Can Kane's Character be salvaged?

[Unknown]

This is one of those cases where I feel bad that it has come to the point where I have to say I told you so. Kane has become just another big man. At first I was outraged that they decided to take Kane's mask off. Then I saw the bigger picture in it being his achillies heel so to speak. Without the mask he'd be even more dominating right? Wrong. They had something pretty good going with Kane. Having him being chained up made him seem like he was that much more vicious. He looked just as scary if not scarier than he did with the mask on. Things were looking up for Kane until they had him feud with Shane. Kane's credibility as a monster was hurt by this feud IMO. People could say that Shane looked stronger because of what Kane did to his mother and that he should have been put on equal footing with Kane but I disagree. Granted Shane has taken sick bumps in the past and has proven he is tough but a non wrestler shouldn't be able to dominate Kane more than a regular superstar should. That makes the whole roster look weaker and Kane himself look weaker. This feud tarnished Kane's monster image. He then headed into a feud with HHH and Goldberg where the whole monster thing was basically forgotten. Suddenly, no one was afraid of Kane anymore and he suddenly didn't care about his face being ugly and there was no explanation on the WWE's part about why his face wasn't scarred. Kane then went onto lose that match because he was being held by Batista on the outside. Ok, you're trying to tell me that grabbing Kane around the waist would stop him from getting back into the ring? Hmm, some monster heh. Things did begin to look up for Kane though as he had buried his brother alive the month before at Survivor Series something that smelled another feud with Taker. Things really went downhill from there. Kane was made to look like a complete joke whenever they'd have a Taker promo on. Kane then headed into Wrestlemania where the WWE decided that it was smart to have Taker squash their monster. Imagine how much of a push a win over Taker at Wrestlemania would have given Kane? No, you wouldn't want to sacrifice Taker's streak now would you? From then on, Kane became just another big man. He has turned from a monster to a guy with a crush. Things have gotten so bad for him that he had a hard time defeating Eugene when he's supposed to be the number one contender. Honestly, I don't know what the WWE can do with Kane. The only solution I see in sight would be to have him take some time off and reinvent the character. Time heels all wounds and boy does Kane have some big ones courtesy of the creative team. Right now, I don't take Kane seriously nor do many other people. Is there any way to salvage his character? Yes. Will it be hard? You can bet it will. Sadly, Kane is a victim of being lost in the shuffle on a large Raw roster. If they would of had Kane jump to Smackdown when the whole unmasking angle began then there would have been many options for where to take it. There just isn't enough time to spare on a Raw to dedicate to rebuilding his character. So sadly, unless they put him on Smackdown or just have him squash every superstar in sight, I don't see how his character can be salvaged.

[The Great One]

When Kane demasked, i instantly thought this would of killed his career as Kane and him having to think of a new gimmick that could work. The mystery just went out the window and we had a normal human being with mascara on, that made him look like a joke. They need to get the mask back on if they want to get his character back on track. I would have some top face feud with him, then leading promo would be something really big involving fire and Kane ending up falling in the fire or something down that line (flaming dumpster) then they could have Kane take some needed time to get the hair grown back to full length and then have him return with his mask back on because of the fire that he was involved in. Show up on Smackdown and destroy most of the roster getting him more heat. But the problem is, it won't happen.

Kanes character is in a must help situation. This year has started badly for Kane, the promos from Taker should a weakness in Kane, and then getting squashed by Taker, and then the defeat to Edge, Tajiri. To be honest, if they were so scared to jeopardize the streak of the Undertaker, i would of had Undertaker win, but it took everything to keep Kane down. When the first feud played out, Kane took 3 tombstones to get defeated, i would of gone down that route of having Kane taking everything that Undertaker had. It would of been better because Takers streak would of been in tact, and Kane looking totally dominant. After that defeat, and then the Edge defeat it just seems like Kane when he was face before he was demasked.

Sending him to Smackdown would be a good idea, it would give his character a new side, and making him Smackdown top heel that they are lacking. They are lacking main eventers Kane could be a great addition to it because it is obvious after Bad Blood there isn't going to be another shot in a good few months. So basically Bad Blood title shot is a filler match to me. To send him to Smackdown, i would have Kane lose it at Bad Blood after he gets beat destorying everyone in site leaving Bishoff to fire him because it is unsafe having him around and Kane leaving Raw for a good month or so, and then just shows up on Smackdown and destroys a few top faces, which would get him a lot of heel heat and becoming a top heel on Smackdown.

