The Kane feud with John Cena in early 2012 was done because they needed to give Cena something to do for a couple of months before his much-hyped WrestleMania 28 showdown with The Rock. Since Cena couldn't compete in the Royal Rumble due to that match, WWE sent a heel Kane after him in what became known as the "embrace the hate" feud. It was Kane's way of trying to get Cena to be more vicious. Zack Ryder was also a part of the feud. His role was the hapless babyface schmuck that Cena had to protect from Kane's attacks. Following a win in a tag match on January 2, 2012, Ryder and Cena were in the ring when Kane's music started to play. Cena, ever the protector, ran out of the ring and waited for Kane in the aisle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WS8V6G67f0 Kane emerged from under the ring and attacked Ryder, before knocking Cena down with a punch and choking him out with his gloved hand. Kane went after Ryder in the ring. He grabbed him legs and tried to pull him under the ring. Michael Cole on commentary said he was trying to drag Ryder "into the abyss" under the ring. Cena got back into the ring to pull Ryder off Kane and then a fire was lit off in the hole that Kane was in. Even though it was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to drag Ryder "to hell", Ryder has been on weekend/house show duty pretty much since then, so you could argue he's already there!
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
