Could THE Brian Kendrick still be somebody? [Archive]

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Mr. Nerfect

04-04-2010, 12:36 PM

When he broke off from Paul London in the WWE, and he debuted this character:

http://www.godsofwrestling.com/images/the-brian-kendrick.jpg

I genuinely thought the sky was the limit for him. I actually had this nervous feeling as I was watching him perform, because I feared that it could end at any minute (and it did -- but because it was his own fault), but I just didn't want it to. I just loved the character so much. As far as wrestling characters go, I think it was absolutely brilliant, to the point where I think he could be considered a great character in any sort of fictional genre.

There's just so much depth there. It actually seems fuelled by who Brian Kendrick is. Not on a superficial level, but as far as his deepest feelings about himself as a performer go. THE Brian Kendrick knew he was brilliant, and thought he had every right to the spotlight. Brian Kendrick strikes me in much the same way. But every single element of the character just came together for me.

Brian Kendrick can wrestle, and has more pure talent than most guys do. The only thing holding Kendrick back, in a kayfabe-sense, is his size. This was cancelled out by Ezekiel Jackson, who provided the muscle Kendrick needed to be the "perfect wrestler." It was all part of his plan, and this was reflected in his theme song.

A lot of people noticed similarites to Shawn Michaels and Brian Pillman in the character, but one that I have thought about recently is one I have not seen mentioned before (although maybe it was). There is something about THE Brian Kendrick that reminds me of The Joker from "The Dark Knight." Kendrick didn't wear make-up or a purple suit, but he did have his ring jackets and an attitude which gave off an extroverted appearance. The true similarities I see between the characters, though, is in how they seem to mask themselves in who they are, while embracing it at the same time. I couldn't imagine The Brian Kendrick going home and cooking himself a meal; nor could I imagine The Joker doing the same thing. It's something Brian Kendrick would do, and it's something Heath Ledger would do; but not their characters -- even though they would have to.

What I also liked about the character was that he was almost a heel underdog. It's rare to find those. Brian Kendrick was a guy who had some success, but knew that he should be having more. THE Brian Kendrick was on a mission to break the glass ceiling over him using his cunning and pure talent -- and he succeeded to some degrees. I liked his early undefeated streak in the character, because it gave off a sense that he was overachieving. While THE Brian Kendrick should be thinking of wrestling all the time, it actually seemed that it was often the last thing on his mind. Guys waste their lives trying to find a niche in the business, and this Kendrick guy emerges talking about literature and history while dancing around. The underdog became the overachiever.

The character eventually lost some of its tone when Kendrick became more of a "dancing fool" and a "coward" who hid behind his bodyguard. This was obviously done to simply the concept and make to give people more of a superficial reason to boo him. But at its very core, THE Brian Kendrick is one of my favourite wrestling characters of all-time. A cultured, intelligent guy who knows how it is, and knows how it should be -- with a little man complex, but getting results.

I'm not sure how many will read that, and will agree with me, but whatever. It does not bother me to talk about one aspect of professional wrestling that I really loved. The Brian Kendrick joins Muhammad Hassan and Goldust as one of the deepest wrestling characters of all-time, in my books.

Now:

Am I wrong in assuming that there is a bright future for a character such as this? I haven't watched too much of what he has done in TNA, but he seems to be playing a toned down version of the character. An X-Division guy with a cocky attitude and some sweet jackets, really. My question is: Do you think that there is enough potential in the Brian Kendrick character to warrant TNA picking up where the WWE left off?

Chavo Classic

04-04-2010, 12:53 PM

Noid likes TBK a lot. No surprises there.

Kendrick has joined TNA at the wrong time and will get lost in the shuffle, which isn't all that much of a shame as he's well received in both the indies and Japan and would be welcomed back to either. The character is a lot of fun, and he's very competent in the ring so he'll always be wanted.

Schlomey

04-04-2010, 01:01 PM

Have you listened to the crowd while he is out there, though? Every time it's "Let's go Kendrick" or some ridiculous pothead chant.

It will be sooner rather than later that TNA capitalize on this. They have to finish up Kaz first!

The sky's the limit with Kendrick. When he wants to work he can.

jamesyboybell

04-04-2010, 01:08 PM

Don't really see the big deal with Kendrick but TNA matches are one big spotfest so it'll suit him. That and the lack of drug testing.

Mr. Nerfect

04-04-2010, 01:33 PM

Kendrick can tell stories. The dude is actually not that spotty. His top rope stuff, for example, doesn't usually involve redundant flips or anything like that. He'll rotate, but he rarely twists or spins or anything too showy.

Rammsteinmad

04-04-2010, 01:52 PM

What exactly was his 'character'? Because I've not actually seen any of the 'THE Brian Kendrick' stuff, the last I saw of him was when he was tagging with Paul London.

