Ken Anderson, the wrestler known best as Mr. Kennedy, started his career in 1999, wrestling in Midwest promotions, and in the developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling before making his official WWE debut in 2005. From there, he seemed destined to be WWE’s top heel, thanks to a supremely obnoxious entrance where he would function as his own ring announcer, but such success was not meant to be.
After leaving WWE, Kennedy would find further success as Mr. Anderson in TNA (now known as Impact Wrestling), where he stuck around for six years. Across both stints in the majors, Kennedy/Anderson has gone through a few incarnations, so let’s take a look at them, starting with the worst version of Mr. Kennedy.
7 Mr. Money in the Bank
Mr. Kennedy’s WWE run could be divided into two distinct eras: pre-Money in the Bank and post-Money in the Bank. In 2007, Kennedy was being set up to become WWE’s top heel, not only winning Money in the Bank but also being identified as Vince McMahon’s (kayfabe) illegitimate son. As soon as Kennedy won the MITB briefcase at WrestleMania 23, he proclaimed his intention of cashing it in at WrestleMania 24, but lost the briefcase to Edge a month after winning it.
It was all downhill from there, as he racked up a number of injuries, got dropped from the “illegitimate son” storyline in favor of Hornswoggle, got suspended, and lost to John Cena, Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels. He even turned babyface at some point. Mr. Kennedy’s release happened days after returning from injury, but at least he got to star in the direct-to-video Behind Enemy Lines: Columbia beforehand.
6 Post-TNA
After his departure from TNA in 2016, Ken Anderson wrestled all over the independent circuit, collecting titles from promotions across the Midwestern US as well as Europe. However, Anderson returned to wider exposure with his debut on NWA Powerr, for the rebooted National Wrestling Alliance alongside fellow TNA alumni like James Storm, Aaron Stevens, and Eli Drake.
Anderson even won a gauntlet match to qualify for a tournament to crown a new Television Champion. However, he never actually took part in the tournament with the official word from NWA being that Anderson wasn’t “medically cleared.” The story of Anderson in this phase is still being written, but for now Anderson has failed to make much of an impression post-TNA.
5 Last Years in TNA
Mr. Anderson came out of the Aces & Eights storyline as a babyface, where he got into a lackluster feud with Samuel Shaw (now known as Dexter Lumis) in order to protect Christy Hemme from being stalked. That feud was probably the most significant part of Anderson’s late TNA run, as he mostly feuded with guys like James Storm, Tyrus, and Bram. Anderson increasingly seemed like an afterthought, and ultimately he would be fired from TNA in 2016 for failing a drug test, reportedly after he put on a poorly performed match with Eric Young that TNA couldn’t air.
4 Immortal Mr. Anderson
In 2010, TNA staged a pseudo-revival of the nWo, with Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, and Jeff Hardy forming a heel faction called Immortal. Just like the nWo, the group would recruit a whole bunch of guys, including Mr. Anderson as a late addition.
Anderson’s time in Immortal lasted about a month, as tensions with Bully Ray would result in the two feuding and Anderson getting ousted from the group. It worked out for Mr. Anderson, however, as he would defeat Bully Ray in a Falls Count Anywhere match at Bound for Glory 2011, followed by a victory over Ray and Scott Steiner in a tag team bout at Turning Point. Otherwise, the run was pretty forgettable.
3 Aces & Eights
While wrestling fans tend to criticize Aces & Eights as the worst in the genre of tired nWo knock-offs, they might be one of the better attempts as a villainous biker gang, albeit with some questionable membership choices. Early in their run, they recruited Mr. Anderson, who wanted to get back at TNA because nobody on the roster helped him out when Aces & Eights attacked him.
It seemed weird that Anderson would join a group Bully Ray was leading, considering they had just finished feuding, but eventually the demise of the group would come down to Anderson beating Ray in a match, with Ace & Eights’ existence on the line. Anderson’s smarmy sarcastic heel work was great during this era, especially during a Battle Royal where he eliminated his stablemates via finger guns.
2 Initial WWE Heel Run
First appearing as a jobber on minor shows while in developmental, guidance from Paul Heyman during their time together in OVW helped make Mr. Kennedy TV-ready, leading to his big WWE debut on the 8/25/2005 edition of SmackDown.
It was that night that he did his aforementioned self-announcement bit for the world, and soon enough he was on a winning streak. Eventually, he’d win the WWE United States Title, take part in big feuds with Chris Benoit and The Undertaker, and get a few (unsuccessful) world title shots at Batista and Bobby Lashley. It was during this period that Mr. Kennedy showed fans that he had a ton of potential, even though it didn’t really pan out in WWE.
1 Mr. Anderson
After being released from WWE, Mr. Anderson made his TNA debut at 2010’s Genesis pay-per-view, defeating Abyss. Just like in WWE, this initial run would be his best in the company, albeit with much higher highs than with his previous employer. He’d put on an incredible cage match against Kurt Angle at Lockdown, beat Beer Money Inc. alongside Jeff Hardy, and later beat Hardy for the TNA World Title at Genesis in 2011.
He’d even become a two-time champion after beating Sting for the title down the line. Ultimately, this would be the best version of the wrestler, because he was actually treated like a main event star.