 Diamond in 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patrick Joseph Michael Kenney[5] (1968-05-26)May 26, 1968 (age 57)[1] Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.[4] |
| Alma mater | Virginia Commonwealth University |
Spouse | Candice Kenney |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Lance Diamond[1] Simon Diamond[1] Pat Kenney |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2][3] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[2][3] |
| Billed from | South Bend, Indiana[2] |
| Trained by | Jim Kettner[1] |
| Debut | 1991[2] |
| Retired | 2006[4] |
Patrick Joseph Michael Kenney (born May 26, 1968) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler andbaseball player, better known by hisring name,Simon Diamond. He is working for theNational Wrestling Alliance as Director of Talent Relations. Diamond is best known for his appearances withExtreme Championship Wrestling from 1998 to 2001.[1][2][4]
Kenney attended theSalesianum School for Boys inWilmington, Delaware, graduating in 1986.[6][7] An avidbaseball player as a teenager, he was approached by theSan Diego Padres to playMajor League Baseball as acatcher in 1986.[1] Kenney decided not to sign the contract he was offered, opting to pursue acollege education first. Kenney took a job at the Out Of Boundssports bar as abartender and attendedVirginia Commonwealth University on abaseballscholarship, earning abachelor's degree inEnglish. He originally planned to play baseball professionally after graduating, but was forced to reconsider after suffering a severe shoulder injury.[1] Kenney's prior baseball career would later be used as an angle when he would visit the training camp of the 2005 world champions, theChicago White Sox.
In 1991, while working as amarketing executive forPepsiCo, Kenney was introduced to wrestling trainer Jim Kettner. Kenney decided to become a professional wrestler, and was trained by Kettner inSalem, New Jersey. Once his training was complete, he worked for Kettner'sEast Coast Wrestling Association as "Lance Diamond", teaming withSteve Corino.
In May 1998, Kenney was hired byExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and wrestled his first match againstNova inYork, Pennsylvania. In August 1998, he changed his name to "Simon Diamond", taking the name "Simon" from the real surname of his mentor,Dean Malenko. Kenney was paired withSwinger in May 2000 during anECW World Tag Team Championship tournament and the two later formed a tag team which would endure for five more years.[1]
Diamond and Swinger joined forces withC. W. Anderson in mid-2000, and began to ascend the ranks of the promotion.[1]
The impending bankruptcy of ECW in 2001 forced Diamond to seek employment elsewhere, and he began negotiations withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) employeeJohn Laurinaitis, which fell through when WCW was purchased by theWorld Wrestling Federation in March 2001.
Diamond worked for variousindependentpromotions, including USA Professional Wrestling,Border City Wrestling andWorld Wrestling All-Stars.[1] InMajor League Wrestling, he formedThe Extreme Horsemen with his two former allies Steve Corino and C. W. Anderson.Justin Credible was also a member, andJ. J. Dillon briefly managed them before MLW folded.[1]
On July 9, 2003, Kenney and Swinger appeared on aTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)pay-per-view, beginning afeud withAmerica's Most Wanted (Chris Harris andJames Storm).[1] Enlisting the services ofmanagerGlenn Gilbertti, the duo won theNWA World Tag Team Championships on August 27, 2003, and held the titles until November 19, when the titles were held up following a controversial ending to a match with the3 Live Kru.[1]
Kenney and Swinger separated in 2004 and engaged in a feud, which saw Kenneyturnface and embrace hisIrish heritage, wrestling as "Irish" Pat Kenney.[1] After being briefly renamed The Empire Saint, Kenney was notbooked by TNA for several months, during which time he spent three weeks competing inJapan with theZero-1 promotion.
Kenney returned to TNA on June 19, 2005, atSlammiversary as theheel Simon Diamond once more.[1] At Slammiversary, Kenney teamed withTrytan (whom he referred to as his "insurance policy") to defeatSonny Siaki andApolo.[1] The next month, Trytan was gone, and atNo Surrender 2005 Diamond presentedDavid Young, suggesting that, in Young, he had found "adiamond in the rough".[1]Elix Skipper joined with Diamond and Young atSacrifice on August 14.[1]
In September 2005, Kenney spent two weeks inIndia, where he and fellow TNA employeesSonjay Dutt andShark Boy visited several cities,promoting the debut ofImpact! onESPN Star Sports.[1] On September 28 inBhopal, ariot broke out when 1,000 fans were excluded from an event after attendance exceeded expectations.[1] None of the three TNA wrestlers were injured.
Kenney returned to America in October 2005, and on December 8 started an angle with Chicago White Sox catcherA. J. Pierzynski.[1] AtTurning Point the Diamonds in the Rough (Diamond, Young and Skipper) were defeated in a six-man tag team match byChris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt andDale Torborg, who had Pierzynski in their corner.[1] Pierzynszki returned to TNA in March 2006 and was once again confronted by Diamond, who ended up getting hit with a chair by the White Sox ManagerOzzie Guillen.[1] Shortly thereafter Kenney became aroad agent for TNA.
On November 3, 2008, Kenney was released from his contract with TNA, with them citing budgetary cuts as the reason.[1]
On September 18, 2009, TNA Wrestling announced that Kenney had been rehired as a road agent to replace the firedJim Cornette andB.G. James.[8]
Kenney returned to television on the July 15, 2010, edition ofImpact!, aligning himself with fellow ECW alumniTommy Dreamer,Raven,Stevie Richards,Rhino,Brother Devon,Al Snow andMick Foley in their invasion of TNA.[9][10][11] The following week, TNA presidentDixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event,Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration ofhardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company.[12] At the event Kenney returned to his Simon Diamond persona and teamed with Johnny Swinger andKid Kash in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated byLittle Guido,Tony Luke andTracy Smothers of TheFull Blooded Italians.[13]
At May 8, 2012, Kenny substituted Taz as Color Commentator atTNA Xplosion, joining Jeremy Borash.
On June 19, 2017, Kenney left Impact Wrestling alongsideShane Helms andAl Snow.
Kenney was seen on theNWA 73rd Anniversary Show Pay Per View during theNick Aldis vsTrevor Murdoch match breaking up outside ring activity.
Diamond appeared as aplayable character in the 2000video gameECW Hardcore Revolution.[3]
Kenney began datingDawn Marie in October 1998.[14][15] Before dating, the two had been good friends for almost two years.[15][16] They had planned to be married by the end of 2000 or into 2001.[15][17] They did not wed, but stayed engaged for several years afterwards.[18] After seven years together, their relationship began to come to an end.[16] Kenney and Candice Kenney have a child born in 2010.[19]
In 2009, Kenney filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against a former priest atSalesianum School.[7]
