The Brothers Of Destruction are back !
The Undertaker and his brother Kane reunited this past week on Raw and the brothers will be facing off against two members of The Wyatt family at the next PPV “Survivor Series”
Seeing these two legends in the ring after so long reminded me of how great WWE used to be, and the rivalries these two had throughout the years by fighting against each other or side by side. I’d like to take you back to where it all began (videos included) because Kane and The Undertaker have not always seen eye to eye and have had many battles throughout the years. It all started in 1997 and i was really excited for this great storyline match of Brother vs Brother but always felt this feud was lost in the shuffle during WM14 as Austin/Tyson/HBK was the focal point of that year. So i’m writing this article to show you where The Undertaker/Kane brother versus brother feud all started.
The year was 1997, Shortly after WrestleMania 13 Paul Bearer began threatening The Deadman with a secret that would destroy The Undertaker. Bearer revealed to the world that The Undertaker had set fire to his mother and father’s funeral home, killing them and his younger brother, Kane.
The general idea was that Paul Bearer (get it?), The Undertaker’s manager at the time, years earlier had worked for the Undertaker’s parents, and ended up having a son named Kane with the Undertaker’s mother. Later, a teenage Undertaker started a fire that burned down the house, killing both his parents, and burned his brother, Kane, who was supposedly disfigured to the point where Undertaker thought he was dead.
Here, Paul Bearer reveals Kane is alive and his coming for his revenge:
Bearer told Taker that Kane was coming back for revenge. The Deadman swore there was no chance Kane could have survived the horrific fire that killed his parents.
Paul would continue to embarrass Taker bringing up his past and calling Taker a murderer. “HBK” Shawn Michael’s clashed with The Undertaker in the first ever Hell in a Cell match at In Your House: Bad Blood. Midway through the match the lights went out and the arena turned red, out came Paul Bearer with Kane.
The Big Red Monster proceeded to rip the cell door off, standing face-to-face with his older brother.
Kane wanted to take out all of his pent-up and vindictive aggression out on his “brother” but Undertaker refused to fight his own flesh and blood. Kane then proceeded to attack The Undertaker but Undertaker still refused to fight. On March 2nd 1998 episode of RAW, Kane is involved in a fight against Austin and after the match, Paul Bearer asked the time keeper to give a ten bell salute after the match to Taker. But the ringing didn’t stop after ten.
Taker appeared in the arena from a lightening, as it was projected and accepted Kane’s challenge by saying that it would be the – ‘Resurrection of a damned soul’ and ‘Tormentation of a troubled past’ and the two superstars displayed their supernatural powers for a few weeks before Mania as shown.
After Kane surprisingly saved Undertaker from an attack by D-Generation X, the duo had a brief partnership which ended after Kane betrayed Undertaker by costing Undertaker a casket match against WWF Champion Shawn Michael’s for the WWF Championship.
He choked slammed Undertaker into the casket which helped in Michael’s getting the win. After the match Kane and Paul Bearer locked Undertaker in the casket and set it ablaze.
After disposing of his brother, Kane turned his attention to the rest of the WWE and seemingly had complete control until the Undertaker made a surprise return and proclaimed himself ready to face Kane. The two continued to feud.
The Match
The match began with The Deadman and his brother face to face. The Undertaker would begin with a big strike. He takes a moment to see how it effects Kane before really getting into the deep end with him. This is important because I believe it is where the character of The Undertaker plateaus as the most dominant force in WWF. The Undertaker had made a career of dominating opponents, or trying to be conquered because of his immortality.
After that initial blow, the match moves into powerful strikes from The Undertaker who beats Kane into the corner. Kane strikes back with an elbow and tries to dominate The Undertaker. This back and forth battle for the upper hand continues for a good stretch of time in the match. The Undertaker’s defiance to stay down was fully matched by Kane’s desire to keep him down.
Both men are in peak physical condition and the tempo picks up quickly for two big men to start off a match this fiercely. The power of Kane dominates the match for several minutes. He throws, pushes and batters The Undertaker around the ring, but The Undertaker fights back again. They trade bombs until The Undertaker attempts the Tombstone, but Kane reverses it into a Tombstone of his own that connects for another long long two count. The Undertaker drops Kane with a chokeslam then motions over his throat for the end and he connects with the Tombstone Piledriver hitting it 3 times before finally defeating his brother Kane.
( Author’s note, this piece has been edited/updated)
Fun fact: On The Undertaker’s arrival to WWE he was originally called “Kane the Undertaker, thanks for reading.
