Ken Anderson had all the makings of a top star in WWE, meaning his release in 2009 came as a huge surprise to fans. Plans had been in place for a big push which would have seen him take the Money in the Bank briefcase and go on to become WWE Champion, but it was all derailed.
Why? At time time, it was widely reported that Anderson had developed a reputation as an unsafe worker and, as a result, John Cena and Randy Orton allegedly took their concerns to management.
In later interviews, Anderson frequently blamed them both for the fact he was fired and it's been clear for a while now that there's heat between everyone involved. However, during a recent conversation with The A2theK Wrestling Show, Anderson revealed he's cleared the air with Orton and now accepts responsibility.
"I did talk to him, but let me say this. Nobody got me fired. I got me fired," he admitted. "Because I was very bitter and very upset for a few years and that resentment was directed at the wrong place and it should have been directed back at me because had I been doing all the right things, I would have never been in a position where one person’s word could have any effect on my career."
"I was in a position at that time where I had done enough things, and Vince had heard my name in a negative light enough that he just finally said, like, ‘I’m tired of hearing about it. We’re just gonna cut our losses.’ I would’ve fired me."
"We have talked and I think both of us are in very different places in our lives right now," Anderson continued. "I don’t call him but I did run into him when I went backstage at a Monday Night Raw like two years ago, three years ago now, in Minneapolis. [I] had like a very long, pretty cool discussion with him."
It's always good to hear that issues like these have been resolved and it's a shame Anderson's WWE career was derailed. However, there were thought to be a number of injuries stemming from his matches, so the writing may have been on the wall for him.
Since then, he's competed for TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, later winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. In 2019, he worked with the NWA and opened a wrestling school called The Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, along with Shawn Daivari, Molly Holly, Ariya Daivari, and Arik Cannon in 2016.