10 Greatest Long Term WWE Storylines Ever

7. The Kane Saga

Kane Badd Blood
WWE

Not to drone on and on about the days of yore, but WWE has very little clue how to debut talent in this day and age.

The company is much too reliant on the drunken and boisterous post-WrestleMania audience to do their work for them. The logic behind Apollo Crews' NXT promotion was simple - but lazy. The hope was that the knowledgable international fly-in crowd would receive him rapturously - and the rest of the WWE Universe would then infer that Crews was a star.

Almost deservedly, the experiment failed. Crews is currently trading wins with Curt Hawkins in a particularly depressing example of 50/50 booking. He must have p*ssed somebody off - but he's hardly a singular case. Tyler Breeze and Baron Corbin are also flailing helplessly.

WWE can't repeat the Kane formula all the time, but they could at least try - his introduction was arguably wrestling's greatest ever. Unseen for months, the insane backstory of patricide, matricide and fratricide stirred the imagination of WWF fans everywhere: what would this scorched avenger look like?

The gigantic Kane, appropriately adorned in fiery red, debuted at In Your House: Badd Blood, ripping the Hell In A Cell door off to underscore his portrayal as a monstrous force of nature. The WWF had painstakingly crafted - and somehow managed to smash - salivating expectations over a glorious near-five month period.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!