Some time between driving drunk, killing Katie Vick in a car accident and having sexual intercourse with her lifeless body, Kane was locked in the basement by father Paul Bearer, left to stew over the death of his mother and plot the his eventual revenge on brother The Undertaker. In October 1997, he was released from the basement, where sunshine and rainbows most definitely were not on the itinerary, He cost the Deadman the first Hell in a Cell match against Shawn Michaels, then wreaked havoc on WWE in the months that followed, all the while Undertaker refused to break the vow he made to dead mommy and daddy not to fight his brother. That changed when the Phenom was barbecued alive at the Royal Rumble. He came back with nary a burn or scratch, vowed vengeance and walked through fire, literally, because he's a badass. An American Badass, as it turned out later. Undertaker would defeat Kane at WrestleMania XIV, then at Unforgiven a month later in the first-ever Inferno match. After the 'Mania match was such a success due to the fact that the brothers had never wrestled before, Vince McMahon, Vince Russo and the rest of the WWE rocket scientists overbooked the match into oblivion. Kane and Undertaker wrestled each other countless times throughout 1998 and '99. Never before had two guys wrestled each other as many times as the brothers did and had as many awful matches as they did. When 2010 rolled around and they were still headlining the SmackDown brand, fans had had their fill of the match. But there was something about the story, perhaps the supernatural element and the ever-important "cool factor" kept people interested. The in-ring action may not have backed up the storytelling but the wacky, fun, outrageous nature of those stories made their program must-see television.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