HBPunk

04-04-2010, 01:57 PM

I LOVED TBK. I absolutely adored his character, he reminded me of HBK and since im a massive HBK mark, this was a really great thing. It would be so perfect now with Shawn Michaels gone. I remember being hammered in Spain watching 'New Theme' PPV live in a pub and TBK became interim World Champion during that 20 minute pinfest match. I nearly came and spilled my drink at the same time as he was dancing after the pin, I was so thrilled I spent the entire night dancing like the sexy bastard (naturally the ladies flocked to my chunky meat). He was in a World Title match on a PPV and even though he was only 'champion' for 2 minutes I was giddy because I was sure this was the start of a massive push for him, possibly feuding with HBK, so many potential good things for him. Then boom, he has a few delicious joints and he's jobbing to nobodies. I think he will be back though, such a pity only Orton can get baked and its cool

Mr. Nerfect

04-04-2010, 01:58 PM

Here's a promo from him:

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It's sort of a modern-day arrogant character mixed with self-assured genius. Many were reminded of a cross between Shawn Michaels (when he had Diesel) and Brian Pillman.

Mr. Nerfect

04-04-2010, 02:15 PM

Mr. Nerfect

04-04-2010, 02:26 PM

I always fantasised (but never expected) a proper feud with Triple H. One where he brought up his past with Shawn Michaels, and talked about how when HBK trained him, he held a resentment for Triple H for picking up his table scraps and taking the company HBK carried on his back. Kendrick could have projected himself as someone with inside knowledge about Triple H, and started calling himself "The Cerebral Assassin's Assassin." This could have been fed further by Kendrick also spending some time being mentored by William Regal (someone else who was close to Triple H early in his career).

I could have envisioned Kendrick sending love letters to Stephanie McMahon, or something -- not because he lusted after her, but as a way of fucking with Triple H, and letting him know that his political grip on the company was not going to stop his inevitable rise. It'd be the punk kid telling the old man his time is up. Of course, Triple H would probably have won their match; but Kendrick would just look tremendous in the set-up (fucking with Triple H's life) and in just holding his own in controlling the tempo of the match.

There was a time when this feud would have been perfect. I think post-WrestleMania XXV -- Triple H and Kendrick had ended up back on RAW, and Shawn Michaels was taking some time off after facing The Undertaker. If Kendrick had stayed on the straight and narrow, then I also could have envisioned him winning Money in the Bank at WrestleMania XXV, and possibly using the briefcase and Triple H's status as WWE Champion against him. Then, when it came time for Shawn Michaels to return, he could have taken exception to Brian's conduct, and Kendrick could have been all "whatever, dude, I never needed you." Cue teacher/student feud.

Xero

04-04-2010, 02:28 PM

Fairycakes and Butterlips.

Inadequacy

04-04-2010, 02:51 PM

HBPunk

04-04-2010, 04:10 PM

such a babe when he dances

Jura

04-04-2010, 04:20 PM

No.

Jakob Synn

04-04-2010, 04:27 PM

I totally don't see Kendrick going anywhere in wrestling further than he already is.

My suggestion would be to gain a few pounds and work on some muscle tonage, then just maybe I'll be able to take him seriously as a competitor.

Ol Dirty Dastard

04-04-2010, 04:32 PM

Jakob Synn

04-04-2010, 04:54 PM

That you Vince?

I'm not saying get huge with muscle, but at least get a little muscle going on.

He's really tiny for me to take him seriously. I like the Cruiserweights/X-Division but I feel that Kendrick has always been way smaller than most of the others in that division.

Schlomey

04-04-2010, 08:26 PM

such a babe when he dances

Simply put. I agree. :y::yes:

BillyBonez

04-04-2010, 09:09 PM

If he stop being into drugs, WWE can bring him in as part of the straight edge society and he can do a massive face turn when he says he is drug free but is still promscious with women and Punk gets jellous and they have a series of matches. Like if you look at Kendrick he is the opposite of Punk, and I think this could elevate him.

However, Punk is at a main event level and Kendrick was a jobber when he left, so I think it would take some time and work to make Kendrick on that level and I dont think he has it in him cause he seems like a lazy guy.

XIII

04-05-2010, 05:08 PM

maybe, he fucked up with wwe.. if he was gonna be anybody it was with wwe,. i thought he was on his way when they had him with ezekiel jackson.. like shawn and diesel... i think he was a little to cocky backstage and you gotta admit he is SHORT as fuck... vince dont really go with the short guys as his mega stars, besides mysterio

HBPunk

04-05-2010, 05:18 PM

XIII

04-05-2010, 05:32 PM

fuckin shrewt

DrA

12-03-2010, 12:09 AM

He could be a Brian Kendrick at the least, to lower the bar a little.

Droford

12-03-2010, 12:15 AM

Brian Kendrick, the Mitch Hedberg Look-a-Like

SlickyTrickyDamon

12-03-2010, 04:10 PM

Anybody Thrilla

12-03-2010, 05:11 PM

He never wants to go back to the WWE, so THE Brian Kendrick will never happen. Too bad I liked the Brian Kendrick.

