Ranking The 13 VERSIONS of KANE from WORST to BEST | Wrestling Flashback

kane is a firm staple piece in wwe history  initially a silent but violent monster   kane has experienced huge character development  in the almost 20 years that have passed   since that fateful night in october 1997. kane has  been able to take a gimmick that could have been   one-dimensional and made it so much more the  big red machine has been one of the company's   scariest characters ever at different times he's  also been one of its funniest kane's gimmick has   adapted over time but so is his role wwe has  asked him to play the predator the sidekick and   the corporate goon his ability to succeed at each  of those stages is one reason he is a bonafide   hall of famer here are the various versions of the  devil's favorite demon from worst to best number 13 stalker kane 2004 to 2005 after losing his mask  and going on something of a violent rampage kane   moved back down the card following his loss to the  undertaker at wrestlemania 20. this didn't mean   an improvement in stories however as the big red  monster spent the rest of 2004 and a lot of 2005   embroiled in a story with lita and matt hardy he  was now working a new gimmick as a stalker with   his eyes set on lita at that time lita and matt  hardy were still together and kane was moving   in on her but then suddenly the weird storyline  went off the rails the story was notorious for how   distasteful it was at pretty much every turn as  lita spurned kane's advances only for the demon   to kidnap and impregnate her yes this is the thing  that happened things got worse as kane defeated   matt hardy at summerslam which meant that lita  was contractually obliged to marry kane kane then   turned face via snitsky causing lita to miscarry  the kane lita alliance lasted for several months   and ended with lita turning on him to join up  with edge so to summarize kane kidnapped lita   kane raped lita lita conceived a baby and then  miscarried only to join forces with her rapist   lita then turned on kane which made her the bad  person looking back now it was one of the most   offensive story lines in kane and lita's wrestling  careers kane's acting skills were fairly on point   throughout but that isn't enough to forgive the  general stink of this era for kane number 12   resurrected kane 2011 to 2012 for years after  unmasking fans urged for kane to put the mass back   on and embrace the demonic persona that made him  famous in the first place beginning in november   2011 wwe began airing vignettes featuring kane  and a burning red mask and ending with the words   kane resurrected appearing on screen after a few  years of gimmicky storylines that stripped kane of   almost everything that made him successful  to begin with he was back in a new scary mask   and ready to terrorize the wrestling world again  when kane returned he surprised everyone with a   totally new look with the black predator-style  visor being a fantastic look that he used just   for the entrances he immediately found himself  in a feud with john cena as the devil's favorite   demon valiantly tried to get super cena to embrace  the hate the feud absolutely sucked to be honest   and it led to two pretty disappointing matches  the 2012 wrestling observer newsletter award   winner for worst feud of the year went to kane  versus john cena because it was terrible from   start to finish after the cena feud kane moved on  to a feud with randy orton before a summer world   championship program with cm punk and daniel bryan  this period of time might be considered the worst   for kane because there were so much expectations  going in due to the return of the mask after   years of kane coming across as stale in the upper  mid card many thought this would be the gimmick   to rejuvenate his career unfortunately it didn't  live up to the hype and really and truly the only   positive that came out from the resurrected kane  was the birth of team hell no more on that later   number 11 ecw champion kane 2007 to 2009 by 2007 kane  had reached peak mediocrity he was however still   a credible performer with a decent amount of name  value to slot into whatever spot was available on   the card that's probably why wwe decided to move  kane to the revamped ecw towards the end of the   year in typical wwe fashion he found himself in  predictable feuds with the likes of mark henry   and big daddy v because why not put all the  monsters together in a match wwe logic for   you it's safe to say that they didn't have many  classics then on the pre-show of wrestlemania 24   kane won a battle royal to become the number one  contender to the ecw championship which he won   later that night in at that time the shortest  wrestlemania match in history ending in just 11   seconds this reign ended up lasting three months  with one successful title defence against chavo   guerrero before kane was randomly drafted to raw  six days later kane ended up losing the title to   mark henry in a triple threat match with big show  at night of champions all in all this was a fairly   bland run for kane his time on raw after wasn't  any better as he turned heel again as he attacked   commentators michael cole and jerry lawler later  in 2008 kane began carrying a mysterious sack   while continuously repeating the words is  he alive or is he dead this was eventually   revealed to be rey mysterio's mask for some  unexplained reason kane had apparently tried   to kill the master of the 619 the two had their  feud which also went through a world heavyweight   championship scramble match at unforgiven that year  but it was hardly blowing the roof off of arenas   the confusing narrative only made it harder to  invest