Rhett Titus Says Kenny King’s ROH Return Was To Originally Be As The “Kind Karess” Under A Mask

Well, it’s a good thing that didn’t happen.

Kenny King and Rhett Titus were a part of a tag team revolution in the early 2010s. The Ring of Honor roster boasted All Night Xpress, Worlds Greatest Tag Team, Kings of Wrestling, Forever Hooligans, Young Bucks, Future Shock and The Briscoes at any given time. However, out of nowhere, Kenny King left Rhett Titus and split ANX at their peak, as Titus recalled to Fightful.

“So, it was one of those things where when Kenny told me, ‘Hey, man. I’m gonna be on IMPACT! tonight,’ I was like, ‘Oh. Okay. Like, we’re the tag champs, but go ahead. Do what’s best for Kenny King’, you know? I never held any ill will towards him or anything like that, but we definitely stayed in touch. Always talking shop and that sort of thing and like, ‘Oh, what’s this guy up to,’ and, ‘What’s the drama over there?’ That whole thing,” he said. 

After three years in TNA, Kenny King was ready to leave after a major mishap. Fortunately for King, his old partner was willing to help bring him back to ROH.

“The thing that really set him off was when Hernandez appeared for IMPACT! when he was under contract with Lucha Underground. So, they had like eight weeks of TV or something like that. All of it got scraped. Kenny had a cage match and he dove off the cage and all this stuff that was gonna be really break out stuff for him, and none of it aired. He was just infuriated about this. Then around that same time his contract was running up, so they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re just gonna do a per show thing.’ He was like, ‘Oh, yeah. That’s cool with me.’ He was like, ‘Hey, man, you think you could put in the word?’ I was like, ‘I gotcha, bro.’ Sure enough, I think the next month Kenny King was popping out at the All Star Extravaganza and we answered the Briscoe’s open challenge.”

In King’s absence, Titus joined SCUM, and was forced out of Ring of Honor. He returned under a mask as The Romantic Touch, but it had played itself out over time. Titus tells us that originally, the plan was for the two to reunite, both under masks. Mercifully, that didn’t happen, and instead they just brought back the tried and true team.

 “That (All Star Extravaganza spot) almost didn’t happen because the original plan was for Kenny King to come under a mask as the Kind Karess, the Romantic Touch’s tag team partner as the Afternoon Delight. But, at that point, the Romantic Touch had been around for—you know, he’d probably overstayed his welcome. But, it was just, like, ‘Alright. We just need to hit the ground running with this.’ All Night Express, the Briscoes, first night back, big win on pay-per-view. You can’t ask for much more.”

You can follow Rhett Titus on Twitter, Instagram, and check out his Pro Wrestling Tees store at this link.