The Kane Collection

The Kane Collection


I thought I'd try a different name for these posts as they're usually called 'Greatest Hits'. Plus since the word 'greatest' isn't in the title anymore, it means I can include the bad stuff that's still pretty memorable even if it's for the wrong reasons (sorry Kane but you have a LOT of those bad moments) Kane isn't known for having the best matches, but he is one of WWE's most loyal and hardest working athletes, and he has given us almost two decades of entertainment. He definitely deserves his own post.


Here are some of the more memorable matches and moments (maybe even the bad ones) of the big red monster's career. By the way this is gonna be for the Kane character only so there will be no appearances from Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel.



Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels : Hell in a Cell
From Badd Blood IYH. The first ever Cell match and the winner goes on to face the WWF Champion at Survivor Series, thus leading to the Montreal Screwjob. This was easily Taker's best match up to this point, and it wouldn't be topped for another twelve years, strangely enough with Shawn Michaels. Both guys were awesome in their roles with HBK as the cowardly heel and Taker as the monster. An all time classic match that never had a dull moment and gave us what is possibly the best gimmick match in the WWE. Amazing match and one that will stand the test of time. *****

But before the match ended, the lights went out and some eerie music began playing. Paul Bearer appeared with an enormous masked man walking beside him. "That's gotta be Kane!" exclaimed Vince McMahon. He tore the Cell door off with brute force and took out referee Earl Hebner (I guess he could see one month into the future). He stood face to face with the Phenom and delivered an impressive Tombstone Piledriver to cost Undertaker the match. The monster Kane was born.


Strangely enough the character of Kane was only meant to last until Wrestlemania to give Undertaker something to do, but he was just so interesting as a character (even if he never spoke a word) that he just had to stay and he's been with us ever since.



Kane vs Mankind 
From Survivor Series 1997. This is Kane's in-ring debut so I think it was a pretty big deal at the time (how should I know I was only three at the time). He got a good opponent in Mick Foley. Kane had red lighting for the entire bout and it reminded me way too much of Sin Cara. A short match but it was fun while it lasted, mainly thanks to Foley's great bumping. Kane looked very impressive with a win here, and had now started gaining momentum to take him to Wrestlemania. **1/2



Kane vs The Undertaker
From Wrestlemania XIV. Finally after six months of fantastic build up these two monsters are finally going toe to toe. This has got to be one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history and even through the match itself wasn't that great, it was still fun to watch these guys beating the crap out of each other. Kane looked like a massive threat to the Deadman. Kane also ended up being the first guy ever to kick out of two tombstone piledrivers and that wouldn't be repeated until Mania 26. A good match and the best of the Taker/Kane series. Taker may have won the battle, but the war was far from over. One of Kane's most memorable performances. ***



Kane vs The Undertaker : Inferno Match
From IYH Unforgiven 1998. The first ever Inferno match and one that became a staple of Kane's career, even if only two or three of them actually took place. I guess they didn't have that many afterwards due to the safety of the superstars being put in jeopardy each time. I think I enjoyed this match more than others did. The image of these two monsters fighting in a ring of fire was awesome. These guys went back and forth in the ring until Kane escaped and Taker performed his Mania dive over the rope to get to him. Taker then got his revenge on Paul Bearer by sticking a drum on his head. An entertaining spectacle in my opinion as Kane's arm goes on fire to give the Phenom the victory. **1/2



Kane vs Stone Cold Steve Austin : First Blood
From King of the Ring 1998 and the WWF Championship is on the line. Vince McMahon really put the odds against the Rattlesnake in this one since Kane had his entire body covered up so no one could see if he was bleeding or not. This started off fast and furious and the crowd was absolutely hot for Austin. The Hell in a Cell structure lowered at one point and I don't know if the mystery of who lowered it was ever solved. It almost took Austin's head off anyway. A fun match all the way through and one of Kane's biggest moments. Even if it only lasted 24 hours. Still it was a memorable contest. ***1/4



Kane vs The Undertaker vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
From IYH Breakdown 1998 and the WWF Title is on the line. Here we have another case of Vince trying to stack as many odds on Austin as was possible. Austin tried to take the advantage away quickly by attacking Taker with a steel chair during his entrance. It didn't work for long though as the Brothers of Destruction quickly regained control and turned this into a handicap match. The match was quite dull at times but it did have its moments of entertainment. Kane and Taker pin Austin at the same time to vacate the Title. **



