The masked Kane: Progress Report

[CM Steel]

We've witness the return of the masked Kane coming into the new year of 2012 on RAW starting a feud with John Cena. And from that feud up ti'l now in august, Kane has lost more feud's than won. Feuding with the likes of Cena, Orton, Punk & Bryan. Where Kane would always come up short.

Kane has had a shot at the WWE championship in a triple threat match against CM Punk (champ) and Daniel Bryan, but the only thing that came out of that for Kane was a few make out session's with A.J. Now Kane is currently feuding with Daniel Bryan after Kane's lost at Summerslam.

So what do you make of the progress of the return of the masked Kane?

 

[LeviCook]

It's been pretty disappointing but when you have expectations you usually always end up disappointed. Kane's career is near an ending point. Kane has a couple years left in him but he definitely isn't what he once was. With that being said, Kane isn't the biggest draw either. There was a point in time where he was a big draw, but that time has came and gone. No one tunes into WWE for Kane. That's the sad truth. On top of all that, Kane doesn't really benefit from a push. I agree that Kane deserves more. My solution would be to have him on Smackdown. I feel like this is the lazy way out but a simple fix. Having him be more active on Smackdown could allow him to look strong once again. This would also allow him to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship which not only helps him look strong again but also gives someone new for the Champion to face. I feel like Smackdown recycles the same superstars over and over again. So this could potentially kill two birds with one stone. Mask or No mask makes no difference besides appearance. He is basically the same Kane as before. As fans we made the mistake of buying into the hype. We wanted to believe he would be booked better. Sadly that's not how things work.

 

[avi01]

The return was interesting. But quickly turned boring with the whole embrace the hate thing. Got beat by Cena at elimination chamber and the return was completely ruined. They could have continued the feud with Ryder for wrestlemania, that could have been interesting. Instead, they throw him vs. Orton, just for the sake of it...2 months feud that did not interest many people. Ended in a pre-show on youtube the months after ffs. Till then, that was a failure, terrible booking. However, he was thrown in between Punk and Bryan with Aj also in the mix. This is the highlight of his year, it was well booked and had a lot of intrigue to it...really enjoyed that. D Bryan is the main thing in their current feud...Bryan is the one that the feud should benefit too, and rightfully so. So, terrible booking at start and one fresh storyline...not very good but not his fault. Still Kane remains an asset...for a guy this size, he is excellent in the ring..

 

[RadicalCraig]

All O really think Kane is trying to do, is boost the new guys. He probably brought the mask back because he missed it as much as we did. Kane is starting to get old, and hes well aware of it. I know that he trains and mentors some of the new talent, and I hes just trying to get them on the map. Kane had his days, and he had his triumphs. But, this Is a new age, and its time we start using the rest of the roster.

 

[Wald]

I knew he was screwed when he was put against Cena for his returning feud. It was obvious, and the right call, to have Cena win that feud decisively, but doing so killed Kane as a masked monster before he had a chance to run with it.

I liked his involvement in the Bryan vs Punk feud though. Right now I'm make him heel again and build him to lose to Sheamus at Survivor Series

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

I'm not too fussed about how well he has done since returning, Whether he is interesting, stale, boring, exciting to watch, I don't really care when it comes to Kane. I do enjoy seeing him every week though, he adds to storylines, instead of having Bryan and Punk for the 3rd time in a row, why not add Kane to the mix, and it blended well with the storyline aswell, he isn't always in storylines to win, he doesn't need wins, he had his moment a few years ago when he held the World title for over 150+ days.. He is there to help upper-midcard and main event talent, to give guys like Bryan something to do while he is not challenging for the World titles.. Also, Since his return, he ahsn't been made to look weak either.

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

As a huge kane fan, I was so excited seeing the mask return, which it should have been done in 2006 instead of the fake kane. But kane's return has been good and not so good, the orton feud is the one feud kane should have won. Visually he looks the part, but his return has been a 7/10, it could have been better, but ironic the cena feud made kane strong, it was orton that hurt kane, not cena.

And the way they used embrace the hate storyline, could have been executed better. Instead of embrace the hate, it should have been kane looking to destroy the WWE universe and spread hate all through the WWE, that he is tired of the positivity spreading accross the WWE, and he is the antidote to destroying the feel good factor on RAW. And kane blames cena for what the WWE has become, and he is here to destroy cena's entire world, kane is here to spread hate and take out anyone who is trying to stop this hate spreading, Kane wants change in the WWE, and anything positive he will destroy. Kane should have destroyed allot more PPL, not only ryder, but destroyed a few more wrestlers, destroy refs, timekeepers fans threaten the diva's etc, spread kane's destruction like 03 that no one is safe. Take out a brodus clay and big show, who were embodying the positives of the WWE, have kane target cena's home, his family.

But Kane does bring an edge to the roster when he is behind the mask, he looks terrifying, his destruction under the mask does feel allot more brutal. And like always, it's kane's identity under the mask, it makes him unique. And much like slipknot and Batman, that is who they are, that without it they are not slipknot and batman, remember Bane's quote (nobody cared about me until I put on the mask) that has been kane in a nutshell. Kane's return could have been allot better, but overall we cannot expect to much, it's been good, his matches have been fantastic for his age, and he looks brutal with a fantastic ring entrance, and his hybrid classic theme.