[Orton Rko]

I think it could if they give Kane his mask back again and have him a top heel on Smackdown where people feared him like back in the day,then Booker T goes to being another top face on SD with Eddie,don't have Kane in any feuds with Taker it's already been done before and they'll probably put Taker over again.

[WordLife]

I think if Kane beats Benoit at Bad Blood, it will be a total mistake. Because Kane is no longer an unstoppable monster, that character is ruined. So if Kane goes over Benoit at Bad Blood, I will give up with the creative team. They need to make Kane an unstoppable monster again before putting the belt on him. He would make a good champion if he was an unstoppable monster.

[Mac Daddy]

Yes, Kane's character can be savaged. All the WWE needs to do its take it's head out it's ass, and think.

Remember around this time last year, people saying the same thing, "Can Kane's character be salvaged?" They had good reason to ask that question. Kane had been in tag team limbo with RVD, feuding with La Resistance. He was quite boring and stale in the ring, and he was plummeting into the abyss with no way out. But then came the one night in MSG, when they unmasked Kane. From there, they got creative and Kane became the focus on Monday Night Raw. At this time, Evolution was booming, Bill Goldberg was on Raw, but the question remained: What will Kane do next? Those were good times.

People say Kane's feud with Shane McMahon killed him. I don't agree. Some say that the whole idea of Kane feuding with Shane McMahon was wrong. I say the Kane/Shane McMahon feud was justified. Why? Kane gave Shane's MOTHER a Tombstone Piledriver for COL! No one had ever man handled Linda McMahon that way before, and such an event couldn't just become a mere foot note. So the WWE took the ball and ran with it, and thus came Kane's rampage and a feud with Shane McMahon. The Kane/Shane feud was great. All the while, Kane played the monster who was trying to put Shane out of his misery, but the sometimes frail and bruised kid kept coming back. It ended nicely with a massacre at the Survivor Series. I say it was the handling of Kane after the feud that killed him, and it had nothing to do with Shane McMahon. After Kane finished his feud, he began looking at the World Heavyweight title. Unfortunately, Kane seemed to be the "other" guy in the triple threat also involving Goldberg and HHH. I can remember thinking of the match as only another HHH/Goldberg match to end the long hatred between those two. Even if Kane hadn't won, he shouldn't have been beating the holy hell out of HHH and Goldberg up until Armageddon, and right, it should have taken a lot more than grabbing him by the waist to stop him from getting into the ring. I mean, my God, Batista could have hit him with the steel steps or something! Next came a feud with The Undertaker that made Kane look like a total *****. I don't care how scary Undertaker was, if Kane was going to job to Taker at 'Mania, he should have at least looked like he had a sack and wasn't squashed in the actual match. Then came Edge at Backlash and whatever, whatever ...

The way to salvage Kane is to make the guy look strong again. The WWE had the opportunity to do this with his feud with Chris Benoit over the World title. Yes, Kane is sure to lose, but that doesn't mean it should be apparent. Even before the Battle Royal, Kane should have been all up in Benoit's face, so it wouldn't have seen like it came out of nowhere, or it was an accident due to HBK's inteference. Sure it made for good shock value, but that's it. I don't care if this Matt Hardy issue could turn out to be another Kane/Jericho feud from 2000, Kane should have been fully focused on Chris Benoit. And at Badd Blood when Kane inevitably loses, it should look like it was the most difficult task in Chris Benoit's entire life. I don't think it would have made Benoit look less intense, because the fact is, no matter how hard it was or how close he came to failure, Benoit would have ultimately risen to the occassion and beat the unstoppable monster, Kane. Now after Kane loses at Bad Blood, brings back the chains, because he needs to put the pain to Monday Night Raw.

[Unknown]

I agree with you on the Shane feud. I felt that the feud was pretty interesting but I don't think that's the kind of feud you have before you go to the main event. If he had about two or three more feuds before going for the title then that would be different. The feud did help build his character but not to the point that he should be main eventing a PPV. I also agree with you on the Benoit feud. The Intercontinental title feud is being built up better than the World title feud which is good for the credibility of the IC title but horrible for the World Title's credibility. The feud should be as heavily built as the HHH/HBK feud. I think the only thing that will save Kane is either a few months off or him just walking around destroying people backstage, squashing a few jobbers but completely destroying them after the end of the match, and people fearing him like they do the Undertaker.

