Kenny (Dykstra) Doane

[saintpat]

I never have quite figured out the deal with his big singles push and then near-immediate fade into oblivion.

Seems like as the Spirit Squad was breaking up (either just before or just after) he beat Ric Flair three times and was being billed as possibly breaking Orton's milestone to become the youngest world champ in WWE history ... and like that he was completely out of even the midcard picture and pretty much off TV altogether.

Was there a reason he got that push? And, if so, why was he shoved to the very bottom of the roster so suddenly?

This was during a period where I wasn't watching regularly, so maybe I missed something.

(For the record, I never was a big fan, but at some point I got the impression he was being groomed for some kind of pretty nice spot in the WWE pecking order.)

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

He always seemed to be the focal point of the Spirit Squad, so that's why I assume he got the push. As for the reason he crashed and burned? I remember reading something about big-time attitude problems, but that could just be newz.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Couldn't tell ya the reason for the push, as he was average at best in any category and fairly bland all around in all of them.

The failing would be a direct result of those same reasons.

[The Madness]

He did have a fantastic Alabama Jam though!

[Mozenrath]

One of the best leg drops I've ever seen, so it was a shame he never did the damn thing after leaving the Squad.

[celticjobber]

I remember before the whole Spirit Squad thing, reading somewhere that he was pegged to be one of the biggest stars in WWE whenever he was called up to the roster. They saw alot of potential in him, for whatever reason.

[Snowman]

Nov 24, 2010 0:40:45 GMT -5 The Madness said:

He did have a fantastic Alabama Jam though!

That was pretty awesome. But that was all I ever saw of him, he had a generic look, bland mic skills and was competent, but nothing special, in the ring. I never got the love that people on here had for him.

[Deleted]

I remember the story right when the Spirit Squad split that WWE thought he was great and intended to have him as the company's top guy by 2009.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

He was just boring, the fans didn't care for him and I think the WWE eventually realised that which is why they stopped pushing him.

I'm not complaining, I wasn't a fan of the guy at all.

[Mozenrath]

Nov 24, 2010 2:11:45 GMT -5 celticjobber said:

I remember before the whole Spirit Squad thing, reading somewhere that he was pegged to be one of the biggest stars in WWE whenever he was called up to the roster. They saw alot of potential in him, for whatever reason.

To be fair, he had a pretty successful run in OVW, from what I remember, so they thought it'd translate into a good WWE run. Spirit Squad was a great angle, but after it ran its course, he didn't really move past it very well.

[Allie Kitsune]

Nov 24, 2010 6:23:55 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Nov 24, 2010 2:11:45 GMT -5 celticjobber said:

I remember before the whole Spirit Squad thing, reading somewhere that he was pegged to be one of the biggest stars in WWE whenever he was called up to the roster. They saw alot of potential in him, for whatever reason.

To be fair, he had a pretty successful run in OVW, from what I remember, so they thought it'd translate into a good WWE run. Spirit Squad was a great angle, but after it ran its course, he didn't really move past it very well.

Which is ironic, because during his entire run in the Spirit Squad, he was always trying to downplay the gimmick and always had an "I'm too good for this embarrassing shit." Look on his face. Just that people tended not to notice it because the rest of the Squad were over-the-top enough to make up for it.

[Steveweiser]

His downfall seemed to coincide with Mickie very publicly dumping him in the locker room, in addition to his attitude problems. Even Dragon Gate USA didn't book him anymore after just one show.

[Jimmy]

I can understand why WWE so him as a potential top guy. He was only 20 years old with short hair and a good body and he wasn't terrible or anything in the ring.

That said he was very bland overall and didn't connect with the audience, and the attitude problems were likely the nail in the coffin. Remember the story about Orton slapping him?

[rapidfire187]

Nov 24, 2010 0:10:57 GMT -5 saintpat said:

I never have quite figured out the deal with his big singles push and then near-immediate fade into oblivion.

Seems like as the Spirit Squad was breaking up (either just before or just after) he beat Ric Flair three times and was being billed as possibly breaking Orton's milestone to become the youngest world champ in WWE history ... and like that he was completely out of even the midcard picture and pretty much off TV altogether.

