, scrounging and scraping? I'm glad that I did it because it made me who I am today, but I definitely won't want to go back to it. I just really have to scratch my head when I hear people that just want to continue doing that because they're happy getting pops from 400 people. They're happy being the top dog in the company in front of 400 people every week. It's the same people who will complain, "Oh, I never got my break, I never got my opportunity," and whine whine whine. They'll be not wrestling, and then they'll have to work until they're 65 or 70. There's nothing wrong with working until you're 65 or 70, it's just not what I want to do.
What would you like to see happen in the Trump/McMahon match? I'd like to see them both get their head shaved.
After all the grief they gave you when you were younger, how's your relationship with your parents now? We ended up being great. I lost my father almost a year ago; he had cancer. But it was one of those deals where he got to see me have my first match in the WWE. He got to see me, to some degree, fulfill my dream. He got to witness his granddaughter being born -- I have a niece -- he got to see that stuff before he went, and hopefully, he's up there looking down on me now. My mother continues to be a huge supporter of me. I actually brought her on our European tour. The guys still ask me every week, "How's your mom doing?"