The Kult Following of Kane

[shafe_41]

Ok... I was going to post this in a sense in the "superstar you hate" thread but then I started to think about something...

Kane. Is this a guy I hate? No. But is this a guy I would care about if he never stepped foot in the ring again? Not one bit. I know the way he's been booked over the years could possibly be the biggest waste of a person's life in the wrestling business and that's not Kane's fault. If you told people to vote on the most poorly booked wrestler of all time, I would believe Kane would be at/near the top of every person's top 3 or top 5. But here's where I get confused.

At what point after he lost his mask was this guy anywhere near entertaining or relavent anymore? I don't see it. There only 2 memories I even have of Kane doing something that caught my attention over the past like... 7 years. They are 1.) WM24 when he simply owned Chavo for the ECW Title which I totally agreed with because hopefully Kane could bring some prestige to the title... which he really didn't IMO and 2.) When he was on Raw and backstage with JBL and JBL said something about his Clothesline from hell and without missing a beat Kane comes back with epic comedic timing and "I've been to hell and I didn't see your clothesline anywhere." That was simply super epic in my eyes because I love subtle comedy like that. But I'm going to remember that comedy line above pretty much everything Kane has ever done since he lost his mask. I guess where I'm going with this is this...

Can somebody please explain to me why a lot of people are so into Kane? I can't make it much clearer than that. What is the appeal of Kane? Especially now. People bring in threads about should he be given a last title run or we're in need of a Kane ressurection. I'm not bashing those people because everybody is entitled to their opinion, but he's been booked poorly...forever. He's getting old and is running out of gas. And much to Vinnie Mac's dismay, I believe the days of the giant monster wrestler/gimmick are over. It's obvious he's one of the hardest and most loyal workers in the game because he's still around and is still around because he does something he loves. And for that, I applaud him.

I want every person's feedback on this. Kane lovers. Kane haters. Even Kane I don't care'ers. I am reaching out to you my gentle snowflakes (Lewis Black) and asking for your input to help me better understand Kane's Kult-like following because I really honestly just don't get it.

 

[Guerrero38]

Well for me the reason is because he was WAY OVER during his mask days and I think and I think other feel the same way or agree when I say that he should have been used better..Now I read around that Vinnie Mac only pushes superstars that he created Like the superman john cena thats an example of being over pushed but back to Kane I dont think I KNOW HE WAS AS OR MAYBE EVEN WAY OVER than cena is today and he dident get pushed or even given at all okay he won the wwf title but for only a fuckin day!

Okay I'am just gonna end this.kane would have still been Ultra Popular if he was given the chance but fuckin vince.

 

[Bernkastel]

Kane lost his mask in late 2003/ early 2004. I have never seen Kane more relevant in any time period, even during 1997/98. He destroyed everyone and anything in his path that year. No one could stop him, he was the single most feared entity in the company at that time...he was being brought to the ring in shackles at one point. Here is just a short list of his accomplishments during that time.

- Tombstoned Linda McMahon

- Set JR on fire

- Brutalized Shane McMahon, even electrocuting his balls at one point

- Chokeslammed Eric Bischoff off the stage

- Shook off a stunner and destroyed Stone Cold Steve Austin in the middle of the ring

- Was booked to look stronger and more dominating than anyone else on the roster

- Was never pinned by either HHH or Goldberg that year

- Was pinned only a handful of times that season (Chris Benoit and The Undertaker are the only two I can think of right away)

Kane was doing anything and everything that he wanted, no one could stop him, other superstars ran in fear when his pyro exploded. When Kane brutalized one of his opponents hardly anyone tried to stop him out of fear. Allot of fans were dreading the day that Kane took off the mask, but when they saw that Kane had become even darker and more violent and unstable than he was when he first debuted those fans began to love him even more. For me personally, I can relate to Kane's character... the sense of not belonging, not knowing who you are... the paranoia of thinking that everyone's out to get you and you have no choice but to trust no one and fight for yourself. For others it may have been a since of freedom, because Kane could seemingly do whatever he wanted to anyone and no one could stop him. When Kane's mask came off, sure it humanized him but his fans got to see for the first time the true pain and anguish the man had been holding back for so long.

Even after that season, he enjoyed a similar success the following year. I hear that most fans didn't enjoy the Kane/Lita storyline, but I did. I remember that many of his fans (myself included) felt betrayed when Lita abandoned Kane for Edge. The way the WWE had been working the angle made it seem that Lita was finally warming up to Kane, and at the same time Kane was slowly making the change from hated heel to loved face. So when that mess when down, it was only natural for his fans to feel a sense of pride when Kane got his redemption... tombstoning Lita and pinning Edge.

In my opinion Kane didn't begin to lose the bulk of his relevance until 2007 when he started to job.

