In a revealing interview on The Velvet Ropes with SoCal Val, Ken Anderson told the full, detailed story of the injury and subsequent misdiagnosis that cost him the Money in the Bank briefcase and a planned run as the World Heavyweight Champion. The former Mr. Kennedy recounted the entire roller-coaster of events, from Vince McMahon personally telling him he was winning the title to having it all taken away in a matter of days due to what turned out to be a massive medical error.
The story began with Anderson holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, having publicly declared on WWE television that he would cash it in at the following year’s WrestleMania. Plans, however, changed very quickly due to an injury to the reigning champion, The Undertaker. (Click below to watch the interview).
The Call to Vince’s Office
“All of a sudden, I left the building early one day, which is a no-no… I get a call from Michael Hayes, ‘Where are you at? Vince wants to see you in his office.’ Sh–,” Anderson recalled. “As I’m walking in, Batista is walking out… and then I walk in and Vince is like, ‘Well… Taker’s our champ right now, however, his bicep is torn. He needs to have surgery, so we’re going to take that title off him, and we’re going to have you cash in your briefcase next week.'”
Vince McMahon laid out the entire scenario for Anderson’s first world title win, where he would cash in on a beaten-down Undertaker in a cage match. Anderson tried to stay level-headed. “I never celebrated… I try not to celebrate that stuff. I try not to get excited about it, because it might not happen,” he said. A few of his colleagues, however, did celebrate with him. “For some reason Mark Carano and Michael Cole… went out to the bar that night… and quietly, we’re toasting, just the three of us, we’re toasting this thing that’s going to happen next Tuesday. And I didn’t feel good about it.”
The Injury and The “Misdiagnosis”
Just a few days later, at a house show, disaster struck. “Batista gave me a tight little, like a little short clothesline, and I felt something pop in my tricep,” he said. “I roll out to the floor, and immediately it started swelling up… I’m in so much pain because it just keeps swelling and swelling. I felt like the skin was gonna pop.”
He got an MRI and waited in his hotel room for the results. The next afternoon, he got a call from Stephanie McMahon with the bad news. “She was like, ‘You tore your triceps, and we still need to get that title off of Taker… We’re going to have the jet come pick you up. You’re going to fly to Penn State, and Edge is going to challenge you for the briefcase… then you’ll go to Dr. Andrews tomorrow and have surgery.'”
Anderson did as he was told, losing the briefcase to Edge in a short match. The next day, he went to see the famed Dr. James Andrews, who delivered a shocking diagnosis after a quick examination. “Dr. Andrews felt my arm, and he was like, ‘That’s not a tear. That’s just a hematoma,’ which is just a large bruise,” Anderson revealed. “A bunch of blood vessels popped, and it just happened to open up and cause all that swelling. I was gone for like, a month.”
He concluded the story by referencing a comment from his friend, MVP, that perfectly sums up the frustrating situation. “MVP always says, ‘You were a misdiagnosis away from the World Heavyweight Championship,'” Anderson said. “But it is what it is. Again, they still needed to get the title off of Taker… business is business. I’m not going to argue. I’m not going to complain… it can bounce back too right away.”
Fans can hear more behind-the-scenes stories about the highs and lows of his career on Anderson’s new podcast, Mic Check, available on all major podcast platforms. He also uses these experiences to guide the next generation of talent at The Academy, the wrestling school he co-founded in Minnesota.
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.
