The Absurd Undertaker vs. Kane Angle of 1997/1998

[The Brain]

A lot of people have fond memories of the Undertaker vs. Kane storyline from 1997/1998. When discussing the greatest angles in wrestling history this is one that's often brought up. One reason is even though the seeds for the angle were planted during the summer of 1997 we didn't even see Kane until October of that year and they didn't even wrestle for the first time until WM14 in March 1998. It had a nice long dramatic build and we couldn't wait until they finally had their showdown.

I guess we were so caught up in the drama that we gave the angle a free pass for how ridiculous it was. I know it's a childhood favorite of many here but if you think about it for a minute I'm sure you'll agree it was all pretty absurd. We have a guy that as a child burned down the family owned funeral home killing his parents and brother. Then 20 years later it is reveled that his brother was actually still alive. Where was the brother all this time? Being kept locked in a basement by the mortician that worked in said funeral home of course. That's bizarre enough as is but wrestling is basically a soap opera I could still use some imagination and get into the angle.

Even though the angle was telling us to ignore reality from the beginning this was a little much for me.

[YOUTUBE]yUP9LzCNnGo[/YOUTUBE]

I know Undertaker had “controlled” lights and pyro for years but since everyone had music and the big stars had pyro it didn't seem unusual. Even though it was part of his entrance I don't think anyone really tried to sell us on the idea that Taker controlled these things by just raising his hands. In the video above they tell us Kane is literally shooting lightning bolts out of his fingers. Wrestling is fake enough as it is. Guys shouldn't be booked with superpowers. They may as well have had Taker go out by himself and take a bunch of bumps claiming Kane was invisible.

This on top of Kane digging up his parents' corpses and Undertaker somehow getting out of a burning casket unharmed made an already absurd angle even more ridiculous. Then they finally have their showdown at WrestleMania. What would it be? Buried Alive? Nope. Hell In A Cell? Nope. How about a simple No DQ? Not even that. After all that had gone down between the two they had a regular match. Now I'm normally in favor of a regular match, especially for two guys' first match together and especially at WrestleMania. This one needed something more though. Remember Taker ruined Kane's life by burning him alive forcing him to be locked away for most of his life. Remember Kane tried getting his revenge by setting Taker on fire and even exhumed the bodies of his parents. To say this was a personal blood feud (literally) would be an understatement. So why was I watching Kane trying to wear down Taker with a rear chin lock like it was any other ordinary match? I know we got the Inferno Match a month later but it just seemed weird to me that these guys were just content to simply wrestle each other after all that had gone down.

It must sound like I hated this whole angle but that's actually not the case. I was still able to find enjoyment in it despite my criticisms. I appreciated that it was a big match that helped make WM14 a huge event. I wonder how an angle like this would be received today. Even though it's a favorite of so many here I think if something like this took place today it would be laughed at and heavily criticized.

What did you think of the Undertaker vs. Kane angle? Assuming most forum members were teenagers or younger at the time do you think they excuse the absurdity simply because of fond childhood memories? Do you think you would have a different reaction to this angle if you were an adult fan at the time?

 

[louchratis]

Thank you! I remember watching this feud play out and wondering what the stipulation for their match at Wrestlmania might be and I vividly remember how disappointed I was that when they finally got in the ring it was just a run of the mill singles bout that included a few kick outs off of finishing moves. I didn't have any issues with how absurd the actual storyline was because I had come to expect a total lack of realism for all of Taker's feuds (American Badass era notwithstanding, though watching the "Deadman" morph into a motorcycle-riding hillbilly who listened to Limp Bizkit was truly awful).
As for why people still talk about it fondly, I think that has more to do with the fact that it was the first time we saw Kane and he has gone on to become as much of a WWE institution as Undertaker. However, to answer your last question, there is no way this angle would have worked in today's WWE for a lot of reasons. First of all, back then there was only one WWE weekly television show and it only lasted two hours. Now, there's six hours, and I'm not even counting NXT and Superstars. More TV means a greater likelihood of those two having a match at some point, probably on either free tv or a B Pay-Per-View. Also, Russo, Ferrarra, and McMahon knew how to do a slow-burn storyline a thousand times better than current creatives does.

 

[Jeritron5000]

Meh. You might as well denounce anything Undertaker or Kane related as absurd then really. If this is the straw that breaks the camel's back then honestly the entire product should seem ridiculous to you. I mean...what are the characters of The Undertaker and Kane's motivation for even being wrestlers?

