5 Times A Feud With Kane Was The Kiss Of Death For WWE Champions

4. Chris Benoit

Suffering a similar fate as Daniel Bryan once capturing the WWE Title at WrestleMania, Chris Benoit was also programmed opposite Kane during his honeymoon period as World Champion. When the Canadian managed to bag the gold at 'Mania XX, it was a huge moment, one which seemed to make all the nonsense Benoit had been forced to put up with in WCW worth the wait. Embracing his long-time friend Eddie Guerrero, the pair celebrated at the end of WrestleMania as World Champions, and it felt emotional. Fast forward to June, 2004 however, and Benoit was locked in a second-fiddle feud with the 'Big Red Monster' over his World Heavyweight Championship at Bad Blood. Even more tragically, the champ had to look on in horror as both his opponents in stellar Triple Threat matches as 'Mania and Backlash, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, stole the show inside the confines of Hell In A Cell. Meanwhile, Benoit and Kane did put on an intriguing big man vs. little man effort, but it felt pretty lackluster compared to what was portrayed as the real main event, the battle between former (and future) DX members. Unfortunately for Benoit, he'd have to wait until Vengeance in July to get a top rivalry fans craved, in the form of Triple H, and would lose the strap to Randy Orton at Summerslam the following month. Did the feud with Kane stifle his momentum as champion?