10 Reasons Why 1997 Was WWE's Most Important Year Ever

10. Kane's Debut Helped The Undertaker Stay Fresh

The Undertaker was a top guy in WWE from the moment started in 1990, so by the time we got to 1997 he was an established name. Even though he was firm in his spot as a top guy, the mid 1990s weren't the greatest for him. He had a lot of similar feuds with bigger wrestlers like Giant Gonzalez, Yokozuna, Mabel and even a fake Undertaker. They beat him up, he came back and won. It was the same thing all the time. In 1997, they added some depth to The Undertaker character by introducing Kane. Since Paul Bearer went heel against Undertaker in 1996, they needed something for him to do to keep that rivalry going. We learned about how Kane was Undertaker's brother from the same mother (later revealed that Bearer was his father), how the family house was burned down and how Kane had a lot of issues. When Kane showed up at Badd Blood 1997 it was the culmination of months of storyline buildup. He dropped his brother The Undertaker with a Tombstone to cost him a huge match with Shawn Michaels in the first Hell in a Cell match. History was made that night. Kane became a major factor while the storyline added years to Undertaker's career due to his rivalry with his storyline brother and all the times they worked together too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASmdxXaOzd4 Here we are 17 years later with both The Undertaker and Kane still playing major roles at WrestleMania 30. Kane's getting a WWE Title match at Extreme Rules too. Think that character worked? Kane has been a huge success and it certainly helped Undertaker a lot too.