Was there a reason he got that push? And, if so, why was he shoved to the very bottom of the roster so suddenly?

This was during a period where I wasn't watching regularly, so maybe I missed something.

(For the record, I never was a big fan, but at some point I got the impression he was being groomed for some kind of pretty nice spot in the WWE pecking order.)

Didn't his "big push" basically consist of him changing wrestling attire, adding a last name, and getting pinned in an 8 man tag match? Or am I forgetting something?

[cabbageboy]

Doane was in fact terrific in OVW and personally I think WWE destroyed an entire group of OVW guys with the dreadful Spirit Squad gimmick. They basically put the bullet in the brain of Johnny Jeter's career with that gimmick.

But the biggest problem with Doane is that they never took him off TV to repackage him. At least Nick Nemeth was taken off TV and sent to Florida and was repackaged as Dolph Ziggler. But Doane was booked as a joke in the Squad, then people were somehow supposed to think he was impressive as a solo guy? What's odd is that when all of those guys were in OVW I thought Nemeth was certainly one of the weakest in the group, miles beneath Doane, Jeter, and maybe even Mondo.

[Trent Valentine]

Nov 24, 2010 8:40:24 GMT -5 Steveweiser said:

His downfall seemed to coincide with Mickie very publicly dumping him in the locker room, in addition to his attitude problems. Even Dragon Gate USA didn't book him anymore after just one show.

Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up there Stevie, she actually dumped him in front of everyone? I knew the reason his push dwindled because of his arrogant attitude..but I had no idea Mickie kicked him to the curb, whats the details on this one?

[Metalheadbanger Man]

They moved him to Smackdown, and that pretty much killed the guy's WWE career.

He jobbed a few times, formed an alliance with Victoria, then disappeared for months. When he came back, he was squashed by Triple H, and went back to being a jobber again.

Still, I reckon he might come back one day. He is still really young, so you never know.

[Deleted]

I used to go to OVW "house shows" on WWE PPV days because they'd show the PPVs for free on a big screen after the show.

It's bizarre that he didn't manage to connect with the crowd, given how great he was at it in OVW any time I saw him. He'd be doing some pretty good stuff any time he was in some sort of tag match waiting to be tagged in.

My personal favorite was when he was on the apron during some tag match. He was doing his usual gesturing to the crowd with a little talking, when he suddenly hops down and walks to the crowd. Keep in mind this is an OVW house show, so there's only like 80 of us there or whatever.

He approaches one railing and says "anyone have some water?" A little girl proceeds to hand him her bottle of water. He takes a big gulp from it, walks around the ring to where his teammate is choking his opponent with his head hanging off the apron. Doane spits the entire mouthful of water in the guys face then walks back over and tosses the water bottle to the little girl. Then says "That's some good water, thanks" and gives a thumbs up. =P

[saintpat]

Nov 24, 2010 11:00:22 GMT -5 rapidfire187 said:

Nov 24, 2010 0:10:57 GMT -5 saintpat said:

I never have quite figured out the deal with his big singles push and then near-immediate fade into oblivion.

Seems like as the Spirit Squad was breaking up (either just before or just after) he beat Ric Flair three times and was being billed as possibly breaking Orton's milestone to become the youngest world champ in WWE history ... and like that he was completely out of even the midcard picture and pretty much off TV altogether.

Was there a reason he got that push? And, if so, why was he shoved to the very bottom of the roster so suddenly?

This was during a period where I wasn't watching regularly, so maybe I missed something.

(For the record, I never was a big fan, but at some point I got the impression he was being groomed for some kind of pretty nice spot in the WWE pecking order.)

Didn't his "big push" basically consist of him changing wrestling attire, adding a last name, and getting pinned in an 8 man tag match? Or am I forgetting something?

He beat Flair three times in three tries. Not just anybody gets to do that -- even guys who are already established.

Just as suddenly, bang, he's out of the picture entirely. It's hard to figure what could have changed WWE's collective minds -- they must have wanted to push him to have Flair do the job three times in a row to get him over.

[casualobserver]

His failure was that his post-Spirit Squad gimmick was that he was "21 year old Kenny Dykstra". Once he turned 22, creative had nothing for him.