Mr. Anderson Reveals Nixed WrestleMania Plans For Him After Winning WWE Money In The Bank
Former WWE superstar Ken Anderson, f/k/a Mr. Kennedy, was a guest on last week's episode of the Wrestling Inc. Podcast. In it, Anderson discussed winning the Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 23 and the plans for him.
"Yeah, so we went to Detroit and we get there five or six days for Wrestlemania week," Anderson recalled. "And I think five days out, maybe four days out they have a room, a big room, with a couple rings and ladders and tables and all sorts of other stuff in there. Anything you could possibly think of that you need for a wrestling match. And crash pads and you go in there and you start working on your match. This is the only time of the year that happens, by the way.
"Normally matches are done on the day, or sometimes they're done in the ring as they're going on but WrestleMania they want to make sure everything is sweet so you go in there five days in advance and you start planning stuff out and you starting thinking about some really great false finishes," said Anderson.
While in town going through the match for WWE's biggest show of 2007, Anderson explained the creative plans changed in the days leading up to the show. This was the year WrestleMania was headlined by The Undertaker vs. Batista, John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels and Bobby Lashley w/Donald Trump vs. Umaga w/Mr. McMahon and Armando Alejandro Estrada in the "Battle of the Billionaires."
"I think we had been there about two or three days and I think Edge was going to win," said Anderson. "They were still talking about Edge winning and then three days out to the pay-per-view they switched it and went my way. And I knew it was possible that right before our music hit they could have said, 'No we're going to go with CM Punk.'"
Other participants in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 included Punk, Randy Orton, Finlay, Matt Hardy, King Booker, Jeff Hardy and Edge.
"I did know three days in advance but a fact in wrestling is that things can change on the fly and they often do," Anderson explained.
The plan after Anderson won the contract called for him to immediately set a "cash in" day, which was set to be WrestleMania XXIV in 2008.
"We decided that I was going to cash it in next year at WrestleMania," said Anderson. "I announced that I think the next night on RAW. Or maybe it was SmackDown that, 'Hey I'm already setting a date, I'm going to cash in at WrestleMania next year.'"
Anderson detailed how the plan changed when the World Heavyweight Champion at the time, The Undertaker, suffered an injury just a couple of months later.
"Taker got injured and he had the world title at the time. They were trying to figure out a way to get it off him," Anderson recalled. "You know, they called me in the office and said, 'Hey I know we were going to have you cash it in at WrestleMania next year but we need to get the title off of Taker so we're going to have you come out next week at SmackDown and you're going challenge him after he has the cage match with Mark Henry and blah, blah, blah, you're going to win the title.'"
The plan was changed again when it was believed Anderson tore his triceps off the bone just a few days later, an injury that turned out to be misdiagnosed.
"Three or four days later I was in a wrestling match with Batista and a bunch of other guys, like an eight-man tag, and Batista ? it wasn't Batista's fault or anything ? he gave me a clothesline and I felt something pop in my tricep," Anderson recalled. "And I ended up, my arm swelled up so bad I couldn't even bend my elbow."
"I ended up going to see a doctor, take an MRI in Erie, Pennsylvania, the next day Stephanie called me and said, 'Ken you tore your triceps off the bone, you're going to have to have surgery and you're going to be out for seven to eight months. But unfortunately we still have to get that title off of Taker so we're going to fly to Penn State, Edge is going to challenge you for the briefcase and he's going to go on to do what you were going to do.'"
WWE sent Anderson to see renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who examined him and did not believe his triceps was torn after palpating it. Andrews ordered another MRI to confirm his suspicion, which revealed a hematoma, just a bruise. Anderson explained it turned out to be a three-week injury or something like that.
You can listen to Wednesday's episode of the Wrestling Inc. Podcast embedded in the video above. Please be advised this was a wild R-rated version of the podcast and that some of the language used is NSFW. Archived episodes are available by clicking here.