Phillip Kennedy
From PTCpedia
Phillip Kennedy (born Phillip Benjamin Kennedy) is an American professional wrestler and semi-professional poker player, currently working for Sin City Championship Wrestling as one half of the SCCW Strength in Numbers Champions along with Katsidy. He is a member of the Dead Man's Hand stable.
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Life Before Wrestling
Kennedy was born in Baltimore, Maryland to parents Robert and Lori. Perhaps foreshadowing his later career path, he was born on July 7, 1977 (7/7/77). He had a relatively uneventful childhood, growing up in a middle-class section of the city. He was an average student in school, but had no problems with going. During high school, he lettered in both track & field (as a hurdler and javelin thrower) and in basketball (as an often played sixth man off the bench, who could play both guard positions). Phillip gave up his athletic aspirations when he went to college, enrolling at the University of Maryland, where he majored in journalism.
Graduating as a member of the Class of 1999, Kennedy soon found himself bouncing from job to job for the next four years, working in construction, sales, and even as a bartender for a brief period. 2003, however, was the year that changed Kennedy's life, with the airing of the 2003 World Series of Poker on ESPN and subsequent poker boom.
Watching the event on TV, Kennedy was instantly intrigued, and signed up for one of the many then-legal internet poker sites. Despite losing $100 in his first session, Phillip was instantly hooked, and began studying the game. Purchasing a variety of the poker books released to capitalize on the boom, Kennedy soon came to understand the mathematical background behind the game. With his newfound knowledge, Kennedy returned to the Internet poker tables, and soon found himself making more money in his spare time playing poker than he was in his "real job". With this in mind, Phillip made the decision to pack up and move to Las Vegas, Nevada, to attempt to make it as a professional poker player. This news, not surprisingly, did not make his parents especially happy. Both Robert and Lori refused to talk to Phillip once he left for Vegas, a fact that still haunts Kennedy to this day.
Phillip arrived in Las Vegas in January of 2004 intent to make a living as a poker player. While he did have to supplement his income by working a part-time job (as a bouncer for one of Sin City's many "adult establishments"), Kennedy was successful at making a living playing cards. He considers himself as having been a professional from 2004 until late 2007, in which a string of bad luck at the tables made him re-evaluate his decision.
Realizing that he needed more seed money to enter tournaments, he began looking for a job that would allow him to continue playing poker semi-professionally, while paying more than the bouncer gig. While bouncing, he was noticed by local journeyman wrestler "Sour" Sam Stoute. After a few drinks with Stoute, the wrestler offered to train Kennedy at half-price in exchange for being allowed into the club weekly without a cover charge. Phillip agreed, and Kennedy soon found himself playing poker, training to wrestler, and bouncing, sometimes all three in one day.
Stoute deemed Kennedy graduated in April of 2008. With training, but no job lined up, Kennedy began to scour the wrestling scene for work. On a whim, he put in an application to Sin City Championship Wrestling, hoping that his hometown promotion would be willing to take a flier on a semi-professional poker player living in Las Vegas. Management, to his surprise, contacted him two weeks later with a job offer that he immediately took.
Poker Career
Phillip Kennedy estimates that he has won about $300,000 playing poker over the course of his career in the sport, counting both online and live play. His style, he says, is drawn mainly from reading Doyle Brunson's seminal "Super System" and "Super System II" books, "Harrington on Hold'Em" by Dan Harrington, and "Play Poker Like The Pros" by Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth, in particular, is one of Kennedy's idols, both in poker and in wrestling, for his bad boy, "Poker Brat" image.
Most of Kennedy's success has come in cash games, though he does possess two cashes in World Series of Poker events, one in a 2005 Razz event, as well as a money finish in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event.
With his wrestling career underway, Kennedy takes part in far fewer live tournaments, preferring to play most of his poker on the internet. His favorite games are No Limit Hold'em, Razz, and Pot Limit Omaha.
Sin City Championship Wrestling
Kennedy made his professional wrestling debut on the May 5, 2008 edition of SCCW Temptation, in a losing effort against Jay Draven. He would, however, notch his first professional victory in only his second match, a triple threat match against the debuting Simon King and Tina Davis, Kennedy using his Straight Flush manuever on Davis to pick up the win on the first ever SIN on SPIKE. Perhaps more importantly, however, Kennedy would go on to meet Katsidy backstage following his victory. The two became, shall we say, fast friends, beginning the rookie's association with Desade's notorious Dead Man's Hand stable.
