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| Well, at least Smackdown has all those other stars to depend on right now. |
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| Kennedy sidelined six months By Evan Denbaum December 5, 2005 Outspoken newcomer Ken Kennedy took WWE by storm, beating the likes of Booker T and bullying “inferior” announcer Tony Chimel. Few Superstars caught on so quickly or were so immediately entertaining. His propensity for repeating himself … Kennedy … became an infectious catch phrase in a matter of weeks. All that was left for Mr. Kennedy was to make his mark in championship matches and star on the pay-per-view stage. But Kennedy’s fierce momentum came to a grinding halt during WWE’s overseas tour, as Kennedy tore the tendon clean off a bone in his back. With surgery imminent, WWE.com caught up with an unusually somber Kennedy to get his take on the situation. WWE.com: Can you give us the details on your injury? Mr. Kennedy: I separated the tendon from the bone in my lat. WWE.com: Did they give you an idea of how long you’ll be out? Mr. Kennedy: The doctor estimated that it will be three months before I can even start strengthening it or rehabbing it, and then an additional three months before I can set foot in the ring. So, six months. WWE.com: When did the injury originally happen? Mr. Kennedy: It happened the second night we were in Italy. I tore it and it just felt like a bruise. I thought I was just dinged up a little bit. I did things to try to protect the injury, but I kept wrestling. Then, the swelling started going down and the bruising went away. When I had my match against Matt Hardy in the UK, afterward I felt really sore and was bruised up again and swelled up again. I had a couple days off and didn’t do anything, and then I went home and put heat on it, stretched it out and massaged it. I wrestled Kid Kash last week in Cincinnati in a non-televised match, and afterward, I felt fine. But I went out to eat later on that night, and I couldn’t even put my hand into my pocket to take my wallet out to pay for my meal. It started to swell up and really starting hurting, and I knew something more than just a bruise had happened. I had already had an MRI, but it hadn’t been read yet. And the next day when I called Dr. Rios to tell him that I felt like something was wrong, he said, “Yeah, we just got the results back from your MRI, and you’ve got a tear.” So, he advised me to find a specialist here in Minneapolis and get an opinion from him. So, I did that. I went to get some X-rays, and when I came back, there were four doctors in the room, and I knew something was up. They had me do a bunch of stretches to figure out what kind of range of motion I had. They then said that I had torn the lat off the bone. It’s kind of similar to what Triple H did to his quad. I had torn it completely off the bone and the doctors said I needed surgery — that it couldn’t be rehabbed. WWE.com: Are you confident in the care you’re receiving? Mr. Kennedy: I’m in good hands. I’m being taken care of by one of the top doctors in the country. The University of Minnesota is a renowned medical facility, and I’m being taken care of by the doctor who works on players from the Minnesota Vikings. WWE.com: When will you have the surgery? Mr. Kennedy: I go into surgery tomorrow. They told me I could stay overnight, but I opted to be miserable at home where I can play video games and stuff like that. WWE.com: So, are you just going to take it easy after the surgery and keep a low profile? Mr. Kennedy: No. I’m going to stay in the gym. I’m going to make sure I make it to the gym every day — once I can actually start going. It might be a week or two before I can go to the gym. You know, I can do cardio, and I can do legs and I can work on the other side of my body. I just can’t do anything with my right side. But I’m going to try to get back as soon as I can. I don’t want to lose what I’ve gained. WWE.com: Is this frustrating for you, considering how much momentum you had before the injury? Mr. Kennedy: It is. I’m so bummed out right now. A lot of the guys have been calling me, though. WWE.com: Are you already thinking at all about what you might do upon your return to try to regain that momentum? Do you have any goals set? Mr. Kennedy: Well, I don’t want to wait six months before I come back. I think there are other things I can do to contribute to the show without actually being in the ring wrestling. But, hopefully now there will be some time to think about things. I want to make an impact when I come back. I don’t want to just take a little run to first base; I want to knock one out of the park and round the bases. WWE.com: On another note, what has it been like becoming more known and getting a lot of press in the local papers? Has that been fun for you? Mr. Kennedy: Yeah. To me, I never wanted all that, though. It hasn’t been about fame. I just really, really enjoy entertaining people. I always have, ever since I was a little kid when I would do impersonations of people. I’d watch movies and know them word for word after watching them one time, and I’d emulate what I saw in movies. As I got into high school, I started doing impersonations of all my teachers, which got me into a little bit of trouble sometimes. So, I’ve always liked entertaining people. So, I guess the best thing about receiving press and seeing those stories is that I then know that people are being entertained by what I’m doing. So, that’s I guess the best part about it. |
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| Kennedy undergoes successful surgery By Evan Denbaum December 7, 2005 On Tuesday, SmackDown Superstar Ken Kennedy underwent surgery to repair a tendon that was ripped clean off a bone in his back. WWE.com caught up with Kennedy convalescing at home to find out how he’s doing now. WWE.com: How did the surgery go, and how are you feeling now? Kennedy: I’m pretty achy, pretty sore. But the surgery went even better than they thought it would. The doctors said they got it really tight; the tendon re-attached perfectly to the bone, and they didn’t have to cut me open as much as they thought they’d have to cut me open. WWE.com: What restrictions will you have during the recovery period? Kennedy: I’m not allowed do to anything with my right hand for the next six weeks. So, that should be interesting. I’m not at all ambidextrous. I’m very right-handed, so I’ve been having a hard time doing anything. But I’m in a huge sling with a cuff that is attached to a cooler and it fills with cold water, so it’s pretty slick. My hand and wrist are Velcroed to my belly-button for the next six weeks. But I’m doing okay. I’m a little groggy still, obviously. I’m on pretty strong pain medication. Every once and a while it starts to wear off and I start to feel it, but what can you do? WWE.com: What will you do to pass the time? Kennedy: Well, I can’t play video games like I wanted to because I’m not allowed to use my right hand, so I’m a little bummed out about that. So, I’ve just been watching seasons 1-3 of The Shield on DVD. WWE.com: When will you be able to get an update on your condition? Kennedy: I have to go back in two weeks and see the surgeon again. But hopefully, they’ll tell me that since the surgery went so well that maybe my recovery time won’t be quite as long as they originally thought. WWE.com: Will you have to take any special precautions once you return to the ring? Your finishing maneuver, for example, would seem to put a lot of impact on the surgically repaired areas. Kennedy: Well, I won’t be able to do anything for six months, but once I’m ready to go back in the ring, I’ll be fully ready to go. I should be able to take a full swing at it. |