 

[Chill]

Why are people still into Kane today? In order to answer that I think you have to go back to the impact he made during his prime and the fact that during that period he made a significant impression with the fans that they still cheer for him and follow him today.

So, let's go back a few years...

Back in 1997 Paul Bearer revealed to the world that Undertaker's long lost brother Kane was still alive and that he had not perished in the fire which he claimed Undertaker had started. For weeks, Bearer would torment Taker telling him "Kane is coming...he's coming!" and we would see strange red light all over the arenas. Anyway, the point of me going over that was to highlight that even before his official debut, Kane had people talking, WWE had its fans wondering who this person could be, imaginations of the fans were running wild and of course the question was begged 'when will Kane debut?'

Meanwhile, Taker was feuding with Shawn Michaels but in the background was Paul Bearer constantly going on about Kane....Taker was never allowed to forget about him and so neither were the fans. So that takes us to Badd Blood: In Your House 1997, October 5th to a classic match between Taker and Michaels in the Hell in the Cell....fans were into this brutal match up between two of their favourties and so their emotions were running high and when Taker signaled the tombstone, fans were not expecting what was to come. The lights go out, a strange organ fills the arena and a pyro explodes. Out clambers this tall crimson clad masked man accompanied by Paul Bearer, who proceeds to rip the cage door from it's hinges before standing face to face with Taker. If you were watching at home you would have heard Vince yell, "that's gotta be Kane!!"....it was Kane who, like his brother, appeared to have these supernatural powers as he raised his arms and summoned fire from the ring posts. We all know the rest, Kane kicked Taker in the gut, tombstoned him and left.

So what the WWE had just presented was arguably one of the most memorable debuts in wrestling history. From that day on fans would remember Kane and because he attacked a mega star in Taker, naturally, Kane was propelled into main event status himself. I myself was only getting into wrestling at this time, I was a very young fan but Kane was my favourite hands down....I loved the character, he scared me yet he was ultra cool and WWE presented him as a real badass and that meant fans couldn't ignore him.

For the first month of his career, Kane wouldn't wrestle....he simply came to the ring and interferred in random matches to display his dominance....again this wasn't the norm for debuting wrestlers, the norm was a series of vignettes in the weeks before the debut followed by matches from the get go. Therefore, this further established that Kane wasn't to be taken lightly and he was presented as a real menace to his fellow wrestlers.

In his first appearance at Wrestlemania 14, Kane wrestled Taker in a near 20 minute long match. That in itself is an accomplishment because not many debut at their first Mania and face a star of Taker's calliber but Kane did and he arguably gave Taker his greatest challenge (up until that date). Kane took three tombstones before going down and no sold choke slams like it was nobody's business....and how do fans respond to that? Well, they become fans of Kane, they accept him as a threat, a main eventer but more importantly they remember him.

Throughout the boom period of the Attitude Era, Kane was up there with the most important of WWE wrestlers and he was an established fan favourite. Fans bought the character and naturally, they cared about Kane...so when X pac screwed Kane over they cared, when Chyna turned her back on him they cared, when Tori turned on him they cared. Simply put fans cared about their 'Big Red Machine' and he was mega over....some of the pops Kane received were unbelievable.

What happens when a wrestler competes with a mask? Well, the fans eventually begin to wonder what is under that mask. Obviously it was inevitable that Kane would have to lose the mask in order to add another dimension to his character and to feed the fans' appetite. So that eventually happens on June 23rd 2003 in a marquee match at Madison Square Garden against Triple H in a mask v title match. Following the unmasking Kane would go on to dominate RAW that year....once again fans were intrigued by the character and would tune in to see what he would do next, Kane was unpredictable and many fans enjoy that.

Fast forward to the Kane we see today. Kane today is a shadow of his former self, he is a fraction as popular (but still popular and over) and isn't as heavily involved with the product as he once was....so why do people still cheer and root for Kane? Well, it is simple really. When that pyro hits many fans cheer for that masked monster they once loved and loved to hate....people don't forget what once was and many fans of Kane, I think deep down hope that he could one day return to the dominating performer he once was. Is that an impossible thought? At times it might feel that way but really it is not impossible because Kane is still here, all he needs is direction and proper utility and to be fair to WWE they have allowed Kane to pick up some pretty big wins since returning.

To answer the question then, why does Kane have this cult following? It's because fans remember what he has done and in many ways they still cling to that today....why is he not as popular with new or younger fans today? It's because they have not been given significant reason to cheer him or care for him but for the rest of us who were about during Kane's heyday, we caught onto him and related to his character. Old habits die hard and that's why Kane still has a following to this day and that is why, like it or not, he will remain over until the day he does retire. Kane is my favourite WWE performer, I'm not trying to say he is now on the levels of the Cenas, Ortons, HBKs, Takers and so ons of this world because I am not delusional but there was a time when he was.

