10 WWE Attitude Era Stars & Their 80s Counterparts

9. Kane / Jake Roberts

Kane and Jake Roberts played similar roles during each of their careers working for Vince McMahon. The first link that might spring to mind would be the connection to The Undertaker. As part of a trio with Deadman and Paul Bearer, Jake The Snake would do some of the best work of his entire career during late 1991 when audiences got to see a much more sinister, darker side to Jake before ultimately facing a babyface Undertaker at WrestleMania VIII. The WrestleMania battles between The Undertaker and his brother Kane are well known when Kane also played a despicable monster heel. Jake Roberts was an upper mid-card superstar chosen to work with some of the talent Vince McMahon would get ready for a serious push. Whether it was talent like Rick Rude or The Undertaker in Jake's first run or Vader and Steve Austin in his second stint, stars on the rise were often put with Jake both to prepare superstars for the next level of success and also for existing superstars to learn from the great wrestler. Kane was also put in a similar spot as his career progressed, most recently with Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell 2015. Jake and Kane were trusted by Vince to teach the ways of the ring to many of their opponents, as a way of learning on the job. Jake is a known master of wrestling psychology who was able to establish a long career despite having a look and a body that didn't appear "larger than life". Kane, though physically impressive and much bigger than Jake, was also able to extend his career long past that of the average wrestler using his mind as well as his consistency. Both characters will go down as among the best gimmicks ever presented by the WWE.