in to top this period off for kane he was   then drafted to smackdown in 2009 which meant that  he had basically been a member of all three brands   over the span of one year clearly wwe just didn't  have a clue of what to do with him although his   fortunes would soon change on the blue brand  continue watching for more on that number 10   may 19th kane 2005 to 2006 after the terrible lita  fiasco things didn't get too much better for kane   thereafter kane returned to wwe television on  the october 17th episode of raw and soon began   a tag team with the big show the two won the  tag titles and feuded with carlito and masters   throughout early 2006 culminating in a successful  title defense at wrestlemania 22 kane and the big   show lost the world tag team championships to the  spirit squad the next night and the following week   kane snapped ostensibly due to voices in his head  he began attacking anyone who mentioned the date   may 19th wwe went into supernatural overdrive  with kane's voices frequently echoing around   arenas kane later claimed that this was the day in  which his mother and adopted family were killed in   a fire of course in reality may 19th was the day see  no evil was released the film in which kane made   his silver screen debut as jacob goodnight when  kane was confronted by the source of the voice   an imposter cane were in kane's old mask and ring  attire choke slammed the monster during his match   against shelton benjamin for the intercontinental  championship after one month at vengeance the   imposter defeated the original big red machine  however fans weren't into the feud as a result   wwe decided to pull the plug on the feud and the  original kane managed to overcome the impostor one   tearing the mask away after that the imposter  kane was never seen again kane was absent from wwe   television for two months thereafter as he toured  europe to promote see no evil wow clearly 2004 to   2009 was not a great time for kane thankfully some  of his previous and subsequent runs do make up for   it with that being said we continue on number 9  demon kane 2015 to 2021. this brings us to kane in   the current day obviously he has now passed his  prime and hasn't really been involved in many   major storylines over the years his most notable  feuds were to revive the brothers of destruction   with the undertaker in order to take down the  wyatt family and reviving team hell no to take   on the bludgeon brothers one of his best matches  of this era was his triple threat match for the   wwe universal title against brock lesnar and braun  strowman although it seems that his spot in the   match was largely so that he could take the pin so  braun would still look strong which is fair enough   another great match he was involved in during this  period was the tlc tag match against dean ambrose   seth rollins and a returning kurt angle everyone  really pushed the entertainment factor and with   this being kurt angle's first match back in the  wwe fans were very excited kane looked great in   this one with every wrestler really pushing each  other to their limits in what was a main event   that delivered now he's also had some pretty poor  performances too most notably he's showing crown   jewel teaming with the undertaker to take on dx it  has been widely talked about by fans and was one   of the worst main event matches in recent years  for wwe everything that could have gone wrong   here did from triple h getting injured to kane's  mask falling off partway through the contest   to this day kane still makes sporadic appearances  now and again such as the royal rumble 2021 but he   is now far away from any stories of importance he  can come out now and then to deliver a chokeslam   and pop a live crowd which is all you can ask for  considering he's had over 20 years in the business   number 8 corporate kane 2013-2015 corporate  kane was first a thing at the end of october 2013   when kane removed the mask for a second time in  his career and pledged allegiance to stephanie   mcmahon this saw him become something of a lackey  for the authority corporate kane wore a suit and   helped run the show to the heels favor the run  was polarizing to fans but it did help him have   a relevant role in the upper card again kane  feuded with the likes of roman reigns cm punk   and daniel bryan during this chapter of his career  kane did do a great job with what he was given his   dry sense of humor and excellent timing worked  well in what was quite clearly a less intense   role for the former monster a lot of people might  have hated corporate kane but on the other hand   it allowed kane to do something he had never  done before he played the serious wrestler and   proved that he had a lot more in him than just  being a masked monster he also had one of his   greatest matches of his career during this time  against daniel bryan at extreme rules 2014 both   men had incredible chemistry with one another as  a duo however they also proved they had chemistry   facing off with one another now that we've got  the good stuff out of the way to appear unbiased   i for one thought this version of kane sucked  for me it completely destroyed his character and   i didn't care for anything he did it pretty much  ruined the gimmick for me granted there were some   great moments on television between rollins and  kane but overall he just didn't look strong at all   and what was it with them getting him to wrestle  in suit pants it was god awful and probably   limited his ability to wrestle a half decent match  corporate kane did have a lot of potential had   wwe actually booked him to be an intimidating  suit and not a bumbling authority figure who   stephanie constantly