The June 28 Temptation saw Kennedy step into the ring for the third time in his career, against the recently returned Sean Sterling, member of the Highwaymen, in a qualifying match for the Heaven & Hell Match at SCCW All-In. During comments made before the match, Sterling made no bones about his belief that Kennedy had been sent to face him by order of Desade. Kennedy himself met with Hand associate Savant before the contest, discussing a variety of topics. Ultimately, Sterling was victorious in the qualifier, defeating Kennedy with the Hail to the Thief.
Kennedy would go on to face Wyatt Connors in a match for the SCCW LiveWire Title on the July 13th edition of Temptation. In spite of arguably his best performance to date in the company, the experienced False Prophet was able to overcome the distracting force of Katsidy on color commentary, and use the Big Stack's own brass knuckles to defeat him and retain the title.
In spite of this loss, Kennedy found himself with two high profile matches, a "Last Exit Rumble" qualifier for the eighth and final spot in the Heaven & Hell Match at All-In on the July 20th Temptation, and a shot at the SCCW Strength in Numbers Title against Andre Jensen and Sameer al-Jezuri.
Kennedy cashed in on the first of these two opportunities on Temptation, coming into the Rumble fifth of eight entrants, and eliminating Andre Jensen, Charley Crisp, and Jadian Bridden to win the contest, albeit with copious assistance from the Dead Man's Hand representatives at ringside and in the match. In doing so, he earned himself a second match at All-In -- the main event Heaven & Hell match, in which the winner recieves the "Big Slick" bracelet and a title shot whenever he or she so chooses
All-In revealed Kennedy's official membership in the Dead Man's Hand, as he and Katsidy cheated their way to victory over Jensen and al-Jezuri to capture the SCCW Strength in Numbers Title. The Heaven & Hell Match fared less well for Kennedy, as he was eliminated first by eventual winner Charlotte Ramone's Blitzkrieg Bop.
He is not scheduled for a match on the following Temptation, but as a member of the Hand, it is more likely than not that he will be in attendance.
SCCW Record
3-4-0
1. (5/5/08 Temptation @ Qwest Arena, Boise, IH): Jay Draven beat Phillip Kennedy with the Spinebuster.
2. (5/26/08 SIN on SPIKE I @ United Center, Chicago, IL): Phillip Kennedy beat Simon King and Tina Davis when he used the Straight Flush on Davis.
3. (6/22/08 Temptation @ The Pyramid, Memphis, TN): Sean Sterling beat Phillip Kennedy with the Hail to the Thief to qualify for the Heaven & Hell Match.
4. (7/13/08 Temptation @ Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, AK): Wyatt Connors beat Phillip Kennedy with a brass-knuckles assisted right hand to retain the SCCW LiveWire Title.
5. (7/20/08 Temptation @ Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX): Phillip Kennedy (5th in) beat Jadian Bridden (1st), Charley Crisp (2nd), Vassago (3rd), Jay Draven (4th), Elliott Rollins (6th), Andre Jensen (7th), and Hunter Sabuani (8th) in a Last Exit Rumble to qualify for the Heaven & Hell Match.
- Draven eliminated Vassago with a belly-to-back suplex over the top rope.
- Sabuani eliminated himself by going over the top rope.
- Bridden eliminated Rollins by pinfall with the Last Breath.
- Kennedy eliminated Jensen by pinfall with a roll of quarters assisted punch and Katsidy interference.
- Kennedy eliminated Crisp with The Nuts to knock Crisp over the top rope.
- Bridden eliminated Draven by pinfall with a chair-assisted top rope moonsault.
- Kennedy eliminated Bridden by pinfall with a modified Emerald Fusion.
6. (8/2/08 All-In @ Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY): Phillip Kennedy & Katsidy beat Andre Jensen & Sameer al-Jezuri when Kennedy pinned al-Jezuri with the Acecracker Lariat to become the third SCCW Strength in Numbers Champions.
7. (8/2/08 All-In @ Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY): Charlotte Ramone beat Phillip Kennedy, Sean Sterling, King Blueberry, Mayhem, and [[Wyatt Connors] in the Heaven & Hell Match to capture the Big Slick Bracelet.
In-Ring
- Finishing and Signature Moves
- The Nuts (Running Enzuilariat)
- Acecracker Lariat (Nigel McGuinness-style Rebound Lariat)
- Check-Raise (Running No-Hands Tope)
- The Bullet (Running Big Boot)
- Viva Las Vegas (One-Leg Cradle Death Valley Driver)
- Straight Flush (Sitout Inverted Mat Slam)
- The Nuts (Running Enzuilariat)
- Entrance Music
- "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by Big & Rich (current)
- Introduction to "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy", leading into "Tap That" by Megan McCauley (team theme with Katsidy)
- "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by Big & Rich (current)
