Kane
Inducted by JCool
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In the fall of 1997, at the WWE In Your House: Badd Blood pay-per-view, Vince McMahon correctly identified Paul Bearer’s newest wrestler, who had been foretold as The Undertaker’s younger brother, Kane. Kane had been rumoured to appear for months as Bearer teased Undertaker with a family secret he would reveal to the world. For over 20 years, that secret has evolved into one of the most well-known and captivating characters WWE has ever created. And that evolution has been thanks to Kane, himself, being willing to take risks and grow from a masked machine to a corporate stooge and even a comedic presence who could poke fun at his own extreme antics. Through it all, Kane has been a top-tier, dependable big man and I’d like to just share a few stories of what I think of when I think of Kane.
That first year, when I was still a kid, just getting into my wrestling fandom for the second time, Kane scared the crap out of me. The mask, the mannerisms, the way he destroyed his opponents and so closely mirrored the Undertaker’s moveset were all well-executed and… scary to behold. There was, quite frankly, no one else like him in WWE. Although pyro was fairly common, Kane’s blasts of fire were so loud and sudden; there was not much opportunity to prepare for them, especially if you witnessed them live. He had that supernatural element, early on, striking lightning on the TitanTron set and even a ringside worker. Those turnbuckle pyros were quite unique too, another feature that set Kane apart from the other stars.
Scary. He didn’t talk much. His father, Paul Bearer did most of the talking in his creepy, dramatic voice, which added so much to his presentation. You just knew when you heard and saw Paul that somebody was gonna be getting choke slammed or tombstoned real soon. And when Kane did talk over a year into his tenure, he had that voicebox that, again, added a unique element to his character. Some people saw it as silly and unnecessary, but I had never heard anything like it. That combination of creepiness with the leather mask and the head tilt…Kane was always willing to lean into the scary. I mean, think of the famous “Inferno” match from April 1998, the rematch from WrestleMania XIV. To win, Undertaker or Kane would have to set the other on fire. Kane ended up wrestling four of those over his career and lost every time, which resulted in him having his hand or arm lit on fire four times, and that’s not mentioning how hot it was to wrestle inside a ring surrounded by flames. Now is that just scary or scary how brave you have to be to wrestle under those conditions?
Kane was an attraction. Bruce Prichard, one of the men behind the creation of Kane’s persona, has spoken a lot on his podcast about the importance of having attractions on your roster. Guys who people want to see, regardless of if they are in the main event or not. Kane was definitely an attraction and he is in the top wrestlers to appear on WWE TV and PPV/PLE cards. I believe only Randy Orton has wrestled on more PPV/PLE’s than Kane and Kane is at 187 during his 20+ years in the ring. That is incredible and he was often in a featured role, fighting some kind of gimmick match or title match on those cards. Whether it was a Hell in a Cell match, a ladder match, a Money In The Bank match, a battle royal or Royal Rumble, a handicap match, a hardcore match, an ambulance match, heck even a casket match. Kane took on all of those opportunities and the people were keen to see how he would handle his opponents in those match types. There was plenty of destruction!
Speaking of which, those times when Kane and the Undertaker decided to get along and join forces… the BROTHERS of DESTRUCTION. Now that was a formidable tag team. They were so strong together during that initial run in 2001, and again in their 2008/09 iteration. In fact, it may surprise you to know that Kane is an 11-time tag team champion, a far more successful tag wrestler than singles wrestler over the course of his career. His monster strong-man style of wrestling paired well with shorter, quicker, and striking-first wrestlers like X-Pac, Rob Van Dam and Daniel Bryan. Teaming up with those wrestlers also allowed Kane to show off his personality and comedic timing, so that he wasn’t so SCARY anymore.
His last tag reign with Daniel Bryan featured those vignettes with the therapist and man, those were exceptionally well done. That one session where Kane is recounting all of the awful things he had done in WWE, so tongue-in-cheek with how downright silly some of them sound in the context of a serious therapy session. For a monster like Kane to ultimately become such a beloved and cheered wrestler is no small feat and it just shows how talented and versatile Kane was. That he was willing to evolve to serve these different roles and purposes, and continue to win over the fans well into his career is a testament to his success in the world of wrestling.
Today, the Big Red Machine, is not only a world champion, triple crown champion, superstar and feature attraction…he is welcomed into the Wrestling Headlines/LOP Hall of Fame, taking his rightful place alongside his brother who was inducted just a few years ago. This hall just got a lot more hellish and a lot scarier. But I’m not scared of him anymore! With the career Kane has had, I’m just impressed and thankful for what he has given to this world of sports and entertainment. Congratulations, Kane!
Career Accomplishments
- 2 time WWE World Champion
- 2 time WWE Intercontinental Champion
- 11 time WWE and World Tag Team Champion
- 2 time PWI Top WWE Tag Team of the Year (1999 w. Undertaker, 2012 w. Daniel Bryan)
- WWE Hall of Fame Induction (2021)
Lords of Pain.net/Wrestling Headlines.com welcomes Kane into the Hall of Fame class of 2026.
Related Links:
JBL Elevates Kane as One of Wrestling’s Most Underrated Greats
Wrestling Headlines/LOP Hall of Fame 2024: The Undertaker
