The Evidence
• Mankind vs. Kane at Survivor Series in 1997
A
pay-per-view battle between Kane and Mankind should be memorable, but this
10-minute match is not as fast-paced as I expected. Watching the two costumed
wrestlers doing their thing in the ring is entertaining enough, but I wish
they'd made better use of their technical skills. Not the worst match, but it
definitely could have been a whole lot better.
• Undertaker vs. Kane at WrestleMania XIV in 1998
Kane's battle against the Undertaker at WrestleMania is not as exciting
as you may think. Clocking in at 16 minutes, this is quite a slow-moving match,
with both wrestlers failing to offer the crowd enough variety. Long submission
maneuvers and punches dominate most of this fight, while surprises remain
scarce.
• Undertaker vs. Kane at In Your House: Unforgiven in
1998
This is a so-called Inferno match, which means the ring is surrounded
by flames shooting into the air every time a wrestler delivers a strong move.
The concept behind this is rather silly and the fire is just for show, but it's
funny enough if you've never seen such a match before. As for the quality of the
wrestling, let's just say the two athletes are risking more than in the previous
matchup.
• Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane at King of the Ring in
1998
Steve Austin goes head to head with Kane in a First Blood match for
the WWE title, and neither of these two wrestlers shies away from using plenty
of strong kicks and high-risk maneuvers to entertain the crowd. While most of
the action during this 14-minute match takes place outside the ring, these two
superstars nevertheless deliver a solid show. Good match.
• X-Pac and Kane vs. Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart on Raw in
1999
Although this match for the Tag Team Championship only lasts five
minutes, it's an adrenaline-laden battle filled with impressive moves. Kane
isn't really part of the game until the end, but it's certainly fun to watch the
beast clean up the ring in a matter of only a few seconds.
• Kane vs. X-Pac at Armageddon in 1999
This Steel
Cage match is also a short one at only 8 minutes, but it gives Kane yet another
chance to prove his strength and endurance. WWE writers could've handled the
outcome a little differently, but all in all, it's still an entertaining fight
with a handful of powerful moves.
• Chris Jericho vs. Kane at Armageddon in 2000
Last
Man Standing matches are usually long battles, and this one is no exception.
Despite its 17 minutes, this matchup between Kane and Y2J is rather enjoyable to
watch, primarily because both athletes possess a great agility permitting them
to offer the crowd a variety of strong maneuvers. Unfortunately, the cheap
ending almost ruins the otherwise satisfying PPV match.
• Edge and Christian vs. Undertaker and Kane vs. The Dudley Boyz
at No Way Out in 2001
The final match on Disc One is a Triple
Threat match for the Tag Team Championship, and the only way to win this thing
is by putting an opponent through a table. If you're a fan of tables, ladders,
and chairs, this one's for you. Clocking in at 12 minutes, this highly
entertaining battle proves yet again that it takes great technical skills to
pull off impressive high-risk maneuvers. This is undoubtedly the best match on
this first disc.
• Kane vs. Triple H at Judgment Day in 2001
The
second part of this collection kicks off with a match for the Intercontinental
Championship. On top of that, this is also a Chain match, which means the two
competitors are literally chained to each other. As expected, we do get to see
plenty of chain action, combined with a bunch of solid moves and some powerful
kicks. The match could have easily been more vibrant, but all in all, Kane and
HHH end up delivering a decent show.
• Kane vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania X8 in 2002
Kane's power and Angle's speed and flexibility work together quite well, as
evidenced in this 10-minute fight, which is action-packed and surprising. The
fight between the Olympic winner and the Big Red Machine is neither too short
nor too long, and both athletes deliver well-coordinated high-risk moves.
• Triple H vs. Kane at No Mercy in 2002
At 16
minutes, this PPV match between Kane and Triple H delivers the goods. Both
athletes have the experience to balance the action and keep things entertaining,
even without any particular surprises. This is indeed a solid but standard
wrestling match, and it works for the most part.
• Rob Van Dam and Kane vs. Chris Jericho and Christian on
Raw in 2003
Tag Team matches can be very enjoyable, and this
eight-minute brawl is a whole lot of fun to watch. While it may not be as
fast-paced as the previous Tag Team battle, it still boasts plenty of
first-class wrestling action from each of these four WWE superstars.
• Rob Van Dam vs. Kane on Raw in 2003
Rob Vab Dam
and Kane go at it in a Steel Cage match, and both men make sure to perform a
variety of high-risk moves to keep the action as interesting as possible. Twelve
minutes is a bit long for a match like this on Raw, but Van Dam and Kane
do their best not to bore the crowd. I wouldn't call this a memorable one, but
it's decently entertaining.
