Kennedy commits career suicide

Kennedy commits career suicide

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?

Check out Kennedy's new Talk Loud t-shirt!

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