Overall, I enjoy Kane's work and will continue to do so no matter the capacity in which he is used. Hopefully I have been able to shed some light on why Kane still has a fan following today.

 

[Blade]

I've been a big Kane fan for years and years now.
I guess when I was younger, I was simply captivated by this monster who could destroy any person he wanted. Instead of gravitating towards the faces, like most 7 year olds do, I found myself cheering Kane on, wanting him to win. I'm still not sure why... He was just so...cool. He played with fire, wore a mask, kicked more ass than he ate hot meals and took no shit.
Now, due to circumstances outside my control, I missed all WWF programes between 1995 and 1998, so I had missed Kane's world title run. But throughtout 1999 and 2000, I saw him get a good few title shots but never winning the title, and it annoyed me. Yeah, The Rock and Triple H were around. But Kane was still one of the most over guys on the roster, and probably the most credible. Yet he was never given the title. Naturally, that made me love him more.

When he made his 2002 return after his biceps injury, I was more appreciative of wrestling. I cared about the actual wrestling itself more than my favourites winning matches. So I noticed when he came back from the injury that the guy can put on some great matches. His series with Triple H over the World Heavyweight championship from late 2002 to early 2003 were superb. And the TLC match where he was by himself speaks for himself. Then Eric Bischoff made the title vs mask match and I marked out like crazy for 10 minutes straight. Surely this was Kane's time! They wouldn't make him lose the mask.... Wait, would they make him lose the mask? Yup. Yup, they would.
He lost the mask and he wasn't the same after that. I still popped for him and wanted him to win the title, but unmasked Kane is just not Kane.

At the moment, he's in my top 10 favourite wrestlers ever. I still enjoy watching him and I think he's still got a good match or two left in him. But the reasons I've stated above are why, for almost 5 years the guy was my favourite wrestler. I know they're not the best reasons in the world, but different people gravitate towards different wrestlers. I gravitated towards Kane, and I don't regret it as he gave me many great moments. It's just a shame that most of those great moments, like the Royal Rumble 2001 and the TLC match, will be forgotten by the majority of wrestling fans.
And while I may not enjoy his work now like I did when he was masked, how can you not have the utmost respect for the guy? He has worked his ass off for 12 years straight, never getting more than midcard titles. He's never once thought about jumping ship, he's never had a problem putting over talent and he's only ever had 1 major injury since 1997. He deserves respect and a place in the WWE hall of fame.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

Okay, the wife and I, gave this a lot of thought and conversation as we were watching Kane's DVD and chronicling his career. We/I came to the conclusion that I feel Kane is one of the most underrated wrestlers ever and one of the best ever. Here me out.

1: Kane may not be the best wrestler, but he is damn good. He's technical, almost to perfection, I've hardly never seen Kane make a mistake, I've rarely heard of him accidently injuring other wrestler's or even seen it. So we know he can take care of his opponents while making it look good. He's not the best wrestler no, but I will say he's up there.

2: Right now he's in better shape that even when he started. He's a big boy, but he can still move fast, go a long time, a lot longer than most on the roster as a matter of fact. He's a big cardio machine. I've never seen him get winded or blown up to the point he can barely go anymore. He literally is a machine in the fact he can just keep going.

3: No matter if he is a main event, opening match, forgettable feud or rememberable feud, he always gives it his all, he tried to make ever match his best match and that is very admirable. He doesn't half-ass it and he isn't afraid to put the younger or smaller talent over, he's more than willing to do the job, which shows he is comfortable enough with his position and what he has accomplished, he doesn't care about wins or losses.

4: While he deserves more titles, than he has had, especially compared to some other wrestler's, he doesn't piss and moan about it, he doesn't need them or care if he gets them, he just loves to wrestle. People talk about Cena's, HHH's, HBK's, Flair's passion and love for wrestling, yet rarely do they mention Kane's. He has to absolutely love it, to not care where he is at in the company as long as he is wrestling. That is very awesome to me.

5: A bad Kane match is a good Kane match, a good Kane match is a great Kane match and a great Kane match is a outstanding Kane match. He is very well rounded, he can mat wrestle if he wants, he's a brawler, a powerhouse and even flies from time to time. He can play dirty or he can play fair, he is extremely versitile in the ring and he knows how to adapt to his opponent.

6: He's been around a long time and though he hasn't had the success that HHH, Taker, Cena, Orton, Flair, HBK, and many many others has, he'll still be Hall of Fame bound and rightfully so, even though the announcers rarely if ever say, Kane's a future Hall of Famer.

So that's why the wife and I love Kane and all in all rank him as one of the best we have seen. So who agrees and disagrees?

I figured it would easier to quote a thread I started about Kane a while ago. So the above is why I think Kane not only still has a cult following, but it still one of the best.