By Shane McKinley, Torch specialist

"I just can't seem to get out this slump
If I could just get over this hump
But I need something
To pull me out of this dump
I took my bruises, took my lumps
Fell down and I got right back up
But I need that spark
To get psyched back up
In order for me
To pick that mic back up"

-"Beautiful" by Eminem

Mr. Kennedy is fired...fired. He apparently suffered an injury in that lame basketball gimmick match. And so the man who was on the shelf nursing an injury for nearly a year comes back during a Raw devoted mainly to Vince's desperate attempt for attention...and then gets injured. Again. That's wrestling for you.

It would be one thing if the Denver Debacle was just Vince being desperate for attention. We all knew stupidity was coming and knew that Mr. McMadman would do his patent penis references. We could handle it.

But now with the news that Mr. Kennedy has been released from WWE...suddenly that Denver Debacle Raw show is hands down the worst show for WWE fans this year. And yes, I'm putting the "Enos Show" ahead of the Raw where after just winning the Royal Rumble, Orton and his cronies let themselves get owned by Shane McMahon.

The Denver stupidity wasn't the worst thing in WWE programming (certainly there have been worse moments) but it was incredibly bad timing. At a time when the loyal WWE fan was sick and tired of the predictable, bloated, stale formula of WWE programming...the last thing they needed was joke matches, overkill of WWE propaganda, weak wrestling characters, and go-nowhere feuds. To me reaching out to the "casual fan" in this regard wasn't worth it.

It's quite telling that the flagship show of WWE is the flagship of mediocrity.

During his return, Kennedy cut a promo on Orton and said that he would become the next world champion. At first glance, no way does Kennedy have that much cred. But seeing how Orton is just wasting time with Batista in a do-nothing feud, an Orton-Kennedy feud could have filled time. I don't give that idea much of a chance now. Doesn't matter now. It isn't gonna happen. Was a mistake to have Kennedy claiming to be the next WWE champion...to have Kennedy injured and let go. Bad luck. Bad karma.




It's very risky to pump up an injury-prone guy and invest a lot of time into him, only to have it blow up in your face. Last year we were talking about the face push of Kennedy on Raw after the '08 draft. Then he got injured. Plugged his movie and made fun of MVP. Then came back...and then got fired.

Attention wrestling conspiracy theorists: Would be funny if the whole "Kennedy is fired" thing was manufactured. Funny in the way that it's sad. Not sure about the point of a fake news injury report, but WWE is grasping at straws nowadays.

WWE gave him a long leash and he came up short. Whether it was bad luck, the failure of WWE, or mainly the failure of Kennedy himself, that's up for debate.

It's a shame too. Probably my favorite Kennedy match was his first blood match with the Undertaker at Survivor Series. Enjoyed that he wasn't a complete WWE robot in his promos and matches.

Hearing a lot of talk of Mr. Kennedy heading down to TNA. I think it would be a good move. Raw is too concerned with pumping out Santino/Hornswoggle/Golddust/Vickie/Jesus Cena/Idiot Orton/Slug Dave/Poser MVP. If he shows up in TNA, there's yet another reason to check out the freshness of that loony Impact show.

(credit to 2.bp.blogspot.com for pic)

Email is mckinley.torch@gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt