The Wrestling Bard 08.01.09: THE Kendrick Column

Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 08.01.2009

Whatever Kendrick's future endeavors are, I'm looking forward to it.

One of the bigger news bites this week has been the release of THE Brian Kendrick. Perhaps the saddest part of the news is that the release was expected. Kendrick's cocky heel character lasted for about a year, and it's almost scary to see how far he fell in that year. When Kendrick was drafted from RAW to Smackdown!, he was given a new look, a new bodyguard, and a new attitude. Many were comparing him to Shawn Michaels, an appropriate comparison given that HBK trained Brian. He started off red-hot, even earning his way into a WWE Championship Scramble Match, where he served as "Interim" WWE Champion for a few glorious moments. This brief flirtation with the Main Event scene could certainly be considered the highlight of Kendrick's career.

Unfortunately, as so often happens, any push Kendrick was going to get was crushed by Wrestlemania season. From the Royal Rumble onwards, all of WWE's creative focus is centered on the big show. Understandable and probably for the best, as it means we usually get an outstanding show. The problem is that if a wrestler isn't going to be on the card, he's not likely to get a significant amount of airtime or any major angles. Brian already had an uphill battle of getting onto the card due to his size, but the biggest hindrance was that he was only given about five months to get his character over before Wrestlemania season. And unless you are booked VERY well (see: Brock Lesnar), six months isn't enough time to get a gimmick over past mid-card status. Mid-card heels have a hard time getting on any PPV, much less Wrestlemania. Some held out hope that Kendrick would get a chance to impress in Money in the Bank, but it was not to be.

The last thing that really killed Kendrick's chances of being a successful star in WWE happened when he was drafted to RAW. It couldn't have come at a more inopportune time for Brian. Since the draft, Smackdown! has put a heavy focus on quality wrestling, fresh match-ups, and young rising talent. Smackdown!'s one big weakness right now is it's lack of mid-card heels: CM Punk was turned heel simply to fill the void, and with Edge's injury, Punk and Jericho are now the top heels. Dolph Ziggler has been impressive for sure and has performed admirably as a mid-card heel, but who's left if he gets injured? Kane? Finlay? Two veterans whose best days are behind them. The Hart Foundation? Two great young talents who aren't ready to be moved into that position yet, in my opinion. Charlie Haas? Don't make me laugh.

Is it so hard to imagine Brian Kendrick filling the mid-card heel role? Kendrick's character is down right obnoxious and his wrestling style would fit in perfectly with the Smackdown Six. Who wouldn't have loved Kendrick feuding with Morrison or R-Truth? And surely Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio's squash matches would be more entertaining if they were having six good minutes with Brian Kendrick instead of Ricky Ortiz. I firmly believe that if Kendrick had stayed on Smackdown!, he would still be employed by the WWE, would be over, and might very well be Intercontinental Champion or a Tag Team Champion. Alas, that didn't happen, and there's nothing we can do about it. Trying to re-imagine the past is about as useless as a screen door on a submarine, so let's think to the future.

Where Does He Go From Here?
Every cloud has a silver lining. One man's trash is another man's treasure. When life gives you lemons…there's far too many cliché's for Kendrick's current situation. In 90 days, Kendrick's no compete clause will pass, and I think it's obvious that he won't meander around in different independents. Before Christmas, Kendrick will be one of two places: TNA Wrestling or Ring of Honor. Both companies could benefit from having Kendrick on their roster, and Kendrick can certainly benefit by going to either company.

I'm sure that TNA fans would be more than happy to welcome Brian Kendrick into the fold. While he is a former WWE wrestler, he doesn't scream WWE. He's a small guy with a ton of athleticism and a quirky sense of humor. His style is a combination of high flying, strikes, mat wrestling, comedy and high-impact moves. Otherwise known as: The X-Division Style. The X-Division was made for guys like Brian. One might even say that Kendrick vs. AJ Styles, Kendrick vs. Christopher Daniels, and Kendrick vs. Jay Lethal are dream matches. And if Kendrick comes to TNA, they will line up athletes that can have good matches with him. The only guys who can really keep up with Kendrick are the young stars that never get enough airtime. More good news: Brian Kendrick can't be trademarked, so he gets to keep all of his name value. If Kendrick goes to TNA, he will be back on television, will have a slew of fresh matches and will likely be X-Division Champion. That's a pretty tempting proposition.

Then again, Brian might be better served to go to back to his roots. Kendrick was a big part of the early days of Ring of Honor, under his alias Spanky. He was part of the first ROH Title match with Christopher Daniels, Doug Williams and Low Ki. Coming to ROH now, he would immediately set himself up as one of the top talents on the roster. He's had world-wide exposure with the biggest wrestling company in the world. There are many fresh matches for him: Tyler Black, Nigel McGuiness, Austin Aries, KENTA, Jerry Lynn, Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero all jump to mind immediately. Not to mention the ready-made rivalry with Bryan Danielson, a fellow graduate of Shawn Michaels Texas Wrestling Academy. And let's be honest: ROH is the only company where Kendrick has a chance of becoming World Champion.

There might be one other option, but it's a little riskier than the other two: Dragon Gate USA. Kendrick has experience working with Japanese wrestlers and has experience working with booker Gabe Sapolsky. The first show drew just under 1,000 fans at the old ECW Arena and will soon be widely available via PPV. Already, the company has asserted itself as one of the top independents in America. Kendrick might choose to go this route, although I doubt it. He just seems to have more to gain by going to one of the other two.

One Last Piece of the Puzzle
While I'm not going to pretend that Bryan Kendrick isn't an outstanding talent who can be a huge superstar in TNA or ROH on his own merits, I do believe that there is one thing that can benefit him even more. And I'll admit, for my own selfish reasons, this is the path I want to see Kendrick take. I want him to come to TNA or ROH with another man in tow.

Paul London.



Three years ago, Paul London and Brian Kendrick were the top tag team in WWE. They held the WWE tag title for just under a year, the fourth longest reign in WWE history. Many compared them to the Rockers: two good-looking kids with cross demographic appeal, dazzling audiences of all ages and both genders with their fast-paced, high-flying offense. They were one of the most consistently entertaining acts in WWE until they were drafted to RAW. They were never able to gain the same momentum on the red brand and they eventually split up, Kendrick turning heel. London meandered a bit in the lower mid-card, barely showing up on TV. It came as no surprise that Paul was released shortly thereafter.

Much of what I said about Kendrick can be copy and pasted for London. He was a graduate of the Texas Wrestling Academy, has a wonderfully diverse wrestling style that allowed him to cement himself as a top star on the independent scene, and he had a reasonable amount of success in WWE, despite his size. He was a Cruiserweight Champion and made Velocity "must-see" TV for anyone looking for quality wrestling.




When London was released, many members of the IWC were abuzz with the possibility of London going to another company. WWE was criticized for restricting London's style, keeping him from doing the shooting star press or the 450° splash, and for just slowing him down in general. In TNA or ROH, this certainly would not happen. Many were thinking of London facing many of the same men I mentioned above. But for whatever reason, London has shied away from Ring of Honor and has not shown up for several important dates. To say that he's let down his fans would be an understatement.

However, one might hope that the possibility of a Londrick/Hooligans reunion might be enough to get London out of his rut. If the dynamic duo rides again, there's a possibility that we will see some amazing tag team wrestling matches, many of them modern dream matches. One of the only things working against the team's legacy was a lack of quality opponents. The 300+ day reign of Londrick doesn't sound so impressive when you consider that they were the only team that stayed on the roster for the whole run. They lacked the incredible tag division of the 1980's, or the Hardyz/E& C/Dudleyz era. It's hard to cement your legacy without competition. Thankfully, both ROH and TNA have incredible tag team divisions that Londrick could contribute to.

Let's start with TNA, and the obvious one. You don't have to look very long to find somebody talking about London and Kendrick vs. The Motor City Machine Guns. Almost every fantasy booker has booked it at some point. It's not hard to see why: both teams work a similar style, and all four men are legitimate singles stars as well. And as good as each man is individually, the teams are somehow greater than the sum of their parts. Give those two teams twenty minutes and you might very well get the most amazing tag-team wrestling clinic ever seen. For the longest time, it's been mere fantasy, but the reality is that it could happen now.

Even beyond that obvious dream match, there are plenty of teams that Kendrick and London could face afterward. LAX and Beer Money have shown great chemistry with the Machine Guns and would have similar chemistry with the Hooligans. And how would they fare against Team 3D, two legends of tag team wrestling? And whose to say that AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels might not join up for a one-off match with these two? There's a ton of potential there.

What about Ring of Honor? If you know who these guys are, the thought of them facing Kendrick and London might be enough to make you salivate: Kevin Steen & El Generico. The American Wolves. The Young Bucks. The Super Smash Brothers. And most importantly, The Briscoe Brothers. Last year, the Machine Guns went on a tour, facing every top team in ROH. A tour by Londrick would be just as good.

All in all, while I don't know where Kendrick will go, or if London will go with him, I think we all have something to look forward to in the next few months.

In honor of Mike Chin's last column this week, I will simply say "see you in seven."

*****
Hey, did you see Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black from last week? NO? Here you go.