At 7-feet tall and more than 300 pounds, the Big Red Monster has been tormenting opponents and WWE’s Divas since his debut seven years ago. And even that was huge.
Following months of speculation, Kane made his first appearance on Oct. 5, 1997, at Badd Blood. There, he ripped the cage door off during a match between Shawn Michaels and Undertaker during the first-ever Hell in the Cell Match. Kane and Undertaker then stood toe to toe during a chilling stare-down. The Big Red Monster wore a mask, and he hid his body in attire designed to conceal hideous burns from a fire supposedly started by his half-brother Undertaker. Then, Kane kicked the Deadman in the stomach and Tombstoned him — allowing a bloody Michaels to pin Undertaker for the victory.
Despite the unprovoked attack, Undertaker vowed he would not wage war against his own flesh and blood in front of a national audience. But Kane’s assaults continued, and when he set Undertaker ablaze inside a casket at the 1998 Royal Rumble, the Phenom was left with no choice. At WrestleMania XIV, the half-brothers met for the first time in singles competition, but it was only the beginning.
After the brutal WrestleMania matchup, Kane continued to climb the ranks by beating down the opposition. At King of the Ring 1998, Stone Cold and Kane clashed in a First Blood Match for the WWE Championship. As an added stipulation, Kane promised that if he lost, he’d set himself on fire.
The match, a brainchild of Mr. McMahon, gave Kane a distinct advantage since his face and body were covered, making it nearly impossible to confirm if he was bleeding. During the match, the referee was knocked out, and Undertaker ran to the ring with a steel chair to interfere. He swung at Kane but nailed Stone Cold, busting his head wide open. When the referee regained consciousness, he saw the blood and awarded the match to the Big Red Monster. Undertaker later revealed that he intended to bust open Stone Cold so that his half-brother wouldn’t set himself on fire. This punctuated a theme in the difficult sibling relationship, as they’d battle often but align at times to achieve great success as well. They’d also innovate during their heated rivalry, inventing such contests as the Inferno Match. The night following the First Blood victory, Mr. McMahon decorated the ring with a red canvas and crowned Kane the new WWE Champion. The reign lasted only one night, but it was still an amazing accomplishment considering his debut was only eight months prior. Kane did pin the WWE Champion on one other occasion, but he did so simultaneously with the Undertaker. The event was Breakdown 1998, and because the half-brothers both covered Stone Cold, neither was declared champion. Instead, the WWE Championship was vacated.
While Kane hasn’t recaptured the world championship, he’s experienced enormous success. He’s a two-time Intercontinental Champion and eight-time World Tag Team Champion. He’s shown near-unprecedented versatility in the tag-team ranks, winning championships with brawlers such as Stone Cold and Mankind, as well as smaller, quicker partners such as The Hurricane and X-Pac. He’s also twice won the World Tag Team Championship with his half-brother, including a reign during the Alliance Invasion when they simultaneously held the World Tag Team Championship and WCW Tag Team Championship.
But it was during his time teaming with Rob Van Dam that Kane experienced one of the most emotional nights of his career. After being egged on for weeks about becoming “soft,†Kane agreed to a “Mask vs. Championship†Match against Triple H. Despite a valiant effort, Kane lost, and as RAW came to a close, the 7-footer unmasked and revealed his face to the world.
Once the mask was removed, Kane went on a hell-bent trail of destruction. He chokeslammed RVD, Eric Bischoff and Stone Cold. Then, he set RAW announcer Jim Ross on fire. But the action that could not be tolerated was hitting WWE CEO Linda McMahon with a Tombstone. That forced Shane McMahon to return to the ring in defense of his family, but even the risk-taking Shane-O-Mac couldn’t stop the Big Red Monster’s rage.
At Survivor Series in 2003, Kane attacked Undertaker once again and buried him alive with a bulldozer. For the following months, the Deadman haunted his younger sibling before announcing that at WrestleMania XX, the two would meet one more time.
After that, Kane began randomly attacking anyone who crossed his path. He viciously assaulted Shawn Michaels, putting him out of action. He then began to make life miserable for Lita, with whom he seemed obsessed.
Thanks to victory in a “’Till Death Do Us Part†Match against Matt Hardy, Kane got what he wanted. He married an unwilling Lita, who was carrying Kane's child. But an in-ring incident on RAW injured Lita, causing her to lose the couple's unborn son and leaving Kane an emotional and angry mess. He swore vengeance on Gene Snitsky, who he held responsible.
At Taboo Tuesday, Kane faced Snitsky in a “Weapon of Choice†match. Wielding a steel chain, Kane delivered a brutal beating. But Snitsky eventually gained the upper hand, crushing Kane's throat with a steel chair. After recuperating, Kane haunted Snitsky until he exacted some measure of revenge. Now, he’s tormenting Trish Stratus — Lita’s nemesis — and through doing so is seemingly finally gaining his wife’s favor. In a shocking moment the April 11 edition of RAW, Kane and Lita kissed. It was the first time both parties had done so willingly and passionately. After aligning briefly with Kane, Lita has changed her allegiances now to Edge in an act of ruthless betrayal.