6 Ups & 6 Downs From Kane's WWE Career
Ups...
6. THAT Title Reign
That Kane's first World title run lasted just a single day doesn't make for flattering reading out of context, but it was a solid piece of booking that has been Chinese-whispered into the opposite over the past couple of decades.
His win came at King of the Ring '98. Kane earned his opportunity by defeating his brother, The Undertaker, and Vince McMahon was desperate to get the WWF Championship off Steve Austin. Thus, he booked 'Stone Cold' in a seemingly unwinnable stipulation: a First Blood match, because how can a masked giant clad in a head-to-toe bodysuit get busted open?
This led to a big intrigue spike, driving further pay-per-view buys as fans knew something big was going to happen. Kane won the belt, and this popped another huge Raw rating the following evening, with WWE obliterating WCW Nitro 5.4 to 4.1. Everyone tuned in to see Austin regain the gold that night, marking the move objectively good business sense.
It would've been great to see 'The Big Red Machine' enjoy a longer run at the peak of his powers, but it doesn't really matter. He was never the kind of wrestler to need a belt to get over anyway.