Kane & Chyna vs Triple H & X-Pac
From IYH: St Valentine's Day Massacre. So after this Chyna joined HHH and X-Pac, then Chyna and HHH betray X-Pac who would go on to tag with Kane who I guess is kind of his enemy. Got all of that? Because I don't. I guess that's the Attitude Era for you. Anyway this was a fun tag team match that had some very good pacing to it. The crowd was really into is as well. Better than I thought it would be given that Chyna was involved. ***1/2



Kane vs X-Pac : Steel Cage
From Armageddon 1999. Man this feud with X-Pac seems to have gone on for what feels like ages. Kane beat X-Pac via DQ at Survivor Series, so I guess he wanted a definitive victory. Enter the steel cage. This was an ok cage match while it lasted with X-Pac trying everything he could to keep Kane down, but this was the Attitude Era, so of course there had to be a run-in. Not a bad match but it was quite unmemorable aside from Kane's awesome clothesline from the top of the cage. **1/4



Kane vs Chris Jericho : Last Man Standing
From Armageddon 2000. Yes this feud started over a cup of coffee spilled over Kane. I think that's the most memorable part of this feud. This one started off straight away with both guys fighting in the entrance-way. Even though Kane was on offense most of the time, this was still a very entertaining match to watch, mostly thanks to Jericho's great 'face-in-peril' routine that made him very sympathetic to the crowd. This wasn't a very brutal match but it was still a lot of fun and Kane's best match in a while. ***1/4



The 2001 Royal Rumble Match
Normally in these posts, I only put in a Royal Rumble match if the person in question has won the actual match, but this is a rare exception. This Rumble is famous for Kane's eleven eliminations (even if it has now been beaten by Roman Reigns) and it is definitely the most memorable part of an already great Rumble. This is definitely one of the best Rumble's ever as it never dragged and it was a ton of fun to watch the whole way through. Kane totally deserved to win the whole thing. Fantastic stuff. ****1/2



Kane vs Raven vs The Big Show
From Wrestlemania X-Seven and the Hardcore Title is on the line. Raven really looks like he doesn't belong here. This was probably much better than it had any right to be, but it was just mindless fun and that's exactly what it needed to be. Almost the entire match took place backstage and it was very entertaining to watch, especially the part with the golf carts that nearly knocked out the electricity to the entire venue. A good match and Kane wins himself the Hardcore Title with a massive leg drop off the stage. ***



Kane vs Triple H : Chain Match
From Judgement Day 2001 and the IC Title is on the line. This is the from the point in time where HHH and Steve Austin held almost all of the Titles in the WWF. This would be HHH's last PPV match before tearing his quad one day after this show. The chain gimmick worked well as it was used quite a lot during the match. A good match that started slowly and just got better as it went on, and the crowd was very into it as well. Kane pins HHH to win his first IC Title. ***



Kane vs Kurt Angle
From Wrestlemania X-8. I'm not sure what this feud was about. This would be Angle's last Mania with hair and Kane's last one (until Mania 28) with his mask on. This might be Kane's best Mania match, not including the MITB ladder matches he was involved in. Ironically it's probably Angle's worst Mania match. This was just a nice back and forth contest that was never really dull. I didn't really like the roll-up finish but I guess they wanted to keep Kane strong. Still it was a good match. ***


And now Kane is going to have some STRANGE stories to go through.


Kane vs Triple H
From No Mercy 2002 and this is a Winner Takes All Unification match for the World and IC Titles. Katie Vick. Katie freaking Vick. Need I say more? If you don't know anything about this storyline then type Katie Vick into Youtube and have some fun. It's possibly the worst wrestling storyline ever. After this match the IC Title wouldn't be seen again until May 2003. The match itself wasn't too bad but it was completely forgettable on a card filled with better matches. It needed interference and ref bumps to make it entertaining. A match and a storyline that didn't need to exist at all. **



Kane vs Rob Van Dam : No Holds Barred
From Summerslam 2003. Former tag partners going at it for no reason apart from Kane being angry. This is Kane's first PPV match without his mask on and he wouldn't wear it again until the 2012 Royal Rumble. This was pretty dull for a No Holds Barred and didn't seem to have any point apart from making Kane look like an indestructible monster. The botches from the original broadcast have been edited out as I think there were a couple of them. Still it was a pretty decent battle and Kane did look good in the end. **1/4



Kane vs Shane McMahon : Last Man Standing
From Unforgiven 2003. I think this was one of those matches that had expectations of awfulness, but somehow ended up being better than everyone expected. This wasn't Kane's best feud but I'll admit that I have a soft spot for it. even if Kane electrocuting Shane's testicles still makes me laugh. Shane doing the Van Terminator still looks awesome. The finish is awesome with Shane falling about twenty feet in the air trying to crush Kane for the win, but he missed and was counted out instead. A good match overall. ***1/4



