This is a script from a video on my YouTube channel. You can find the video version here: https://youtu.be/4auzn3HIJcM
The new year is a time where people are supposed to be optimistic for the future but if you were a John Cena fan in 2007, a rare breed at the time, it was hard to be anything other than angry. On January 1st 2007 WWE presented Raw from Miami Florida, where WWE Champion John Cena would lose in the a main event four on one handicap match by getting himself DQ's for using a chair. By the end of the night Cena would stand tall leading into his upcoming title defence against Umaga, but in the process Super Cena had well and truly snapped. What caused him to lose his temper? He also lost in the opening match that night, against someone who never got in the ring before or since. Kevin Federline. The man known at the time as K-Fed was famous for being the spouse of one of the most famous pop stars of the time, but lets look a little further into his background.
Kevin Federline was born in 1978, making him 28 years old at the time of his one wrestling match taking place. He began his career as a backup dancer, appearing in music videos for the likes of Pink, Justin Timberlake, and crucially Britney Spears. After five months of courting, Kevin and Britney would marry in September 2004. This union was heavily criticised by the media, given that Federline had left his pregnant former partner, actor Shay Jackson to begin his relationship with Britney, who had her own issues as the time too. Neither's public image was great by late 2006, especially Kevin who came across in the media as a gold digger. In October 2006 Spears filed for divorce, but also in the same month, Federline would release his own rap album, Playing with Fire, which Britney was an executive Producer of. If you're wondering, Playing with Fire was absolutely panned by critics, selling 6000 copies in its launch week, and isn't even on Spotify today.
I'm only adding this for context, but six weeks after Kevin's Raw match in February 2007 Britney would reach her lowest point, when she walked into a hair salon late at night and shaved her own hair off in full view of the paparazzi that had been following her almost constantly. In interviews years later she would claim that the incident that triggered this was Kevin not allowing her to see their two children. This led to the conservatorship that she was kept under until late 2021.
Sorry for getting off topic, but all of that is relevant to why Kevin Federline was ever in WWE, as he first appeared in October 2006 to promote his album. He would get into an altercation with John Cena, who at the time wasn't far removed from his rapper character having released his own rap album called 'You Can't See Me' in 2005. For comparisons's sake its worth noting that Cena's record sold 143,000 copies in its first week, considerably more than K-Fed. The album also introduced the world to "The Time is Now", the song Cena makes his entrance to still in 2022.
It's worth noting at this point for fairness, that the Wrestling Observer noted that Federline was well liked backstage, and clearly appreciated his time in WWE. That doesn't make it any less baffling though, how they would put him over the current WWE champion ahead of a major title defence. At least it didn't happen anywhere close to cleanly...
The much anticipated Cena vs Federline match would open the January 1st Raw, and would be riddled with interference as K-Fed announced it would be a no DQ match, and would walk to the ring with Johnny Nitro, as he was known at the time. Now he's just called John "whatever company he happens to be at tonight".
Before the bell K-Fed stalls to draw even more heat from a crowd that likely didn't want to see him anyway. Seconds in Jerry Lawler notes that this is the first WWE match of 2007, making this all the more worse. Cena offers Federline a free headlock, which is the exact same way Lawler started his legendary match with Andy Kaufman, so that had to be a callback with Jerry sitting ringside. I'll spare you from a blow by blow analysis, but this match was truly awful, ending when Umaga took advantage of the no DQ rules and attacked Cena, leading to K-Fed rolling in and getting a pin fall victory of the WWE Champion. A true low point for John Cena, and one I bet WWE wants you to forget. Later that night, Cena would get a measure of revenge after laying out his opponents in the handicap match. He would go after K-Fed who was doing commentary, and deliver a vicious looking FU, now known as the attitude adjustment. Cena's career would recover though, as he would defend the WWE title in an epic match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 23, then a month later have a one hour classic with the Heartbreak Kid on an episode of Raw from London.
As for Kevin Federline, as best I can tell he has made more attempts to succeed in the music business, and appears to be working as a DJ as of this year, living a quieter life. To his credit from recent interviews Kevin comes across as a devoted father, just not one who should have pinned Peacemaker. I only added DC in to make this just a little bit weirder...
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