WWE Missed Opportunities: Could Brian Kendrick Have Been the Next HBK?

It has been nearly six years since Brian Kendrick was an active competitor in WWE. His name may not even ring a bell with current WWE fans.

But Kendrick was a member of the WWE roster for nearly six years between two different stints. Though it never happened, Kendrick's career easily could have mirrored that of legendary Superstar Shawn Michaels.

That shouldn't sound too crazy, as Kendrick was trained by Michaels at his wrestling school in San Antonio.

During his first run in WWE, Kendrick competed under the name "Spanky," and he had a brief feud with John Cena. He also teamed with Paul London a few times but decided to leave the company in January 2004.

About a year-and-a-half later, WWE brought Kendrick back, and he and London, who was also trained by Michaels, reformed their tag team. It didn't take them long to find success.

After a long program with MNM, London and Kendrick defeated that team at Judgment Day in May 2006 to become the WWE tag team champions.

The pair would go on to have one of the longer tag team title reigns in WWE history, holding the belts for 11 months. During its run, the team conjured up memories of Michaels' old tag team, The Rockers.

With London and Kendrick being two smaller, high-flying competitors full of energy, it was easy to see that the two teams had many similarities. But it was after Kendrick broke away from the team that the similarities to Michaels and the run he had became even more clear.

After Michaels left former partner Marty Jannetty in the dust, many fans were likely skeptical how he would do as a singles competitor on a roster that included the likes of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Randy Savage, to name a few.

But Michaels took his new arrogant persona and ran with it, going further than anyone could have possibly imagined, effectively turning himself into one of the best wrestlers in the world.

After being drafted to the SmackDown brand in 2008, the team of London and Kendrick was split up. That gave WWE the chance to repackage Kendrick, turning him into a cocky heel, a side of Kendrick WWE fans had never seen.

Kendrick became known as The Brian Kendrick, complete with his own bodyguard, Ezekiel Jackson. Of course, this brought back memories of the days the towering Diesel stood in the corner of Michaels.

Whether Kendrick could shed the image of a high-flying tag team wrestler was on him, but things started out well. He collected several victories on SmackDown before qualifying for the inaugural WWE Championship Scramble, which was held at Unforgiven in September 2008.

Though Kendrick failed to win the match, it seemed clear that big things were on the horizon.

But that wasn't the case. In fact, Kendrick never sniffed the main event scene following that match. Had the company soured on him as a singles competitor?

Kendrick began to team with Jackson. Michaels once formed a tag team with Diesel, and the two even became tag team champions. That never happened for Kendrick and Jackson.

Kendrick soon fizzled out, and in July 2009, he was released from his contract, one year after he debuted his new persona.

What made WWE give up on him so fast?

While very few wrestlers will ever accomplish what Michaels did in his career, it seemed WWE should have given Kendrick more time to grow.

He had the look and was developing the right attitude. He certainly had the in-ring ability. Perhaps he wouldn't have won 14 titles in WWE, as Michaels did, but he could have easily been one of the top heels in the company for many years.

For those who think Kendrick may have one more run left in him, he will appear on the next broadcast of NXT, as revealed by NXT general manager William Regal in the video below:

But Kendrick is now 35 years old. There is a very good chance that he will only be used in an enhancement or coaching role in NXT.

Since the days of Steve Austin and The Rock, WWE has had a difficult time cultivating marquee names on its own, which is as big a reason as any as to why John Cena has been around the main event scene for so long.

WWE had a real opportunity to do that with Kendrick. He had a good chance to grab one of Vince McMahon's "brass rings."

However, it can only be chalked up as a missed opportunity now.