Raw Thread For December 17th

[Atticus Chaos 0]

I think you're right about him being insecure, why else would he feel the need to come out and defend WWE against steroid allegations? I know Chavo and some others did it as well, but he was by far the most passionate and vocal about it. Back in July his position in the company was secure anyway, he didn't need brownie points with Vince.

 

I thought this was an interesting tidbit by Alvarez...

 

The feeling on Kennedy internally is that this is a sink or swim opportunity for him, and that if he doesn't rise to the occasion in the feud with HBK he'll be relegated to mid-card purgatory for the foreseeable future. We've mentioned many times that if you can't improve in the ring working a feud with Shawn Michaels, how can the company possibly invest in you?

 

According to one person who has also followed his career since the beginning, it appears -- and this should come as no surprise -- that it is a pattern of inconsistency; periods where he does well and then periods where he crashes and burns. Earlier this year he was scheduled to become World Champion, but then he suffered a triceps injury. He returned and didn't look good and the opportunity disappeared, and I can't see him getting the belt any time in the near future.

 

Then he was supposed to become Vince's illegitimate son, which would have been a career-making gimmick, and blew it by volunteering to go on national TV to talk about steroids, lied, and then get busted for it. He used to be very close to Austin, but Austin in a recent interview said that right now he was listening to too many people. According to another source, he's listening to anyone and everyone for advice, including people who have no clue about what he should be doing in-ring like writer David Lagana. He is said to have little confidence in his own instincts as a performer, which is pretty clear when you watch his matches. Every match it's like he tries to be someone else, largely because every match he's trying something different that someone else told him.

 

 

Shawn is unlikely to give him his seal of approval, but his match at Armageddon was fine. Maybe sending him over to ECW might be a good idea, it'll give him some time to help gain his confidence and find himself as a wrestler. For whatever reason he can't do that on Raw.

[haws bah gawd 0]

As Exslade ZX said, that's one thing about Kennedy that I always have and always will defend. He always tries to fight out of a move, or block something, or try to sidestep something else. He might work very stiff, and sloppy, but he can make things look more real. A match he had with Lashley comes to mind. Lashley was using the Shock Treatment as a signature move, and he would usually put the opponent on his shoulders, pose for the crowd, then drop. Kennedy though was punching and squirming all the time trying to escape, and he made Lashley earn that move. Other wrestlers also stand there and wait for Jeff Hardy to run up the corner and hit the Whisper in the Wind. Unless Kennedy doesn't see it coming, he'll sidestep it. Where the other guy would stand there, wait for Jeff to climb the corner, then get hit like a Deer in headlights. Kennedy also has blocked the Chin Music. How many other wrestlers have actually blocked it, rather than duck, or just get hit?

 

However as he also pointed out, if his "fighting back" leads to a botch, then in the end it really isn't worth it, because you're making the other guy look bad. Still though, I enjoy his mic work, and his constant changing of finishers. At least it adds something fresh. But the guy is coming close to a tie with Jericho as far as how many different finishers he's used:

 

Middle Rope Green Bay Plunge

Standing Green Bay Plunge

Kenton Bomb

Flatliner

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The Flatliner seems to be becoming the new Stunner/Diamond Cutter in terms of how many guys rip it off.