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

It hooked me in. They both played their parts well and it was an angle that was actually really hard to pull off. While everyone was into titties and middle finger, here is a supernatural storyline smack in the middle and it did well for itself.

The players of the plot were all great. Kane's aura was brilliant, Taker played the Deadman like he always has but special credit go to Paul Bearer and even Mankind for his cameos here and there. Ontop of all that J.R made some amazing calls to sell this motherfucker. The lighting up of the casket, Taker ressurection everything just meshed perfectly with Ross's delivery (with McMahon making some over exuberant ones as well)

I have at times gone on YT and gone through the story of Kane and Undertaker and found it enjoyable. I am still a fan of the angle and the over the top hocus pocus theatrics.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed the angle and the feud that went along with it.

Was all the hocus pocus stuff a bit absurd? Sure it was but, at the same time, that was and has been the whole idea of pro wrestling for decades. Pro wrestling is a "fake" sport portraying itself as a "real" competition in which men & women adopt fake personas with, often times, fake names to engage in scripted feuds and choreographed fights. If I rolled my eyes with disdain at Kane & Taker's feud, I'd honestly have to do the same, probably even more so, with Austin vs. McMahon as it was every bit as unbelievable in its own way. While there was nothing "supernatural" about Austin vs. McMahon, each week, you had an employee "beat up" his boss, destroy personal property ranging from destroying cars to blowing stuff up. Didn't Austin hold a gun to Vince's head once, which turned out to be a pop gun, causing him to piss himself? It was pure escapism with little foundation in reality. After all, how many people can actually kick the snot out of their boss at any given time and not suffer any real consequences? Several times, Austin was "arrested" yet, somehow, charges seemed to magically vanish despite overwhelming evidence of assault, theft and destruction of property. Austin was portrayed as a rebellious badass who simply didn't care about the consequences of his actions. It was fun, it was entertaining and it wasn't the least bit realistic given that there are always consequences, no matter how much of a badass you think you are.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

In hindsight it was ludicrous and their match at WM14 was mediocre. I won't pretend, however, that as a kid I didn't love everything about it. I get warm, fuzzy memories when looking back on it.

 

[enviousdominous]

*puts on his rainbow afro wig*

Absurd? HEAVENS TO BETSY! We can't have that on our beloved WWE RAW is WAR!

I remember laughing my ass off at what they were doing with Undie around that time, mainly because it seemed like Mark was being allowed to live out his fantasies on tv. The confusion of my parents at what was happening made it even funnier.

So Kane and Undertaker had a match, and the WWF wanted to milk it even though it was dry enough half-way through their WM match. Then the fun started. Kane and Paul Bearer dug up Undie's Mom and Dad. My Dad said something like "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS SHOW!?" and I was laughing too hard to explain what little explanation I had. Kane and Paul Bearer wanted to bug Undie, so they set about painstakingly digging up the two coffins of Mark Sr and Buffy Calloway, then they transported the coffins to the arena and drug them out to the stage. Annnd, *scene*.

Then there was the "OOPS! Silly us." moment where a camera man "accidentally" left his camera on when the show was supposed to break for commercial. Jerry Lawler announced before the fake flub that he'd be interviewing Paul Bearer when they return, and the camera kept rolling from the floor conveniently capturing Paul and Jerry as they chit chatted out of character. Paul claimed that he walrused Undie's Mom, and Jerry laughed. Then they broke to an actual commercial break, and after Jerry apologized to us fans but not to the sponsors who can apparently lose ad time thanks to a careless cameraman and an up-in-smoke production crew.

It was like watching Pee-Wee's Playhouse all over again, you never knew what wacky angle they'd try next.

Oh and Kane set Hunter Brown on fire. There was also Undie trying to embalm Stone Cold alive. Oh boy.

 

[Nada]

Sure its absurd, but absurd does not automatically mean bad.

Ultimate Warrior was a alien, who spoke almost in tongue, he was talking about various planets and the universe. Yet looked like a guy who just got out of Golds Gym, with his 80s rocker hair. Jake the Snake had some connection with a snake, and there are plenty of crazy gimmicks that are absurd. In fact most wrestling gimmicks are absurd.

The Kane vs Taker feud did not happen over 2-3 months leading up to Mania, it was slowly developed for a year, and even had traces before that. That is why it is so memorable to so many people, its something they watched develop for a long period of time. Bearer, a rambling madman, sort like a Frankenstein had a card up his sleeve, and would over a long period of time reveal more and more information about this Kane.

