The History between Kane and The Undertaker
The legacy of the Undertaker and
Kane goes back a long way.
Once upon a time there was a happy family - a mother, a father, and two young
boys. The parents ran a funeral parlor, which employed a young man named Paul
Bearer. The family led a happy life, until one fateful day changed their lives.
The older of the two brother returned home one day to find his house in flames.
A horrific fire had torn through his home, taking the lives of his parents and
his brother.
After seeing his entire family taken from him, the young man sought solace in
death. He reveled in it. He aligned himself with Paul and became the very
embodiment of death. That man would make his World Wrestling Federation debut
in 1990, known as the Undertaker.
With Paul Bearer at his side, the Undertaker blazed a trail of success in the
Federation unlike anything ever seen before - until one fateful night at
SummerSlam 1996. On that night, Paul Bearer turned his back.
The two men stayed apart until the Undertaker won the Federation Championship
at WrestleMania 13 in 1997. After that, Bearer tried to jump on the Taker�s
bandwagon, but the Taker refused to let him back. So Paul Bearer blackmailed
the Undertaker, saying that he had dirt on him that would ruin him.
It worked, for a few months. But the Undertaker could only cope with being a
kept man for so long. Soon the Undertaker shunned Bearer. It was then that we
learned the Phenom�s grave secret - his brother, Kane, was still alive!
According to Bearer, Kane had been hideously burned in the fire, but survived.
For years, Paul Bearer had nursed him back to health. In that time, Kane had
watched his brother become a dominant force in the World Wrestling
Federation.
Kane had dreamed of one day becoming a Federation Superstar just like his
brother - and then destroying him! You see, Kane held the Undertaker
responsible for the fire, the death of his parents and his disfigurement,
saying that he had lost his edge, that he "wasn�t the Phenom
anymore."
Although the Undertaker acknowledged the fire, he could not believe Bearer�s
claims that Kane was still alive. But that declaration would become a reality
at the October 1997 Badd Blood Pay-Per-View. As the Undertaker prepared to
finish off Shawn Michaels in the first Hell in a Cell match, a mysterious red
light filled the arena, and Kane made his way to the ring! Understandably, the
Undertaker looked like he had seen a ghost! Before the Undertaker could say a
word, Kane attacked his brother, and then Tombstoned him!
For months, Kane took every opportunity to disrupt Federation programming,
assaulting pracitcally the entire roster, and vowing to keep it up until the
Undertaker agreed to fight him. His message was a simple one - he wanted
revenge. But the Undertaker flat-out refused, and the siblings seemed to have a
symbolic unifircation in early 1998 - until one Casket Match would change
everything. At the 1998 Royal Rumble, Undertaker challenged Shawn Michaels for
the Federation Championship. During the match, Kane came out, ostensibly to
help his brother, but he instead attacked the Undertaker, and helped Michaels
seal him in the casket for the win. But the worst was yet to come.
After the match, Kane poured gasoline over the casket and lit it on fire!
Strangely, when Federation officials finally put out the fire and opened the
casket, the Undertaker was no where to be found. It wasn�t until a month later
that the Undertaker mad his mysterious re-appearance, agreeing to fight his
brother one-on-one for the first time! Indeed, at WrestleMania XIV in 1998, the
Undertaker pinned his younger brother, even though it took three Tombstones to
do it!
The next month at Unforgiven, the brothers again battled - this time in an
Inferno Match! The Undertaker again vanquished his younger brother when he set
him on fire!
The brothers would again butt heads on the June 1, 1998 episode of RAW, in a
match which would determine the No. 1 contender for the World Wrestling
Federation Championship. Kane won the match and headed to King of the Ring to
face Stone Cold Steve Austin in a First Blood Match for the title. Kane vowed
that if he didn�t win the title, he would set himself on fire and breathe his
last breath! Despite the tension between them, Undertaker vowed he wouldn�t let
that happen, and at King of the Ring, it was the Undertaker�s chairshot to
Stone Cold that would help his brother become Federation Champion - even though
Kane lost the title back to the Rattlesnake the next day!
They say that blood is thicker than water, but Mr. McMahon would soon prove
that money is thicker than blood, as the Federation chairman emptied his
pockets to the brothers to get the title away from Austin. The two brothers
were now on the same page, and at the Breakdown Pay-Per-View in September 1998,
the two brothers took the championship from Stone Cold in a Triple Threat
Match. But with no clear champion decided (both men pinned Austin for the title
at the same time), a match was made between the two brothers at Judgment Day
the next month to determine the clear champion. When no winner was announced
there, the brothers faced off in the second round of the Deadly Game Tournament
at Survivor Series 1998. The Undertaker picked up the win after Paul Bearer
turned his back on Kane and rejoined the Phenom!
From there, the Undertaker and Kane would drift apart a bit. The Undertaker was
in the midst of forming the Ministry of Darkness, while Kane was more concerned
with defending his and X-Pac�s Tag Team Championship. At SummerSlam 1999, the
Undertaker and the Big Show took the Tag Titles from Kane and X-Pac.
The Undertaker walked out of the Federation in September 1999 and didn�t return
until May 2000. Upon his return, he and Kane seemed to be tight. The reunion
seemed complete. But now Kane has again turned on his brother. These men have
proven time and time again that when they are in the ring together, blood will
be shed and there will be casualties.
This match will truly be hell on earth.