Kane vs Shane McMahon : Ambulance Match
From Survivor Series 2003. The WWE's first ever Ambulance match. Yes this feud just had to continue. That wasn't sarcasm, I am actually glad that this feud continued. C'mon you have to admit that it was kind of fun. In a way. A fun match all the way through even if it looked like Kane landed right on his head at the beginning of the bout. The bumps taken against the ambulance looked pretty brutal. Kane hits a tombstone on the concrete floor to knock out Shane and win the match. All in all a fun match. ***1/4



Kane vs Chris Benoit
From Bad Blood 2004 and the World Title is on the line. This might just be Kane's best singles match of his entire career. It had some added intensity thanks to Kane's earlier attack in the night, and Benoit was still selling the pain. Benoit did a great job of making Kane look like the most powerful guy on the roster. The finish was awesome, as Benoit finally got the crossface locked in, and the crowd was just begging for the monster to submit. Fantastic match that made both guys look great. ****



Kane vs Matt Hardy : 'Til Death Do Us Part Match
From Summerslam 2004 and Lita's hand in marriage is on the line. As if Kane's storylines couldn't get any stranger he suddenly finds Lita attractive, rapes her, impregnates her, and now Lita doesn't even have a choice in who she can marry. Sadly someone was paid money to make this story up. The match was pretty entertaining when Matt was in control, but it was dull when Kane was on offense. It was short and decent but the story was just way too dumb. Kane hits a big chokeslam to win the match and marry Lita. **



Kane vs Shawn Michaels : No DQ
From Unforgiven 2004. HBK was making his return here as Kane attacked him the night after the Bad Blood PPV for a reason that I don't think was ever explained, but Shawn wanted some payback. HBK tried his hardest to turn this into a good match, but it did have it's slow moments thanks to Kane and a couple of chinlocks. This got even better towards the finish as the HBK bladed to add to the drama and the nearfalls kept things exciting. The crowd was dying to see HBK slay the monster. HBK wins with a superkick. Good match. ***1/4



Kane vs Gene Snitsky 
From New Year's Revolution 2005. Kane is making his return after Snitsky took him out at the Taboo Tuesday PPV. He still wants payback for Snitsky killing his unborn child even though it wasn't his fault! The match wasn't anything special but the Puerto Rican crowd was really into it for some reason. This is just the kind of match I guess you would expect from two big guys, especially with one of them being green like Snitsky. Kane hits the tombstone to get his revenge. *1/4



Kane vs Edge
From Vengeance 2005. These guys fought on Raw in a Gold Rush tournament to crown a no.1 contender for the World Title. It was in that match that Lita betrayed Kane and joined up with Edge, turning him into the Rated R Superstar. Kane wanted some revenge. The crowd was really into this one and loved calling Lita a crack whore. The match was a lot of fun with Kane just going crazy on Edge the entire time and he looked like he was having the time of his life out there. It was a bit overbooked at the end but it was still fun to watch. Good match. ***



Kane & The Big Show vs Batista & Rey Mysterio
From Armageddon 2005. I am a bit curious as to why they decided to put on a tag team match instead of a World Championship match. This was the Smackdown Tag Champs taking on the Raw Tag Champs. Not really sure why they're feuding though. This was a much shorter match than I was expecting and it felt a lot like a TV match. Nothing really special about this one and it felt quite average even if it was quite enjoyable at times. **



Kane vs Kane
From Vengeance 2006. The fake Kane is dressed as Kane from 1997 and is actually Luke Gallows/Festus. I think the plan was for the fake Kane to replace the real Kane as he wanted to retire. That explains why the fake Kane won the match. Well it's been eight years and the real Kane still hasn't retired. The match was pretty dull but it was quite surreal to see Kane fighting himself. Worth a watch for the strangeness. *



Kane vs MVP : Inferno Match
From Armageddon 2006. I think this is the final Inferno match in WWE history. These guys had a feud going on but I can't remember what it was about at all. Not a bad match but there was nothing really special about other than the visuals of the rising flames and a man being set on fire (which did look pretty cool I'll admit). MVP did seem quite green in there as well. A decent bout. **