Not only did they get a new top talent, a hot feud, but they also got out of the HBK vs Taker match without anyone really winning. However they did not have Kane instantly put on Raw to have wrestling matches with wrestlers, they kept his mystique going by him simply destroying random people. He was a force.

If Kane was done today, he would be teased for 3 weeks with nice clean looking promos, then come out and destroy R Truth, then he would give the win back to R Truth on Smackdown before finally beating him at Fast and The Furious PPV in a 20 min back and forth match, during the match JBL and Michael Cole would make fun of a "grown man who still thinks its Halloween". Next night on Raw, he would wear a pink attire to show that he wants to fight breastcancer and challenge John Cena to a match, who would make fun of Kane and his "id be mad too if my weiner was burned to ashes", this would get Cole and King to force laugh at this stupid line and would make Kane rage in the ring, before he comically trips and falls over in the ring, to great amusement of everyone. WWE: Then, Now, Forever.

The mid and late 90s were a crazy period for wrestling, with plenty of hotshotting and what not, but there were still traces of the old philosophies of how to build a feud, and Kane vs Taker: The Original was a great one.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Then there was the "OOPS! Silly us." moment where a camera man "accidentally" left his camera on when the show was supposed to break for commercial. Jerry Lawler announced before the fake flub that he'd be interviewing Paul Bearer when they return, and the camera kept rolling from the floor conveniently capturing Paul and Jerry as they chit chatted out of character. Paul claimed that he walrused Undie's Mom, and Jerry laughed. Then they broke to an actual commercial break, and after Jerry apologized to us fans but not to the sponsors who can apparently lose ad time thanks to a careless cameraman and an up-in-smoke production crew.

This kinda seemed ludicrous to me even as a kid; why would Taker's mom cheat on his dad with Paul Fucking Bearer!

You made your point that Kane hates Taker and Paul raised Kane WWE! Why the fuck add that extra spice for the fuck of it!

Unnecessary.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

My suspension of disbelief for the Undertaker's "supernatural" aspects actually went kerplunk well before his angle with Kane -- Royal Rumble 1994, to be exact. After his Casket Match with Yokozuna, we were treated to a smoking urn letting out the Undertaker's power as he received a beatdown, followed by him getting stuffed into a casket, and then going into full on Jesus mode by rising from the dead and floating into the rafters with lots of pyro and lightning....

God, it was horrible.

What saved the character of the Undertaker for me was that he actually began having some great matches after he returned, which is truly what I remember and appreciate about the Undertaker...not the comic book gimmickry.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I think what I like less is all the Undertaker v Kane matches they have subsequently had, and how they have had them as many times against each other on PPV as Cena v Orton,bar Undertaker's great return entrance at WMXX. But their HIAC and Buried Alive match should have happened years earlier, and some of their forgettable matches didn't need to happen at all.

 

[bioshock]

Minus the stupid WWE made up facts behind the storyline, it was one of the best built and put together storylines, it didn't just have months of build up before Kane, but it had years to it, Paul had been Undertakers manager for many years, then turned on Undertaker and then a few years later while still feuding with Undertaker then brings Kane into the mix, but we don't even get to see Kane for months. And then its another 5 months before they meet in a match after more buildup.

So on paper it was as good as any done, ever. But sadly what we got on tv wasn't nearly as good. The plots were just too unrealistic. And the payoff match its self, wasn't very good at Wrestlemania. Not only that we didn't get a HIAC match, cage match, or anything of that nature.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

This feud brings back great memories to me. Mainly personal , but let me tell you a story anyways.

Back during the Monday night wars us Canadians were privileged with Raw at 9 on Mondays and Nitro on Wednesdays at 4 pm. A lot of Monday nights Raw was interrupted due to a hockey game or the Westminster Dog Show or whatever. It would be aired at midnight when such delays happened. Due to the regular inconvenience and being a high school student who needed sleep my dad took notes regarding Raw's results for my brother and myself to take to school to share with my peers who also chose school over sports entertainment.

The most memorable note that he left regarded Kanes debut. In his exact words it said "Undertaker's brother Kane finally came out. I think it might be Sid. He looks scary." He was wrong about the Sid part, but his notes on this feud made wrestling for me a family affair, much like Taker and Kane lol. My father has now been dead for 8 years but I will always remember our Monday nights watching Raw.