verbally castrated number  7 inverted suit kane 1998 to 2000 this was the era   where kane would naively put his trust in someone  only for them to take advantage and backstab him   after allying with the undertaker for two months  kane was betrayed by his brother for paul bearer   at judgment day in your house once his initial  story with the undertaker began to wind down   kane headed in some rather peculiar directions  the corporation had him committed to an insane   asylum and it was the beginning of a year or so  of stories that were defined by kane's need to   be loved in december after kane joined the  corporation he aligned himself with chyna   and feuded with triple h then at wrestlemania 15  kane was betrayed by chyna and thrown out of the   corporation kane then formed a strange team with  x-pac and the weird duo seemed to bring out a   more human side in kane while teaming with x-pac kane evolved from being a mute to aided speech   through an electro larynx to speaking unaided he  also became associated with degeneration x his   first unaided words were the dx slogan suck it and  the duo won the wwf tag team championships twice   this was an important time for the big red  monster character-wise kane's early character   was a seemingly unfeeling monster capable of  only rage he would find more of himself thanks   to relationships with tag team partners and his  girlfriend tori no one could have expected the   chemistry between x-pac and kane to come their  way as a top-faced tag team but wwe split them   up faster than they should have to reunite  degeneration x with triple h as a top heel   they could have really teamed for another year  based on the fan reaction x-pac eventually turned   on kane by sealing his girlfriend tori kane and  x-pac then engaged in a lengthy feud against each   other the former partners feud eventually ended at  wrestlemania 2000 where kane teamed with rikishi   to defeat x-pac and road dog overall this was the  initial spark to kane's comedic side coming out   but he hadn't owned in on it fully by this point  number 6 world heavyweight champion kane 2009 to 2011 after joining smackdown in 2009 kane's  fortunes would finally take a turn for the better   after being subject to some pretty terrible  storylines in the years before on the june   4th 2010 episode of smackdown general manager  theodore long announced that the undertaker   was found in a vegetative state by kane who vowed  to out the identity of the undertaker's attacker   and for weeks he accused and interrogated other  superstars while this would normally lead to a   fairly corny storyline it actually led to kane  finally climbing to the top of the mountain once   again after winning the smackdown money in the  bank ladder match the big red machine cashed   in on rey mysterio the same night to become  world heavyweight champion for the first time   in his career kane and mysterio would renew  their poor feud from 2008 where weirdly enough   the backstory was yet again centered around  attempted murder this time kane tried to murder   his brother the undertaker and framed mysterio for  it this was however mainly a side story in order   to pass the time until the dead man rose again to  feud with kane kane followed this up by defeating   a returning undertaker three times in a row which  is pretty astonishing by anyone's standards his   feud with undertaker was impressive because  it finally led to kane being booked credibly   he was made to look dominant and best of all he  ran with the ball his promos were excellent and   his matches were a lot better than many of us  expected the night of champions match was fun   especially with the return of paul bearer and  then his double cross on the undertaker the buried   alive match was somewhat lackluster but the feud  ended with kane looking more dominant than ever   but what really ruined this period for kane  was this feud with edge the rated r superstar   kidnapped paul bearer and started to play mind  games with kane trying to psychologically wear   him down they could have gone for a bit more  realism instead they threw logic out the window   and had edge be smart enough to constantly trick  kane kane went from unstoppable demonic force   to some dude who chases slowly after a guy  pushing around dummies edge eventually won the   title from kane and thus ended their feud on an  episode of smackdown in a last man standing match   although this was kane's most successful world  title run his career isn't defined by titles   as much as other wrestlers he will be more  remembered for the enduring nature of his   character and all of its mutations which is why  this period for him isn't in the top 5 on the   list despite of what he achieved during this  time number 5 half-masked kane 2002 to 2003   2002 should have been a good year by all accounts  for kane after a great run in 2001 helping team   wwf against the alliance he was allowed to  have more of his comedic side come out now   there were moments here that seemed nothing  like the kane that terrorized fans for years   following a great match with kurt angle at  wrestlemania 18 kane teamed up with hulk hogan   and the rock in a match against the nwo before  the match as the three were together backstage   things got interesting when kane started throwing  out catchphrases of these two icons the big red   machine delivered their lines beautifully  calling his fans kanenites he followed it   up with a hogan-esque pose and the wwe universe went  ballistic seeing this and today reminisces it as   one of kane's funniest moments are you ready you  bet your ass it doesn't matter if you're ready in august 2002 kane debuted a  new attire with a revised mask   kane