Why 1997 Was The Greatest Year In Wrestling History

5. That... That's Gotta Be Kane!

The Rock Nation Of Domination
WWE

Is it the greatest debut in pro wrestling history? If not, it's most certainly in the conversation.

The arrival of Kane was huge when it happened back at October 1997's Badd Blood PPV. For years, the Undertaker was the unstoppable, otherworldly monster who would always stand tall against whatever threat reared up. But with the arrival of Kane, that dynamic was flipped on its head.

After Paul Bearer had spent months teasing the impending arrival of the Phenom's presumed-dead brother, the wrestling world was shocked to see the Big Red Machine turn up at Badd Blood, rip the Hell in a Cell door off, and leave his big brother laying.

Not only was the presentation of Kane instantly attention-grabbing, but his arrival added a whole new layer of character depth to The Undertaker by giving him a sibling who was even more destructive and demented than he was. All of a sudden, 'Taker was vulnerable - and it made for fascinating TV over the ensuing months and even years.

As alluded to, Badd Blood also introduced wrestling audiences to the concept of the Hell in a Cell match. In fact, some still retain to this day that the original HIAC offering of Shawn Michael vs. Undertaker is the greatest match ever served up within the confines of the cell structure.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.