As reported here at wrestlezone.com and elsewhere, recently released WWE wrestler Kenn Doane (Dykstra) wrote a blog and posted it on his myspace site. I’ve spoken several times to Kenny who I’ve known since he was 15 years old, and made his first trip to NWA Wildside as Kenn Phoenix. By the way, I had no idea he was 15 at the time, as he looked nearly as he looks now and nearly as big,so I thought he was 18 at least. I was impressed with him and he visited Wildside several times.
When TNA was using extras on Xpolsion in Nashville he was booked several times there, and alway did well. At WWE Tom Prichard, who was in Talent Relations at the time, saw him and was impressed too. At his point he was 16-17 years old, which we still did not know but found out, and made sure his Mom signed consent forms so he could still wrestle for TNA & WWE. Both Tom and I saw great potential in Kenny. WWE signed him, and he realised some of that potential.
Now he’s all of 22 years old, an age when most kids would just be geting started and he’s already been to the show, and done some very good work there. But for now he’s been released. WWE creative had nothing, cost cutting, whatever the reason, he’s been “wished well in future endeavors”, for now.
And so he writes a blog on myspace like many young guys might. He thought he was being positive, and not in anyway attacking WWE. As he wrote that while he was “happy to be gone from WWE”, he noted that “he did have fun”, and he “thank(ed) them for everything”. But then Kenny also wrote that “WWE kind of puts a bad taste in your mouth after all the politics and garbage that can go on”, and it was that line in particular that we “reporters” focused on first, using it, in part, to title our stories or we used words like “rant” to refer to his blog, and to draw attention. It’s our “job”. As the late Hunter Thompson wrote, “after all are we not professionals”, or something like that.
Clearly there are “politics” in WWE, TNA, and likely at McDonalds too. The things one must do to be come a fry cook!!! Clearly WWE creative must not have had ideas for Kenny. Clearly that would be frustrating, and as he wrote would “suck”. Like any WWE Entertainer he wanted to be a top player, and believed he could be, heck should be, because he believed in himself, believed he’s better than many others he saw getting pushed. Frustrating for sure.
So he wrote a blog. We reported it, promoted it and republished it, as he wrote later when he removed it we sorta made a “big deal of it”. He didn’t expect it to go quite that way when he wrote it. Sometimes you forget that when you are a star/entertainer you end up under a microscope. It’s part of the deal, part of the fun, and it means that you always need to think through anything you say or write, as trust me we “reporters” are always going to be there, and there will be folk interested in what you say or do.
Kenny Doane is a talented young man, and a good guy too. He didn’t expect the reports on his blogs. I’m betting he learned something over the last several days, and it’s something all entertainers must learn. When you are an entertainer, a star, and in the public eye, good or bad, what you say & do will come back to haunt you. That’s the bad news, but here’s the good news, if you weren’t a star, weren’t of interest to us then it means you never appeared in front of the “the thousands in attendance”, nor “the millions watching at home”. That’s the trade-off, and honestly not so bad a deal, not for Kenny, and not for other Entertainers too. So watch what you say and do, and enjoy the ride.
And as for Kenny, it’s my bet his ride in wrestling is not yet done….and that he has “miles and miles to go before (he) sleeps”.
If any promoter is interested in booking Kenny feel free to contact me. My e-mail is above.