Kane vs Chavo Guerrero 
From Backlash 2008 and the ECW Title is on the line. Kane won the ECW Title from Chavo at Wrestlemania in a total of eight seconds. I'm sure the ECW faithful were pleased with that result. This time they were given enough time for a proper match. Chavo really didn't seem like a believable threat against someone the size of Kane. A short match but it was entertaining while it lasted as Kane hits the chokeslam to retain his Title. **1/4



Kane vs CM Punk
From Backlash 2009. At Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania, the final two came down to Punk and Kane. Punk kicked Kane off a ladder to win, and somehow that sets up a feud. What is it with WWE and making the MITB winners look bad and lose matches? They've been doing it for years now, and it's become tiresome. Pretty solid match, even if it felt like filler, and Punk didn't look too bad against Kane even if he was on the losing side. **1/2



Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler vs Christian vs Cody Rhodes vs Matt Hardy vs Drew McIntyre vs Kane vs Big Show : Money in the Bank
From Money in the Bank 2010. Here we have the first MITB match not to take place at a Mania, and this was a great match to start the new tradition with. A hell of a lot of talented guys in this one. I loved that Show had to have his own reinforced ladder because the ordinary ones were too weak for him. His ladder looks awesome and should definitely be used more often. It's probably safer to use than the other ladders too. I also loved Kofi's boom drop off the ladder to Drew who was on the announcer's table. Kane was a good choice for the winner as he had the biggest storyline on Smackdown as he hunted for Undertaker's attacker, and he managed to keep the Title until December so that's pretty impressive. Kane's also the only guy to cash in on the same night he won the briefcase. Great ladder match overall. ****


Kane would cash in his briefcase against the weakened Rey Mysterio and would win his first World Championship since 1998.



Kane vs Rey Mysterio
From Summerslam 2010 and the World Title is on the line. The story here is that Kane thinks that Rey Mysterio was the one who left the Undertaker in a vegetative state. It was pretty obvious by this point that Kane was the one responsible and that Taker was gonna come out of the casket. A good match with an exciting finishing sequence as Rey tried all he could to take down the monster, but he failed in the end and Kane was victorious. ***



Kane vs The Undertaker : No Holds Barred
From Night of Champions 2010 and the World Title is on the line. The final of the many feuds between these two. This must have been something like their fiftieth match together and they still had two PPV matches to go through. This one didn't even start in the ring as Taker quickly attacked Kane on the ramp and preceded to beat the crap out of him. It became pretty boring after that. A dull match overall and they would only get worse as Taker wasn't up to his usual standard. At least Kane got a nice win out of it. **



Kane vs Randy Orton 
From Wrestlemania XXVIII. Kane now has his mask back on (he had it on in the previous two matches as well, but I really didn't want to watch the John Cena matches again). This was one of the most thrown together quickly feuds I can remember as it really came out of nowhere and for no real reason. The match did start slowly but it became better towards the finish. Kane winning was a surprising result and the second rope chokeslam was cool. A pretty good match. **3/4



Kane vs Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk 
From No Way Out 2012 and the WWE Title is on the line. I can't remember why Kane was added to the mix, but I don't think he hindered things as much as people thought he would. Plus there was no way that Punk and Bryan would replicate their classic. This should have been the main event on this night. An awesome triple threat match here, featuring nearfalls and Yes chants. A great performance from all three guys. ****



Team Hell No vs Kofi Kingston & R-Truth
From Night of Champions 2012 and the Tag Titles are on the line. I think this was Bryan and Kane's first match as Team Hell No, and it would begin their very long reign with the Championship.The hug it out segment was pretty great. Pretty fun match with Bryan and Kane arguing while the match was going on. They only won by accident with Bryan pushing Kane onto Kofi. Good stuff and the crowd loved it. ***



Team Hell No vs Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston
From Wrestlemania 29 and the Tag Titles are on the line. Finally Bryan gets a match at Mania that's over 18 seconds long. I did enjoy the throwback to Bryan's previous Mania match as Ziggler was almost caught out at the beginning thanks to AJ and was nearly pinned straight away. Everyone here looked motivated, even the big guys. A good match that was kept way too short. ***

Daniel Bryan vs Kane : Extreme Rules
From Extreme Rules 2014. The WWE World Title is on the line. I've enjoyed this feud a lot more than I thought I would and it has been great to see Kane as a proper monster again. This reminded me of the Hardcore matches from the Attitude Era as they went to the backstage area and used weapons like snow shovels, tire irons and even a forklift that Bryan used for a brilliant flying headbutt. A flaming table was even brought out! I never thought I'd see that in the WWE again. This match was a ton of fin and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Kane's best match in what feels like forever and a great end to the show. ****