FKA Mr. Kennedy Remembers Birth Of His WWE Character

Ken Anderson's 'Mr. Kennedy' character might have had potential to someday become a top name in WWE. But, despite his controversial exit from the promotion, 'Mr. Kennedy' was a memorable act, specifically because of the way he announced himself.

During an appearance on the "Ropes N Riffs Podcast," Anderson recalled being given an opportunity by Paul Heyman to announce himself in OVW. "Something clicked, and I hit my last name twice,e and when I came through the curtain, the boys were all like, 'We popped when you said your last name twice, man. Keep doing that,'" he recalled, noting that wrestlers are usually cynical, so when they react the way the locker room did, there's a massive chance it'll be over with the fans.

Anderson also explained how he was an announcer during high school and often hit the last name of his school's team twice, which he adopted in OVW. 

"I started doing it every week, five weeks later, [Tommy] Dreamer called me and said, 'Hey, they want to see you at TV this week for SmackDown. They want you to do your gimmick – they want you to do your whole introduction gimmick – they want to see it,'" he further recalled.

With an invite to the main roster, Ken Anderson was set to wrestle Funaki in a Dark match and do his intro, but he was meant to eat a Superkick from Funaki and get pinned. "I was in Gorilla Position, we were supposed to be up first, I'm doing pushups, we're getting ready, like we're five minutes away from this thing kicking off," he recounted.

"Dave Lagana comes walking around the corner, and he said, 'Hey, there's been a change,' and immediately I thought they cut my match! And he said: 'We have to come up with a Finisher for you because you're going over, you're going to win the match, this is now going to be a televised match, so you're not gonna go first, you're gonna be on like third or fourth,' and then he stuck his hand out and he said: 'Welcome aboard,'" Anderson added.

Looking back at the way he was brought into WWE, Anderson admits that the events leading up to the moment were crazy and all seemed to stem from saying his name twice during a promo, and five weeks later, he was on television.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "Ropes N Riffs Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.