KANE

For months, we had been warned about the arrival of an evil force prepared to exact revenge on his half-brother, Undertaker. Fans wondered how this scenario would play out. Finally, on October 5, 1997, he arrived.

Shawn Michaels and Undertaker were locked in an intense battle in the first Hell in a Cell, but when the lights went out, to the shock and fascination of millions, an imposing masked figure clad in red materialized, and strode methodically to the ring. As the action screeched to a halt, 20,000 sets of eyes in the Kiel Center were transfixed on him. The Big Red Monster walked to the side of the Cell, tore the cage door off its hinges, disposed of the referee, and summoned fire from the four ring posts. As the crowd gasped, Kane hoisted up his brother and buried him with a Tombstone.

It was one of the most dramatic debuts in WWE history, and immediately established Kane as an unrelenting physical machine. His rivalry with Undertaker became a staple of WWE programming. With anticipation climbing to a fever pitch, the inevitable matchup finally occurred at WrestleMania XIV. In what was truly one of the great matches between big men in WWE history, Undertaker managed to defeat Kane. The defeat, however, barely broke Kane's momentum. In fact, because Undertaker needed three Tombstone piledrivers to defeat his half-brother, it only fueled the fans' interest in this seemingly superhuman creature.

In the time since, Kane has furthered his legacy, as he won the WWE Championship and twice held the Intercontinental title. For a man who grew up as a social outcast, he has had greatest success in tag teams, with eight World Tag Team titles to his credit (two reigns apiece with Mankind, X-Pac, Undertaker and Rob Van Dam).

For a time, he seemed at peace with himself, but that soon changed. On June 23, 2003, Kane received a World title shot against Triple H, but a stipulation of the match stated that if Kane lost, he would have to unmask. After a vicious fight, Triple H emerged the victor, and Kane lost his mask. He began to retreat into himself and return to the darkness that had enveloped him in his earlier days. He turned on his tag team partner RVD, assaulted Raw co-General Manager Stone Cold Steve Austin, and, in an act of savage barbarity, set fire to announcer Jim Ross. To top it all off, he Tombstoned WWE CEO Linda McMahon. That action precipitated Shane McMahon's return to competition, and ignited a rivalry between the pair.

For the past six years, Kane has been a stalwart of WWE. During the most competitive phase in the organization's history, he has continuously been one of the best. His arrival was among the most anticipated in history, and years later, it is safe to say that it was well worth the wait.

straight to the top

~* Articles Index *~

~* Main Squeeze *~