He got the same treatment alot of people got. Excelled on Smackdown moved to Raw and jobbed on Raw to prove that Smackdown doesn't count.

You sure his marijuana habit didn't have anything to do with it?

Maybe he'd excel if he adopted a gimmick that was part Slick, part Godfather, and part Dude Love.

SlickyTrickyDamon

12-03-2010, 05:54 PM

Yeah but they know that marijuana isn't as bad as smoking cigs and drinking, and they kept the Sandman employed for like two years.

Anybody Thrilla

12-03-2010, 06:04 PM

Yeah but they know that marijuana isn't as bad as smoking cigs and drinking, and they kept the Sandman employed for like two years.

Oh, do they know that?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1dqIENPdsNw/STB03izKcyI/AAAAAAAAAdA/e4ocDyYqtBo/s400/orton+smoking.jpg

http://stonecold_eks.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/beer01.jpg

Don't be a silly guy, Damon.

SlickyTrickyDamon

12-03-2010, 06:41 PM

Knowing something and acting on it are two different things.

thedamndest

12-03-2010, 07:21 PM

He'd be better now than he was during his run. He's got plenty of company with smaller guys now and if he had stuck around he probably would have been jobbed out before they arrived.

Anybody Thrilla

12-03-2010, 08:08 PM

Knowing something and acting on it are two different things.

Shut up. How can you tell what they "know"? Especially if they don't act on it.

Mr. Nerfect

12-03-2010, 09:45 PM

I still sometimes think about The Brian Kendrick character. It was absolutely amazing.

Anybody Thrilla

12-03-2010, 09:52 PM

I think Noid could use a hug.

CSL

12-03-2010, 09:53 PM

MoFo

12-03-2010, 10:25 PM

Hes annoying as fuck.

Cant stand him.

Ironballs

12-04-2010, 07:38 PM

He reminds me of the dude that shot Cyrus in "The Warriors."

12-07-2010, 09:20 PM

I always saw the fact that we had "a few minutes with the WWE Title" as WWE giving him an incentive to quit the pot. Kinda like "Hey, you could have this".

The fact that his drug habit is more important to him than a sustained push made me lose a lot of respect for/interest in the guy.

CSL

12-07-2010, 10:28 PM

Are you advocating a push for Brian Kendrick despite his well known 'drug problems' Noid?

Anybody Thrilla

12-08-2010, 10:29 AM

I always saw the fact that we had "a few minutes with the WWE Title" as WWE giving him an incentive to quit the pot. Kinda like "Hey, you could have this".

That sounds nice in theory, but I think his few minutes was just a way to get the Championship Scramble over so the fans would think "oh shit, ANYBODY can win this".

12-08-2010, 05:33 PM

Praps.

erickman

12-08-2010, 06:18 PM

He reminds me of the dude that shot Cyrus in "The Warriors."

too bad booker is still not with tna, booker going can you dig it then brian shoots him.

ooTin

12-08-2010, 06:24 PM

Oh my god... just the fact that someone could write a 7 paragraph report on how much they wanna cum on TBK's face astounds me. This man is a piss poor wrestler plain and simple. There are no shades of Shawn or Pilman in him or the Joker....wtf is all this about cooking meals.... Jesus

ooTin

12-08-2010, 06:31 PM

Anybody Thrilla

12-08-2010, 06:44 PM

I guess we can mark ooTin down as "undecided" on this matter.

12-08-2010, 07:03 PM

I guess we can mark ooTin down as a teenager.

ooTin

12-08-2010, 07:16 PM

I guess we can mark ooTin down as a teenager.

I'm 22 and have a strong dislike for bad wrestlers
TBK
R-Truth
Jeff Hardy ( liked him when he destroyed furniture now just a tool)
Matt Hardy
The Uso's
The Great Khali
Wade Barrett
Zack Ryder
Chris Masters
Curt Hawkins
Joey Mercury
...I think that about covers it.

12-08-2010, 07:21 PM

Ryder is not a bad wrestler by any stretch of the imagination. And you can't really judge the Usos, they rarely appear and job when they do.

Not far off with some of the others.

Anybody Thrilla

12-08-2010, 07:23 PM

Yikes

12-08-2010, 07:23 PM

Seriously though, none of the guys listed deserve to be on a list of Bad Wrestlers that includes Khali (except for Khali of course).

Anybody Thrilla

12-08-2010, 07:26 PM

If I were The Great Khali and somebody tried to tell me I was worse than The Great Khali, I'd be pretty peeved.

ooTin

12-08-2010, 07:52 PM

Ryder is not a bad wrestler by any stretch of the imagination. And you can't really judge the Usos, they rarely appear and job when they do.

Not far off with some of the others.

Uso's have been on the Indy circut for a little bit and I have watched them several times... they are no bueno. Zack Ryder is more of a long list of bad gimmicks.. I will give you Ryder he is a decent wrestler.