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PWINSIDER Q&A: KENNEDY AS WORLD CHAMPION BEFORE WRESTLEMANIA, SNITSKY, RICK RUDE AND MORE

Answered on 2/14

During Smackdown this week, it was sold that Kennedy could actually beat Batista (and in my opinion, it looks like he could). Would it be angle suicide to actually have Kennedy win the title next week, feed a little bit of fuel to the fire that was the Undertaken/Kennedy feud for most of the following week’s show? With Kennedy’s current state of mind, it would show that he’s so intense, he’ll steamroll right through anyone to get to Mania. They can have the Smackdown main event with Batista getting a rematch, to lose it, and then win it back the following week to keep the Wrestlemania card as it is, but with a little build and intrigue leading up to it.  A 7 to 14 day title reign could do Kennedy some good right now. It builds Kennedy even higher for later on down the road, as it will establish him as someone who could beat either Batista or Undertaker at any time. They’re going to need him in the main event picture for a while, so a high-profile win like this could work. What are your thoughts of titles changing hands so close to The Big Game?

In the past, the idea of switching the title around close to Wrestlemania would be insane, but we've seen WWE swap the belt back an forth in January (last year, Edge and Cena) and have title changes at the No Way Out PPV (Lesnar to Guerrero) in February.  So, the idea of having title changes closer to Wrestlemania is not as insane as it would seem.  That said, I don't know if a two-week reign is the direction to take Ken Kennedy in right now.  I'd rather his first World Title run have some meaning to it, rather than being a brief flicker, like Edge's WWE Title run was last year.  Still, I wouldn't have a problem with a title change close to Wrestlemania, provided that the booking help add to the event, and not detract from it. 

I'm a big fan of the Old School introductions WWE has been doing for title matches recently (waiting to announce the wrestlers until after both have come to the ring) and I was wondering who came up with the idea. Was this something Michael Hayes came up with or someone else? 

I don't know who suggested the idea for WWE first, but supposedly the idea came from watching UFC and seeing how they do the "old school" introductions following the entrances of the participants.  I say "supposedly" because I find it hard to believe that no one in WWE noticed that TNA has been doing it for their title matches for years now.  Either way, I like it as well.  It gives a "big time" feel to title bouts and sets them apart from the other matches on the show.

Why in the world do you think the WWE feels they needed to send Snitsky to ECW with the same character as a much more popular superstar on Smackdown!

I'm not sure it is the same character.  It's just a similar look, similar moveset, similar "one name" gimmick ... okay, yes, Snitsky is definitely coming across as a poor man's Kane right now.  I wish I knew why WWE felt the need to put him on ECW, and I really wish I knew why WWE is pushing him so hard.  Actually, I do know why they're pushing him.  Because he's big.  Sadly, "size still matters" in WWE more often than not. 

I always thought that Ravishing Rick Rude played the heel role so well, particularly during his WWF run. What was the reasoning behind his abrupt departure shortly following his program with the Ultimate Warrior for the WWF title?

Rude basically had a contractual dispute with WWF, and that resulted in him leaving.  Rude was about to start a feud with the Big Bossman, where Rude and Bobby Heenan were insulting Bossman's mother, so when Rude left, WWF used the storyline explanation that he had been fired for his comments, while Heenan "because he wasn't a wrestler" couldn't be punished that way.  In truth, Rude had gone as far as a heel could in WWF at the time.  The company was not interested in long-term heel World champions, so once Rude had his headline program with the Warrior, there was nowhere for him to go. He left, took some time off, then went to WCW where he had a big run as a singles star.

Do you think there will be a smaller dominant champion (ala Shawn Michaels back in the mid-late 90s) for an extended period of time in the  WWE ever again? If you think about it, the champions who were considered "small" and had an extended run (i.e. Chris Benoit, Rey  Mysterio) probably could not consider dominant champion at least within the storylines. Do you think it will take serious competition from TNA  in order for that to happen since it was really WCW becoming dominant that WWE (then WWF) changed their style of having a big muscular person  as champ and started to use smaller guys who were better wrestlers (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels) in order to bring in a new crowd. 

Given that WWE now has three "major" championships, I definitely think a point will come where we will see a dominant "smaller" champion.  Make no mistake, size will always matter in WWE, but with three title belts, I could see someone eventually breaking through and putting together a good run based on talent and charisma, and not monstrous size.  Some would say that John Cena isn't a "big" man in the traditional sense. 

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