10 Worst WWE Gimmicks Of 2017
8. "Christ, Not Him Again" Kane
Kane, over the span of his 20 year career, has alienated all but the rose-tinted Attitude Era apologists through acting as the Authority's primary inducer of blue balls, devolving into an often unfunny comedy act, and generally receiving pitiful, grim and repetitive booking treatment from creative.
And yet, in 2017, we are expected to buy him as a threat after the most transparent, antagonising mini-push seen since, well, Jinder Mahal. And look how that worked out. Dispatched to bury Finn Bálor all the way to hell a mere 24 hours after he contested a WWE Match Of The Year candidate opposite AJ Styles, the decision made not a lick of sense in both storylines, reality, and the long-term future of the company WWE seems to give not a toss about.
He'd just defeated the consensus best wrestler in the company at TLC, finally appearing as a threat to Brock Lesnar after months of foreshadowing the Royal Rumble match - in parallel with months of brutally bad Bray Wyatt business. Enter Kane: with one birdbrained burial, Bálor might as well have joined Bo Dallas on the lowest rung of the ladder.
The irony is that all of this was ultimately designed to build Braun Strowman back up as a threat, following his loss to Brock Lesnar at No Mercy - and the Monster Among Men has cooled down considerably.