partnered with booker t and goldust  to square off against the un-americans   as the big red machine's team emerged  victorious booker t did his special move   the spinnerooni only for kane to do one  of his own the kanerooni his acrobats doing   this move induced a phenomenal cheer from the  wwe universe they came here to see the kanerooni later in september kane picked up the  world tag team championships with the hurricane   there was a startling contrast between a comedy  character like helms and kane's monstrous persona   this worked to create a number of funny moments  during that time he would also go on to become   the intercontinental champion for a brief period  before dropping the belt to triple h after the   terrible katie vick angle the storyline became  controversial when a tape was displayed of a   mannequin in a casket being seduced by triple  h who was wearing a kane mask the necrophilia   angle soon made the storyline very disturbing  to fans it ended up becoming one of the worst   storylines wwe has ever had the katie vick angle  did not favor kane's character despite being one   of the most known stunts in wrestling history  since he made his debut in 1997. months later   kane formed a tag team with rob van dam where  they found success in early 2003 when wwe needed   new acts for the brand split two fan favorites  working together gave the audience a top duo   to cheer for in the tag division his partnership  with rob van dam had him goofing around backstage   wwe lightened up his character and he thrived in  segments which featured not-so-veiled references   to getting high i looked at my watch afterwards  it said 4 20. i found this stinky skunk   and i took it down into my basement  dude you came across that skunk too   that was incredible right rvd showed a new side  of kane and vice versa to help them both when   struggling to find relevance after losing their  respective title shots in the singles division   overall kane had a nice run here that contributed  but didn't really define his career number 4 team hell no kane 2012 to 2013 after the initial  disappointment of resurrected kane the career   of the big red machine was somewhat reinvigorated  by the establishment of the oddest of odd couples   kane completely reinvented his career when  teaming with daniel bryan to form team hell no   the storyline started with them as rivals forced  to attend anger management classes together both   wrestlers were hilarious and showed chemistry  that sparked the team's starting chemistry is   impossible to force in professional wrestling  and the weird duo of kane and daniel bryan had   it in spades kane and brian went through  trust exercises together and hugged it out   under dr shelby's supervision whenever a wwe  superstar ends up going down the comedy route it's   a sign that things could be doomed in kane's case  that was never in doubt as he managed to keep the   core of his character intact while embracing that  comedic side for example team hell no alongside   daniel bryan brought out a whole new side of  kane who despite going down the comedy route   didn't do any damage to his persona throughout  the anger management classes kane remained the   character that terrified the life out of everyone  by recounting his long and disturbed history from   kidnapping to arson it was all still there to show  that wwe didn't completely strip away the kane   character the duo were quickly transitioned into  the tag team competition and dubbed team hell no   picking up the tag team gold in no time team  hell no became the most popular team in wwe   and a highlight of the shows every week it was a  special time in the careers of both wrestlers team   hell no might be the most entertaining tag team  in wwe from the last decade as bryan and kane were   perfectly matched over the course of the next year  or so kane and brian went from bickering foes to   the closest of friends and while their friendship  couldn't survive bryan's beef with the authority   it certainly did refresh kane somewhat in the  eyes of the audience it was an amplified version   of what fans saw with kane teaming with helms and  van dam it was refreshing especially coming from a   man who had spent so much of his career trying  to burn people alive number 3 unmasked kane   2003 to 2004 in 2003 after being embroiled  in a truly terrible feud with triple h   kane was forced to unmask after coming up short  against the cerebral assassin on an episode of   wwe raw that summer this was a huge deal at the  time and whilst the prevailing feeling would be   that more could have been done with it what we  got was still pretty damn exciting that image of   kane removing his mask is still imprinted in the  minds of many fans kane went on an utter rampage   becoming the unstable monster he was initially for  the first time in years one commenter on youtube   summed it up brilliantly when the mask was on kane  was thought to be a monster that was molded by   the flames that disfigured him when the mask came  off it turned out the scars were just in his mind   and he wasn't a monster but a violent psychopath  hiding in a mask the mask held his insecurities   and overall it mentally and emotionally kept  him under control when the mask came off kane   was more insecure than ever and that made him  more violent and dangerous than ever before   that's some damn good storytelling for you kane  became more of a psychologically disturbing foe   but through his actions and his words he was  frankenstein's monster in his original incarnation   and now someone far more in control of their  vile actions a tormentor a sadist he set poor   old jr on fire electrocuted mcmahon's testicles  tombstoned linda