 

[IT Factor]

It seems as though Kane can only be pushed as an unstoppable badass heel when behind the mask. Maybe it's because people associate Kane with the mask. Or maybe he's simply more comfortable portraying that character with a mask. Either way, Kane has been a consistently good character since his arrivial in WWF. He's really agile and deceptively quick for a man his size. I was hoping that WWE would actually make him relevent again with his return to the mask gimmick. It's probably WWE's scatterbrained booking that Kane is a victim of. Unless you are CM Punk or John Cena, you get bounced around winning and losing with no real rhyme or reason for it. I dunno. It just seems like Kane could be doing so much more since there are no real big names left from his era.

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

It seems as though Kane can only be pushed as an unstoppable badass heel when behind the mask. Maybe it's because people associate Kane with the mask. Or maybe he's simply more comfortable portraying that character with a mask. Either way, Kane has been a consistently good character since his arrivial in WWF. He's really agile and deceptively quick for a man his size. I was hoping that WWE would actually make him relevent again with his return to the mask gimmick. It's probably WWE's scatterbrained booking that Kane is a victim of. Unless you are CM Punk or John Cena, you get bounced around winning and losing with no real rhyme or reason for it. I dunno. It just seems like Kane could be doing so much more since there are no real big names left from his era.

Kane without the mask, is not quiet kane, remember what bane said in TDKR (nobody cared about me, until I put on the mask) that is what kane became for years when he lost the mask, and the mask is what's defined kane's career, its what got him over in the first place, and it separates him from other big men. For kane to have his identity, as more than a big man, the mask is vital to the kane character. Even though he took it off, and we know what he looks like, sooner or later he had to wear it again and regain that long predator like hair. It is the same as Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Bane, Batman, slipknot, they are who they are because of the mask's they wear.

But Since the breakfast club boys really came into power since the attitude era ended, kane has suffered, HHH seems to have been kane's worst enemy as he always was in the way of kane. But the WWE seem to have shifted away from giving the older wrestlers a chance at the gold, and gone towards it's next generation of punk sheamus etc, not even cena can take the strap now. They give lane and henry their title reigns, and that is that which is a shame. If kane returned to the mask in 2006, he would probably have won the title back then, or even had a couple of reigns. If kane was 37 now, he may and would have probably had a couple of world title reigns. I still think he has proven he can have a title reign or 2, hell he would bring allot more edge and destruction has champion, than the one dimensional sheamus. But HHH seems to have a real boner for sheamus, so what can you do

 

[XXJJ]

The Cena feud ruined his masked return. It was too over the top silly, they had a couple of bad matches together and Cena ended up beating him, which hurt his return.

Not only did it ruin Kane's masked return that angle killed Ryder's career too. Poor Zack, he was over with the crowd and just became the US champ before it all went downhill.

 

[The ShIT Factor]

Kane has always been one of those people who put others over and loses a lot. More than half the matches on his dvd are him losing. He does his job putting over talent and he's good at it so I don't see a problem. If he puts on a good match IMO it doesn't matter.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Kane has always had more built-in flexibility in his character than just about anyone else in pro wrestling. With his mask, he looks more sinister.....and that's a good thing....but he still functions as the ultimate 'tweener; he'll attack anyone, face or heel.......or, he might save someone we never expected him to.

When A.J. kissed him, we were trying to figure whether he would return her kiss or chokeslam her, right? That's the great thing; you honestly don't know how he'll respond. Instead, he reacts according to character and disregards her. It was exactly the right thing for him to do; it showed that Kane functions outside the conventions of normal society......which is exactly how WWE wants to portray him.

Does he put new guys over? Sure he does.....because he can do that without compromising his own standing. For instance, when management considers Ryback to be ready (probably 5 years from now, the way they're bringing him along), he's going to defeat Kane cleanly. Why? Because Kane is a big name and beating him will advance the character of Ryback while doing nothing to stop Kane from doing what he always does.....terrorizing the opposition and pulling out the occasional, unexpected big win, even as he furthers the careers of others.

It's a terrific role because it can be utilized in so many ways. I'll bet management loves having Glenn Jacobs around all these years; he's carved out a niche in pro wrestling that's his and his alone.

 

[BaraaTZK92]

His feud with Superman at the beginning of the year really hurt him, as the only superstar who benefited from that feud was Super Cena (as every feud he is in) at the expense of both Ryder and Kane who were completely destroyed.

Kane should have got a push as the big monster heel that destroys everything in its path, instead they gave that push to the big show who is becoming a bigger joke everytime I see him on TV.

 

[The Brain]

You know what I find funny about this whole situation? Kane has no reason to wear the mask. Not only does he not have a reason to wear it but nobody has even mentioned it. Not one word from the announcers or other wrestlers wondering about why Kane is wearing a mask again. For years everyone wanted Kane to bring back the mask as if it would magically rejuvenate his career. Instead he’s just the same old Kane. The return of the mask has been completely pointless. There is not one single thing he’s done since returning with the mask that he couldn’t have done without it. The mask is irrelevant.

His feud with Superman at the beginning of the year really hurt him, as the only superstar who benefited from that feud was Super Cena (as every feud he is in) at the expense of both Ryder and Kane who were completely destroyed.

Kane should have got a push as the big monster heel that destroys everything in its path, instead they gave that push to the big show who is becoming a bigger joke everytime I see him on TV.

I don't see how Kane did not benefit from working with Cena. How did Big Show get a push different than Kane? You think Kane should have gotten a push as an unstoppable monster? He's gotten that push countless times over the past 15 years. The only reason anyone gets that kind of push is to be taken down by the number one good guy which is what happened.