Mr. Kennedy has shed light on the original WWE plans that would have seen him capture a World Championship using his Money in the Bank briefcase, a plan ultimately derailed by injury. Speaking on “Insight With Chris Van Vliet,” Kennedy recounted being told he would cash in at the following year’s WrestleMania. However, plans accelerated when The Undertaker, the reigning champion, suffered a torn biceps.
“Vince [McMahon] and Stephanie laid out the scenario,” Kennedy recalled. The Undertaker was “going to have a cage match…barely squeak out, somebody else was going to come out and do some more damage to him, and then I was going to come out and pick the bones, cash in the briefcase, cover him, 1 2 3.”
Tragedy struck at a house show just before the planned cash-in. “Batista gives me a little clothesline…I felt something pop in my tricep,” Kennedy said. Believing the injury was a severe tear requiring surgery and a nine-month absence, WWE made a quick change. “Stephanie called me… ‘We still need to get that title off of Taker, though, so we’re sending the jet to come pick you up. You’re going to come to Penn State. Edge is going to challenge you for your briefcase, and then he’s going to go on and do what you were supposed to do.'”
The devastating twist came post-surgery. “I go down to Birmingham, Alabama, sitting on Doctor Andrews’ table, and he just feeling my arm, and he goes, ‘That’s not a tear.’ … It was just a large hematoma.” Kennedy quoted MVP, saying, “You were a misdiagnosis away from becoming World Champion.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
