6 Ups & 6 Downs From Kane's WWE Career

4. The Grand Unmasking

Though mistakes were made with Kane's unmasking, the controversial move ultimately produced one of the most enjoyable runs of his career, reviving the fortunes of an act that had long since grown stale.

It was a huge deal. Eric Bischoff forcing Kane into the stipulation ahead of a special Madison Square Garden episode of Raw created immense stakes for his match with Triple H, even through it probably should've taken place on pay-per-view. Nonetheless, when Kane lost and finally unmasked, revealing his pig-ugly face on WWE television for the very first time, it was a game-changing moment.

Weeks of excellent programming followed as Kane snapped, turning heel on tag partner Rob Van Dam, who was defeated at SummerSlam. His scars were psychological, not physical burns suffered in the house fire that killed his family. This fed into his new character direction. Kane was wild, unhinged, and completely out of control, feeling like the most threatening force in the company for the first time in years, and from helping Vince McMahon bury The Undertaker to setting Jim Ross on fire, he created many a grisly spectacle.

An all-too-competitive feud with Shane McMahon slowed Kane's post-unmasking momentum, and his fear of 'Taker's 2004 return killed it, because that's what WWE do. Still, the first few months were incredible.