Mr. Kennedy…Kennedy, was on the fast track to being one of the top stars in the WWE. He had truly obnoxious attitude which was emphasized with great mic skills and an annoying yet hilarious catch phrase. He was also on the fast track to becoming one of my favorite wrestlers. However, a couple of major injuries and a dull face turn ruined his career and he was released by the WWE. He would sign with TNA, and just when it looked like he was going to tread water with his same WWE character, he stepped up his game and is now one of TNA’s top players.
On the surface, Mr. Anderson really isn’t a whole much more than Mr. Kennedy. He uses the same style on the mic, pretty much the same in-ring work, and the same drop down mic gimmick. But a few things seem different about his character. For starters, his attitude is jacked up 100%. In the WWE, he was your standard loud mouth heel, then turned into a watered down baby face. He came into TNA using the “I didn’t get my chance in WWE” deal, and he used it to push himself to the top. He has this huge chip on his shoulder, and he doesn’t want any help from anybody.
Also, he’s playing the role of a tweener beautifully. He’s doing more than just attacking Sting and RVD one minute, then attacking Immortal the next. He makes it so confusing as to whether or not you want to cheer him or boo him. There was a period for about 3 weeks when every time he was on camera, he was getting his ass kicked by someone new. Who doesn’t love seeing a loud mouth obnoxious a$$hole get what’s coming to him? You actually want to see him get beat up because he makes it look so good. At the same time, he gets cheered every time he walks to the ring.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbqSfD4ysT8&feature=related]
Anderson being stuck in the middle of the Sting/RVD/Immortal angle clawing for his own spot at the top is brilliant. Every week, Anderson seems like he’s getting screwed over by someone because there is so many people in the main event seen. Yet Anderson is compelling people to cheer for him and continues drawing fans to his cause.
Anderson is one of the very few bright spots in TNA right now. He has solid ring work plus a unique comedy style makes fans love him. At the same time, he is constantly a jerk, which also makes fans not totally on his side. This duel nature he’s created for himself keeps his character fresh, and is helping to keep a floundering TNA product interesting.
