ou see them on TV a few hours each week, but in this new WWE.com feature, you will travel alongside WWE Superstars as they chronicle living the WWE lifestyle…24 hours…1,440 minutes...a day.
On July 23, 2006, the day he was slated to take on Batista at The Great American Bash, Mr. Kennedy volunteered to participate in the very first edition of “1440.”
9:00 a.m.
My damned alarm on my phone is going off. I’m not ready to go yet, so I hit Snooze for 10 more minutes.
9:05 a.m.
Ok. I guess I’m up. My brain suddenly kicks into gear and reminds me that this is an important day, and I have a lot to get done before I need to be at the arena. I get up and mom is already up. Yes, I said “mom is already up.”
Okay, let me explain. For the past two years she’d been taking care of my dad who was suffering from lung cancer. In April, we lost him, and I’ve been trying to get her to come out and travel with me a little for a few different reasons. One, so she can see just how much “fun” it is to be on the road. I swear to God she thinks that I’m on vacation all the time, so I’d like her to see what it’s like to travel from city to city, look for gyms, tanning beds, good places to eat and survive on very little sleep.
The other more important reason is to get her out of the house to get her mind off things and hopefully see some sights. Not really sure that she’ll see too many wonderful sights in Indiana or Michigan, but who knows.
So, enough about that. I jump in the shower, brush my teeth, throw on some clothes, down my supplements and we’re ready to go find breakfast.
10:00 a.m.
CR*CKER BARREL! They have the best breakfast, and they’re only five miles from the hotel I’m staying at. I order some egg whites and a steak. I don’t really have much of an appetite. For some reason on TV days, I’m always a little nervous, just because I’ve got so much to do; be on time and obviously perform in front of a live audience as well as the rest of the world. It’s positive stress, but nevertheless, I eat because I have to, not because I want to.
10:40 a.m.
We leave and head across the street to get some odds and ends. Mom also wants to see if she can find a Mr. Kennedy action figure. No luck, they’ve all sold out, which I guess is good for me!
11:00 a.m.
We pull into the Laundry and Tan in Indianapolis. What a great combination. I stand at the desk for 15 minutes while the lady tries to figure out the system. Apparently this is her first day on the job. How lucky for me. The credit card machine doesn’t work, the phone to call whoever it is that she needs to call to figure it out doesn’t work, and we soon have three people trying to figure it out. I decide to pay cash. All I want to do is TAN!
11:50 a.m.
Back to the Red Roof. I shower again and dress to leave.
12:30 p.m.
I’m out the door and headed to Conseco Fieldhouse, home to tonight´s Great American Bash pay-per-view. Mom stays back at the hotel and says she’ll get a cab to the building later. As I’m driving to the arena, I pass the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I’m not a big racecar fan. I don’t really understand the entertainment in watching the drivers take left turns for a few hours, but I decided that I’d like to see one in person someday. It’s a pretty impressive sight from the outside.
12:50 p.m.
I roll into the parking garage. As I find my way to the locker room, I say hi to a few of the guys. Time to find some chow.
1:15 p.m.
I eat again and only because I have to, not because I want to. I know that if I wait until after my match, I won’t have enough energy to handle the Animal. I’ll be starving, and there won’t be any food left. After I eat, I head back to the locker room to change, relax and chit-chat with some of the Superstars.
3:30 p.m.
I head out to the ring to get a little workout in. I don’t want to overdo it and burn a lot of energy, but I always feel better if I get some blood flow going and stretch out.
5:00 p.m.
I head to the locker room area to have a talk with The Miz. He plans to do an interview and ask me about my match tonight with Batista.
6:00 p.m.
I’m still trying to get this interview with The Miz hammered out, but nothing seems to be going right. Here´s a laundry list of what´s happened:
* Lighthing problems
* Alarms gonig off
* Elevators opening and closing
* Workers drilling
* People talking in background
* Loud music blaring through speakers in the arena
You name it, it happened.
I look over and mom has arrived. This is good for her to see; to see how frustrating this can get to be sometimes.
8:00 p.m.
The Great American Bash is live and we are STILL trying to nail this damned interview. At this point I’m about to rip someone’s head off. I have the biggest match of my life just more than two hours away and I’m not able to focus on it and mentally prepare myself. One of the security guys comes and takes my mother out to her seat. At the start of the Regal vs. Finlay match, we finally finish the damn interview.
8:40 p.m.
I grab a few bottles of water and find a secluded place in the back of the arena to warm up, stretch out, and get my head into the game. I run in place, pound out some squats and pushups. I’m ready to go.
9:55 p.m.
Batista´s in the ring and my music hits. I make my way to the ring, up the steps and through the ropes. The Animal is pacing. He looks aggressive. I refuse to show him any apprehension. This is a huge opportunity for me. Here goes…
10:10 p.m.
I’m on the table in the locker room and Doc Rios is cleaning out the gashes on my head. He hits me with some Novocain and starts crocheting on my cranium. I guess he zips me up with 20+ stitches. Big deal. I’m still alive, still standing, and I beat that big son of a bitch. Tonight, my head-game worked. See, I’m not afraid to get my ass kicked around a bit, ‘cause where I’m from, a win is a win.
11:15 p.m.
I’m a bloody mess. I have to go find my mother and let her know that I’m okay. I find her talking to Queen Sharmell’s mother. Apparently they sat next to each other throughout the show. I show her that I’m still alive and then head to the showers.
11:40 p.m.
I take the longest, hottest shower know to man. There’s so much of my blood covering my body from head to toe. Gotta get it all off. 30 minutes later I get out, dry off, get dressed and grab my bags. I get my mom who is patiently watching TV in one of the dressing rooms.
12:15 a.m.
We roll out. Stop at Hardee’s just because I’m tired, starving and don’t feel like waiting at a restaurant for real food. Then it’s back to the “Roof” for some shut eye. Tomorrow we have a 285-mile drive to Detroit, but for now I can relax. Just another day in the life.
