When former WWE star's planned world title win vs. The Undertaker was canceled: Why did plans change?

The Undertaker defeated Batista in a grueling World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 23 on April 1, 2007. On the other hand, former WWE Superstar Mr. Kennedy secured the Money in the Bank briefcase in a ladder match at the same event.

Considering Mr. Kennedy and 'Taker closed off 2006 with an intense rivalry, fans wondered if the former would cash in his MITB contract against The Phenom.

WWE seemingly had the same thought around Backlash 2007 when The Undertaker injured his bicep muscle and was supposed to go on a hiatus. Hence, the creative had to make sure the title was taken off him before he was sidelined.

The idea was to have Mr. Kennedy cash in the MITB contract against 'Taker on SmackDown. Unfortunately, a few days before the planned title change, Mr. Kennedy suffered a tricep injury during a match against Batista.

WWE's management jumped to conclusions about the intensity of Mr. Kennedy's injury and believed he, too, would be out for several months. Therefore, Vince McMahon canceled the idea of 'Taker dropping the title to Kennedy.

Instead, McMahon planned for Mr. Kennedy to drop the MITB briefcase to Edge. Mr. Kennedy spoke about it in detail during his appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet.

"Then the next day, Stephanie [McMahon] called me in my hotel room, and she's like, ‘Ken, you tore your triceps off the bone. We're gonna have to, we still need to get that title off of 'Taker, though. So we're sending this jet to pick you up. We're gonna take you to Penn State, Edge is going to challenge you for the briefcase, and then he's gonna go on and do what you're supposed to do tomorrow night.'"

Edge squashed Mr. Kennedy in eight seconds to secure the Money in the Bank briefcase. The Rated-R Superstar cashed in against The Undertaker as planned to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

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Mr. Kennedy wanted WWE to pursue a different route for his match against The Undertaker

WWE seemingly did not let Kennedy enjoy his run as Mr. MITB, and his momentum fizzled out soon after his loss. The promotion eventually let him go in 2009.

When Kennedy injured his arm, he did not want to drop the briefcase to Edge. Kennedy revealed that he wanted to hold onto his briefcase while recovering from his injury.

"Even at the time, I was like, 'Ah, this makes me look stupid. I have a year to cash this thing in, even if I was gone for nine months. I could take the time off, get well, and then come back.' I remember thinking there’s gotta be a different way that you can get the title off of 'Taker. Like what if you didn’t have the Money in the Bank? You’d figure something out."

Mr. Kennedy's injury wasn't as severe as initially expected. He recovered soon, but his dream of pinning The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship did not materialize.