• Shane McMahon vs. Kane at Unforgiven in 2003
Booking Kane against Shane in a Last Man Standing match is obviously ridiculous,
and I still don't know what the WWE writers were thinking at this point. Anyway,
this one lasts for 19 long minutes, and it's not impressive, except when Shane
delivers one of the craziest moves I've ever seen in a wrestling match.
• Shane McMahon vs. Kane at Survivor Series in 2003
Shane and Kane go head to head again in this Ambulance match, which means you
have to slam your opponent into an ambulance and close the doors to win. This
one is even weaker than the previous one, but luckily it's also shorter. Most of
the action also takes backstage, so don't expect 100% classic wrestling action
here.
• Matt Hardy vs. Kane at SummerSlam in 2004
Matt
Hardy is not really in Kane's weight class, but he's flexible and fast, using
his skills to successfully pull off a couple of these fast moves that are always
fun to watch. Both Kane and Matt work together well enough to keep this fight
fast-paced, and that's really all I have to say about it. Let's move on to Disc
Three.
• Shawn Michaels vs. Kane at Unforgiven in 2004
We're starting this disc with a No Disqualification match, which means pretty
much everything is allowed. Michaels and Kane go at it for 17 minutes, and while
that may be a little too long, I admit they both don't waste much time in
between delivering some of those powerful maneuvers and submission holds. This
is enjoyable wrestling, no doubt.
• Kane vs. Gene Snitsky on Raw in 2005
I know it may
be hard to believe, but this No Holds Barred match is one of my favorites in
this collection so far. It's only 7 minutes, but both athletes approach this
battle with much more energy and aggressiveness than usual, prompting both to
deliver first-class wrestling action without a single break. The ending could
have been a little better, but I'm willing to forgive them for that.
• Kane vs. Edge on Raw in 2005
It's Steel Cage time
for Edge and Kane, and they both prove they've got what it takes to compete at
this level. Edge in particular applies his technical skills to pull off some
cool moves, while Kane utilizes his power to slow down his opponent a bit.
• Edge vs. Kane on Raw in 2005
This one is a
Stretcher match, which means one of the two has to slam his opponent onto a
stretcher and roll him out of the arena. I know it sounds ridiculous, and it
really is. This battle between Edge and Kane lasts for 10 minutes, and I
honestly don't know why they chose to include it in the first place. It's rather
boring and too unsurprising to be considered memorable.
• Kane vs. Umaga on Raw in 2006
Kane and Umaga are
both heavy athletes, but they don't really offer the crowd their best in this
short 4-minute match. Sure, we do get to see some moves, but the ending really
messes up the whole fight. Too bad.
• Undertaker and Kane vs. King Booker and Finlay on
SmackDown in 2006
This is the last Tag Team match of this
collection, but it's a good one. King Booker brings alone several high-risk
moves and dives, while Kane, Undertaker and Finlay throw in the power factor via
their heavyweight kicks and blows. Although this is a standard Tag Team match
without too many surprises, it's a piece of solid wrestling, and that's all that
matters.
• Kane vs. King Booker at No Way Out in 2007
Kane's
battle against Booker is a pay-per-view match, but it fails to deliver the
goods. I wouldn't go as far and say this is a total sucker, but the wow factor
is definitely missing and there's not enough energy or enthusiasm in this match.
Oh, well…can't always win.
• Kane vs. Finlay on SmackDown in 2007
Pretty much
everything is allowed in this Belfast Brawl, but that doesn't mean the matchup
is automatically a success. Finlay and Kane both make use of this absence of
rules by playing around with some gadgets they find around the ring, but
unfortunately, they almost forget to offer the crowd some decent wrestling
action. On the other hand, the few moves they do end up pulling off work out
just fine.
• Kane vs. Undertaker on SmackDown in 2008
This last
match is a disappointment, with the Undertaker and Kane using too many
submission holds and punches instead of some powerful moves. Additionally, the
outcome of this battle is ruined by one of those unnecessary surprises we see
too often in wrestling entertainment these days.
The full-frame presentation works fine, and the quality of the picture is
decent enough throughout. Some of the earlier matches feature a little weaker
audio, but all in all, I can't complain about the discs' technical aspects.
After all, this is wrestling, and for that, you don't need a razor-sharp image
or first-class sound.
The special features on this collection have more to offer those who simply
can't get enough of Kane. Besides a brief look at Kane's destruction of Pete
Rose, disc one also includes a little featurette documenting the feud between
the Undertaker and Paul Bearer, who used to be Kane's manager. None of these are
particularly interesting, by the way. On Disc Two, you'll find a bunch of
backstage segments and interviews, most of which are funny and at the same time
ridiculous. Finally, disc three includes an entertaining 24-Man Battle Royale
from 2008's WrestleMania and an ultra-short ECW Championship match
between Kane and Chavo Guerrero.
