Dr. K's Waiting Room

The Build-Up:
On 5^th October 1997 (the day after my twelfth birthday and the same day as Global James Bond Day), Glenn Jacobs debuted as Kane. The Undertaker’s monstrous younger half-brother became even more unhinged when he unmasked in 2003, extending his rampage to the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (who was in the midst of his celebrated comeback) by viciously crushing HBK’s throat with a steel chair. After Kane busied himself brutalising Matt Hardy and forcing his girlfriend, Lita, into marrying him and carrying his child, the disgusted Lita gleefully revealed that she’d arranged for HBK to get his revenge in this match.

The Match:
I was sceptical when Kane unmasked, primarily because the visual of his hulking, masked madman was so captivating that it made me a lifelong wrestling fan. However, this decision unquestionably reinvigorated Kane’s career and took him to new heights as a depraved psychopath. As disturbing as this period was, casting Kane as an abusive, unhinged, borderline rapist certainly made him easy to hate at the time. Eager for revenge, HBK made the first move with a quick tie up and was soon stunning Kane with some stinging chops after briefly being manhandled in a corner. While Kane countered a whip, HBK tackled him and doubled own by pounding away on Kane in the corner until the Big Red Monster toppled outside. Shawn quickly followed and deftly dodged a clothesline, causing Kane to slam his right arm into a ring post. Though Kane intercepting HBK’s top rope axehandle smash with a sharp uppercut, he noticeably favoured his right arm following the injury and made sure to use his incredible power to overwhelm Shawn and score the first near fall. However, HBK dodged Kane’s running elbow drop and sent Kane back outside, taking him down with a crossbody over the ropes when Kane distracted himself by arguing with Lita. Ever the sadist, Kane used Lita as a human shield to regain control and send HBK crashing through the Spanish announce table with a suplex.

When Shawn kicked out of the subsequent pin attempt, Kane stomped away at him and choked him on the mat, his right arm apparently not an issue anymore, and crushed him with a sidewalk slam for another two count. Kane shut down Shawn’s comeback with a lifting choke and a bizarre neck hold that kept HBK grounded. Frustrated by Shawn’s resilience, Kane tossed him into a corner and paid for it with a desperation DDT that gave HBK the chance to hit his flying forearm and match Kane’s zombie sit-up with a kip up. However, Shawn got turned inside out off a whip into a corner and the fight spilled outside once more so Kane could bust HBK open on the ring steps and grab a steel chair. Shawn frantically fought back to avoid getting hit by the chair, only for Kane’s power to again send him outside, where HBK dodged getting crushed against the ring post and bounced Kane’s head off the same steel support. This gave HBK the opening to drop Kane and land his patented diving elbow, though Kane countered Sweet Chin Music with a big boot for a near fall. Enraged, Kane scored with his diving clothesline but Shawn hit a low blow and dropped Kane with a chair shot right to the head! Though Kane recovered first, Lita kept him from using the steel chair, distracting him long enough for Shawn to stumble up, avoid a Chokeslam, and score the win with Sweet Chin Music, which Kane naturally blamed Lita for. This was an okay match but nothing special, especially compared to Shawn’s matches with the Undertaker and considering it left HBK with a lazy eye. They didn’t really do much with the no disqualification stipulation or capitalise on HBK’s desire to avenge himself or Kane’s mean streak. Kane looked somewhat smart and dominant but was easily distracted by Lita and there wasn’t much psychology from HBK, who never targeted Kane’s injured arm and was primarily here to bounce around for the Big Red Monster.

The Aftermath:
Seemingly satisfying with his victory over Kane, Shawn Michaels pivoted his focus back towards the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite suffering a torn meniscus, HBK was healthy enough to qualify for a title match against Triple H at Taboo Tuesday, though he lost thanks to interference from Edge. Shawn returned from his injury to referee an Elimination Chamber match before helping to put Edge over at the 2005 Royal Rumble and battling Kurt Angle in a WrestleMania classic. Incredibly, despite all the awful things he’d done, Kane turned babyface in the weeks that followed when newcomer Gene Snitsky accidentally caused Lita to miscarry. After returned from filming See No Evil (Dark, 2006), Kane (with Lita now willingly in his corner) bested Snitsky at the 2005 New Year’s Revolution event. However, a messy real-life break up between Lita and Matt Hardy saw Lita turn against Kane in favour of Edge, making her disturbing and confusing relationship with Kane even more perplexing as Kane, the psychotic rapist, was firmly positioned as the wronged party!

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Were you also disappointed by HBK’s clash with Kane? Do you agree that they should’ve done more with the stipulation? Were you a fan of Kane’s unmasked rampage or do you prefer him under the mask? Who was your pick to win at the time? Were you also disturbed by Kane’s relationship with Lita? What are some of your favourite Kane matches and moments? Leave a and share your thoughts below, then donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other Kane matches for the site.