[The_Wolf]

kane hasnt really defeated any high profile wrestlers has he? just really jobbers. i think his defeated hhh before. i think if he had a match agianst someone like a batista who is probably a little bigger then kane and totally destroy him it would give him that monster look back.

[TDC]

I don't believe that Kanes character can be salvaged. He has been through to many crappy storylines and changes of attitudes that he can no longer be the unstopable monster he once was.

Basically they took a great character ( one of the best gimicks they have had) and flushed it down the toilet with Katie Vick.

If Kane beats Beniot this sunday then it will only be because Beniot is seriously done over from the tag team match and the creative team wants it to look like this was the only way for Kane to win.

If Kane goes over Beniot cleanly then I can immagine it would only hurt Beniots character whilst do nothing for Kanes.

[KusToM KnucKs]

Short and sweet the awnser is Yes Kane's character can be salvaged but it all comes down to Kane beating Beniot at Bad Blood. If he doesnt win then his unstopable monster gimmick loses all credability & Kane is just about ruined. Also to those people saying give Kane his mask back that just aint going to work. He has no reason to wear his mask anymore because it turned out his face wasnt really burnt and we have all seen that it isnt. So if WWE decide to give Kane his mask back then they are practicly spitting in the face of all us fans.

[Unknown]

The WWE made steps in the right direction of bringing back the monster we know as Kane on Monday when they had him destroy HBK. That was probably one of the most vicious assaults by Kane ever. While I question why they wouldn't atleast of had Kane chokeslam HHH then him hightailing it, it was still a good attack nonetheless. Looks as if he's headed into a feud with HBK. Kane needs scratch that must go over in this feud with Shawn Michaels. HBK has nothing to gain from a win over Kane while Kane has his character being saved somewhat to gain. This feud could be what keeps Kane in the main event for a long time. Other than that, Kane is going to be dragged into one of the dumbest angles since the necrophilia angle in this Lita being pregnant thing. The only way to keep Kane as a monster coming out of this thing would be for Lita to have an abortion which would then cause Kane to destroy Lita and a Matt Hardy who would try and help her. Then Kane would chokeslam both off of the stage. The next week I'd have Kane saying that wanting love from a woman was the worst mistake of his life and that it was causing him to become humanlike therefore vulnerable. I will never be human. I am a monster who shows no remorse for anyone including Chris Benoit, Lita, Matt Hardy, and Shawn Michaels. Speaking of HBK, you better stay at home Shawn because I promise you that I will destroy you if you even decide to come back after what I did to you. Benoit, the Kane you wrestled at Bad Blood was a humanized Kane. How about going up against the monster. I am challenging you to a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship at Vengeance in an I quit match and I promise you Benoit that if you accept this challenge that you won't even be able to gather up the strength to say the words I quit because I won't just beat you within an inch of your life but I will beat you so bad that our General Manager will have no choice but to declare me the new World Heavyweight Champion.

That would take care of the Lita angle and the rumored rematch at Vengeance between Kane and Chris Benoit.

[Crimson]

not Vengeance but rather this week. Being Australian I don't get RAW until Friday but I can only hope that everything that Unknown just said happens. Especially if he destroys Matt Hardy and Lita. Lita while she was pregnant. Not that I have a problem with Lita and Matt, but it would probably put a bandage over the many wounds on Kane's gimmick, especially if Lita announced her abortion and Kane chokeslammed her before she even got it. Now THAT would be monsterous...

[The-Noodle]

This is a good question, that can be seen as a YES or NO answer. The question is very general and not specific enough, to leave JUST a yes or no answer. Kane (1998) was a main-eventer, high mid-carder. He was a 1-time champ, which was shortly taken away from him. He had many great feuds including the ones against Undertaker. Kane in my opinion was better off with the mask on, but come (2001-02) Kane was dying and beginning to get stale, as he did poorly as a FACE and as a tag member of Hurricane and RVD. But he did have his good times, such as the TLC match that he did on his own. Once he took his mask off he was the biggest thing to hit the WWE. He was up the top for a month or so. Then 2003 he was once again kept as a mid-carder, losing to people like tajiri in early 2004. It made them think what can the WWE do? They can't just put the mask back on, but they can make him a monster. This worked well up until now, when he put on an awesome match against benoit at Bad Blood it looked like they actually might do something worthy with Kane. Ultimately it all depends on whether the WWE want to build on Kane's character and whether Kane wants to put in the effort.

[Big Shot]

I think that everything thta they do with Kane is good, he might not be as monsterous but he is alot smarter and a smart villian is always the worst.