As for whether or not this was a ridiculous feud, yeah it was. But this guy will always be a fan of it, due to my fathers legacy

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I don't mind all of the supernatural, super power stuff. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. I always liked it when The Undertaker did it too, especially in the Ministry days. The areas where things got a little much were yes, Kane's backstory was a bit farfetched. But when they revealed Paul Bearer to being Kane's actual father, that was pushing it. I guess that's a Vince Russo special, but none of it seemed too over the top to me until that part. That was the "jump the shark" moment. Regardless, I'll still say this angle was well done.. despite going sideways or into strange places from time to time. The build was epic.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I still think it was a fantastic storyline, even with all the OOT aspects of it. Yes, some of it was silly but I think WWE could learn a thing or two today from elements of it. I hate it when feuds are thrown together for no reason with such little thinking today, when there are examples like Kane v Undertaker where and entire backstory is put together, giving us more information about the characters involved and thoroughly explaining why they hated each other.

Yes, revealing Bearer as Kane's real father was pointless, but the storyline gave us the explanation for why Kane was masked, his hatred of Undertaker and the reasons why he had come for his revenger, and it added layers to 'Taker's character too which probably helped when he became more "evil" and formed the Ministry a year or so later.

Kane's debut was so highly anticipated, it was awesome to see this huge masked man appear during the HIAC match, and the look of shock on 'Taker's face when he saw his brother. Definitely a memorable moment, and WWE did a great job of building anticipation for their eventual collision too by having 'Taker refuse to fight Kane for a long while. There just aren't enough examples of such long-running storylines now. If John Cena's "brother" debuted next week hating John, they'd more than likely be brawling by the end of the show, wasting a match that the fans would be looking forward to for weeks.

However, I definitely agree that a regular wrestling match was a stupid choice for their first fight- especially when the inferno match was held so soon afterwards. Why didn't WWE utilise the new Hell In A Cell again, or make it First Blood, a Street Fight or some other new bloody gimmick match- it seemed so unrealistic that Kane would follow traditional wrestling rules the first time he got his hands on the brother who had tried to kill him.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

For me, the storyline was tarnished by events years later - Kane originally was silent, then used a voicebox as his vocal chords were damaged in the 'fire'. Yet without explanation a couple of years later he is talking perfectly, unaided. Worse still, the 'scarred and burned' face covered by a grotesque mask which it was later revealed was neither scarred not burned...

At the time, however, with the exception of the lightning bolts, the feud was well played out, I thought.

It also brought the Hardy Boyz (in their funky yellow and tiedye pants) onto Raw as they were amongst the jobbers and low carders destroyed by Kane prior to his match with Undertaker.

 

[Mustang Sally]

They may as well have had Taker go out by himself and take a bunch of bumps claiming Kane was invisible.

Well, if there's anywhere this type of schtick could be done, it would be in pro wrestling. Really, the idea of suspending disbelief is an old one that doesn't apply just to wrestling; look at all the vampire and zombie stuff we're watching on TV and the movies today. One of my all-time favorite shows was "True Blood" and as they introduced vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and fairies into the everyday lives of the series' characters, one had to marvel at how well everything fit into our viewing patterns once you got acquainted with the main characters and started to care about them.

One of pro wrestling's most prominent entries into this field was the Undertaker. Sure, everyone knew he didn't have these strange powers, yet did anyone avert their eyes when the camera showed kids at the arena, looking like they were going to puke?....and didn't Stephanie look as if she was really screaming in fear when 'Taker had her tied up and in his power?

If the Undertaker program hadn't been so successful, we never would have had Kane, and Dr. Isaac Yankem might still be a featured character today.

As much as many folks like to criticize WWE and all of pro wrestling, let's face it; there's no form of entertainment like it in the entire world. Undertaker and Kane are two of the best examples of that.

Even as children, they must have been somewhat different than the other kids.

 

[mankind72]

You pick on that to be absurd? it was basically a horror film storyline where the thought dead antagonist returns miraculously.
A lot of stuff was absurd during the attitude era. A deranged Mankind suddenly turned into Dude Love, that wasnt absurd? sure it was but it was still enjoyable. Yeah the Undertaker v Kane with was bit out there but they made us wait 6 months for the actual match and the fans were going mental for it by the end. the attacks, the setting Taker on fire it was all built with a patience you dont see in wrestling now.
Absurd? yeah. Brilliant? also yeah