Mr. Kennedy believes one of the biggest missed opportunities of his WWE career came when the company shut down what he says could have been his defining breakout moment – something he directly compares to Steve Austin’s legendary “Austin 3:16” promo.
Speaking on René Duprée’s Café de René podcast, Kennedy explained that the idea started when he was developing a catchphrase in OVW that he felt could organically connect with audiences. “I had come up with this: ‘nice guys finish last, thank God I’m an a$$hole’ thing,” Kennedy said, noting that it was inspired by crowd chants he had heard directed at Vince McMahon.
When Kennedy finally sat down with Vince McMahon and was asked if he had any catchphrases, he pitched the idea – and was immediately shut down. “He told me, ‘No, no, you can’t do that,’” Kennedy recalled, explaining that WWE’s content rules at the time were already restrictive. “We couldn’t even say ‘darn’ because they knew you were trying to say ‘damn,’” he added.
Despite that rejection, the moment Kennedy believes could have changed everything came at WrestleMania 23. After winning Money in the Bank, he was told WWE wanted a major post-match promo to establish him as a breakout star. “Michael Hayes came up to me and he said, ‘After your match, you’re going to go to the interview station… they want this to be your Austin 3:16 moment,’” Kennedy said.
Kennedy immediately thought of reviving the catchphrase Vince had previously turned down. “I was like, I’m going to f**king hit it. It’s WrestleMania,” he said, believing the stage was big enough to take the risk. But instead of just doing it, Kennedy made a decision he now regrets. “For whatever reason, I’m just like, I better ask,” he admitted.
The answer came back quickly – and definitively. “Michael came back to me and was like, ‘Absolutely not. Boss said no. Can’t do it,’” Kennedy said.
Forced to improvise, Kennedy delivered a watered-down version of the promo, and he still believes the moment never recovered. “It totally… it was a bomb in comparison to what it would have been.”
What frustrates Kennedy most is what happened after he left WWE. Once he arrived in TNA, he finally used the same line that had been rejected years earlier – and the reaction immediately validated his instincts.
“The next week when I started cutting my promo, there were people chanting, ‘We are a$$holes,’” Kennedy recalled. He said fans even held up signs, proving how quickly the idea caught on. Kennedy went on to become a two time TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Looking back, Kennedy is convinced the only missing ingredient in WWE was trust. “Had I had the WWE marketing machine behind me at that point,” he said, trailing off before making it clear he believes the catchphrase could have become something far bigger.