mcmahon on the stage and helped   vince mcmahon bury the undertaker all in all it  was an eventful few months for kane he became a   violently unstable monster again and whilst most  of the work was thrown away within a year it still   provided us with some of our favorite memories of  the big red monster if you really want a taste of   how evil he became go back and watch the survivor  series 2003 ambulance match video package it truly   eric bischoff on raw kane with the towel over his  head being led out by the security and shackles   and coming out to slow chemical was just perfect overall fueds with rob van dam shane mcmahon and  the undertaker made the run a success number two   singlet west kane 2000 to 2001 the late 2000 heel  turn of kane made him one of the top heels in the   company again ditching the bodysuit for a singlet  only enhanced his monster look as he would go on   to feud with the likes of the undertaker the rock  and chris jericho his summerslam 2000 match with   the undertaker ended when the dead man removed  his brother's mask causing him to flee the ring   covering his exposed face shortly after kane  stayed in contention for the wwf championship   for the remainder of the year and ended 2000  in a feud with chris jericho chris jericho and   kane had great matches that helped fans  remember that kane was a top tier star   even with the stacked roster when vince mcmahon  purchased wcw in 2001 kane's career was something   approaching a crossroads he'd come in like a house  on fire before cooling off somewhat with a number   of humanizing feuds and flirting dangerously  with becoming obsolete 2001 became the year   in which kane truly proved his value to the wwe he  began the year by eliminating a then record 11 men   from the royal rumble finishing as runner-up  to none other than stone cold steve austin   the big red machine followed this up by defeating  raven and big show at wrestlemania 17 to win the   hardcore championship kane became a more credible  competitor who could fill any spot any time   be it monstrous heel or loyal baby face the  demon was also still fresh enough to be exciting   at this point and this combined with his fast  improving in-ring work made for a fantastic year   wwe started utilizing the undertaker and kane  together as a tag team in 1998 before making them   a full-time duo in 2001 kane and undertaker got  over huge as a tag team during the invasion era   completely dominating against every other duo they  became the tag team champions on two occasions   and kane also captured his first intercontinental  title during this period 2000 to 2001 kane was in   peak physical conditioning he was having some  of the best matches of his career against the   likes of chris jericho at armageddon 2000 and  triple h at judgment day 2001. he was involved   in the fantastic triple threat hardcore match  at wrestlemania 17 and surprising to many he   has some classic tv matches against albert on  smackdown i would definitely recommend you go   and check those out you'll even see kane hitting  an impressive hurricanrana in one of the matches   the gimmick was already there but he  started doing some incredible stuff in the   number 1 original kane 1997 to 1998 everyone's major memory of kane has to be that debut right after being teased for months kane finally arrived at bad blood 1997 interfering in the first ever hell in a cell match the world found out exactly who kane was as the  big red monster marched down to the ring Paul bearer by his side with the giant wrestler looking  like something straight out of a horror movie who can forget that walk down to the ring  with vince shouting that's gotta be kane that's gotta be that's gonna be kane that's gonna  be kane he went on to rip off the cell door which   was shocking to fans at the time and squared up to  the undertaker delivering a vicious tombstone in   one of wwe's most iconic moments wwe played up his  size let paul bearer do the talking for him and   had him dominate everyone in his way the original  character of kane was the best when looking back   at the success it created in a fast time kane  debuting to cost the undertaker the first hell in a cell match against shawn michaels instantly  made him a star the supernatural powers of kane   haunted undertaker and tormented many others on  the roster over the first few months kane even won   the wwe championship from steve austin during this  chapter of his career and it didn't feel wrong   this version of kane clearly set the table for  his entire career in wwe the thrill wouldn't truly   last past kane's feud with taker and his alliance  with mankind but the memory still lasts to this   day his unmasking may have been more violent his  relationship with daniel bryan more entertaining   and his 2001 era more valuable but nothing can  truly top his debut kane didn't talk he just   destroyed people paul bearer was his manager and  mouthpiece and kane was very scary and a brilliant   professional wrestling creation he spent the next  20 odd years living off this wrestling character   and that brings us to the end of this video as  always if you enjoyed the video be sure to give   it a like and subscribe to the channel and also  let me know your thoughts in the comments of   which version of kane you preferred the best  have a great day and i'll see you next time

Channel: Wrestling Flashback

Views: 585,124

Keywords: facesofkane, versionsofkane, wwekane, corporatekane, unmaskedkane, demonkane, kaneundertaker, kanepaulbearer, kanewwe, singletvestkane, halfmaskedkane, thebigredmachine, bigredmachine, bigredmonster

Id: eY4iRi8x5WY

Length: 25min 53sec (1553 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 14 2022