After an iconic debut during the epic Hell in a Cell Match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at Badd Blood 1997, WWE immediately established Kane as a top star. In this article, we’ll revisit Kane’s very best matches up until his semi-retirement in the late 2010s, when Glenn Jacobs (the man behind the gimmick) essentially left pro wrestling after becoming the Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

13 Kane Vs. Triple H – Chain Match, WWE Intercontinental Championship (Judgment Day 2001)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.5/10

After WrestleMania 17 and a brief run as WWE Hardcore Champion, Kane reunited with The Undertaker for a feud against The Two Man Power Trip, WWE Champion Steve Austin & Intercontinental Champion Triple H. The two teams engaged in a winners-take-all tag match at Backlash, with The Brothers of Destruction’s newly-won WWE Tag Team Championship on the line as well – a match won by Austin & Hunter.

Undertaker went after Austin’s WWE Title from there, while Kane challenged Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship. The pair had their best match against each other at Judgment Day, a violent and intense Chain Match that ended with Kane capturing the IC Title for the first time.

12 Kane Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – First Blood Match, WWE Championship (King Of The Ring 1998)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75/10

Despite his losses against his ‘brother’ The Undertaker earlier in the year, Kane was put over as a true beast in that series of matches. Thus, Kane was chosen by Mr. McMahon as the top challenger for Steve Austin’s WWE Championship at June’s King of the Ring. To make it even harder for The Rattlesnake, the title would be on the line in a First Blood Match – how could Austin make the masked Kane bleed?!

Fans were on the edge of their seats for this one as they rallied behind Austin, hoping he’d have yet another successful title defense. Austin did everything he could to cut Kane wide open, but this challenge proved to be too much even for Stone Cold. After Undertaker and Mankind interfered, an errant Undertaker chair shot (meant for Kane) made Austin bleed and cost him the WWE Championship.

Austin and Kane deserve all the praise in the world for having to follow the legendary Hell in a Cell bout Undertaker and Mankind and having an entertaining match.

11 Kane Vs. The Undertaker – Inferno Match (Unforgiven 1998)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

The Inferno Match between Kane and The Undertaker at Unforgiven 1998 was a visually impressive spectacle like WWE fans had never seen before. It must’ve been a tough day at the office with flames surrounding the ring and the wrestlers in their usual costumes, but the future Brothers of Destruction partners did a terrific job. Additionally, the late great Paul Bearer put over the match type at ringside with his fantastic facial expressions.

Kane dominated Undertaker like very few people before him, much like he’d done at WrestleMania. However, The Phenom was able to turn things around and make a comeback, benefiting from a run-in by Vader – whom Kane took out at February’s No Way Out – which allowed him to come out on top once again. Arguably the most impressive Undertaker dive happened in this Inferno Match.

10 Kane Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – WWE Championship (Raw, June 29, 1998)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.25/10

One night after finally ending Stone Cold’s title run, Vince McMahon held a celebration for Kane and personally handed him the belt. Everyone knew there was just no way Austin was going to let this fly. During the segment, The Texas Rattlesnake came out and challenged Kane for a rematch that Paul Bearer declined. However, Kane himself accepted it and the match was made official.

Kane and Austin put on an exciting matchup in the main event of Raw that, while relatively short, encapsulated what the Attitude Era was all about. The Undertaker came down to ringside after having interfered at the pay-per-view, although he didn’t get physically involved this time around. The finishing sequence was exciting, with both men blocking each other’s finishing moves until Austin hit a Stunner to regain the title, with the crowd erupting after his victory.

9 W/ Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton Vs. The Shield (SmackDown, June 14, 2013)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10

The Shield made an immediate impact in their rookie year. After scoring a big win in their WrestleMania debut, the group turned their attention to Team Hell No, who were the WWE Tag Team Champions. The Shield were dominant against Kane & Daniel Bryan due to the numbers advantage, with Rollins & Reigns capturing the titles at Extreme Rules 2013.

Eventually, Team Hell No found a partner in Randy Orton, who’d also had issues with the trio ever since their debut, even losing to The Shield at ‘Mania 29. When the three megastars joined forces to battle The Shield on an episode of SmackDown in June 2013, they finally handed the trio their first main roster loss. Bryan forced Rollins to tap out to the Yes Lock after a fantastic six-man tag team match.

8 Kane Vs. Daniel Bryan – Extreme Rules Match, WWE World Heavyweight Championship (Extreme Rules 2014)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10

Many fans stopped taking Kane seriously after he became The Authority’s “Director of Operations” in late 2013, wearing a suit and tie after unmasking for a second time and handing the mask over to Stephanie McMahon. But after WrestleMania 30, The Big Red Monster put the mask back on for a feud with The Authority’s biggest rival, new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan.

Fans knew Kane and Bryan had great chemistry together, with Team Hell No being one of the best WWE tag teams in years. But no one expected their title match at Extreme Rules to be as good as it was, given Kane’s age and lack of heat as The Authority’s servant. The former partners threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other, engaging in a really fun brawl that wouldn’t seem out of place in the Attitude Era.

Despite the predictable outcome, this was arguably Kane’s last great match.

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

Speaking of great Kane matches, a forgotten one (for obvious reasons) is his World Heavyweight Championship match with Chris Benoit at Bad Blood 2004. Kane had recently lost to Undertaker at WrestleMania 20 and Edge at Backlash, but he won a battle royal to earn the title shot against The Rabid Wolverine.

Benoit worked twice that night since he was a double-champion (he was also the World Tag Team Champion along with Edge), and he made Kane look like an absolute monster throughout this bout, being unable to apply the Crippler Crossface on The Big Red Machine. After yet another Crossface attempt failed, Benoit used his wrestling ability to score a creative pinfall victory over Kane.

Cagematch fans consider this match better than the Hell in a Cell battle between Triple H and Shawn Michaels from that same pay-per-view, which shows just how good it was.

6 Kane Vs. Edge Vs. Rey Mysterio Vs. Alberto Del Rio – TLC Match, World Heavyweight Championship (TLC 2010)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

Kane might’ve only been WWE Champion for a day back in 1998, but he got a much-deserved proper run as World Heavyweight Champion in 2010. Kane won the title by cashing in Money in the Bank on Rey Mysterio in July, and eventually began a feud with Edge (after three consecutive wins over The Undertaker).

While the program with Edge wasn’t the greatest, it culminated with a spectacular match: a four-way TLC Match also featuring former champion Rey Mysterio, and his new rival Alberto Del Rio. After 23 minutes of action, Rey shove Del Rio off the ladder onto several tables before Kane took Rey out with a Tombstone. Even Ricardo Rodriguez got hit with a massive Chokeslam off the ladder.

As Kane went for the victory, Edge hit him with a chair and hit a Spear off the apron through a table at ringside, reclaiming the World Title shortly afterward.

5 Kane Vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 14)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

Kane immediately targeted his brother The Undertaker from the moment he made his iconic debut at Badd Blood 1997. The two were set to clash at WrestleMania 14, with Kane dominating The Deadman many times during the buildup. Everyone knew Undertaker was about to face his toughest opponent yet, and that’s exactly what happened.

Much like in the buildup, Kane took Undertaker to the limit at WrestleMania. When The Phenom finally made his usual comeback, it still wasn’t enough to put Kane away – The Big Red Machine kicked out of the Tombstone Piledriver twice! A third one finally got the job done (just barely), with Kane looking like an absolute beast after a great performance.

4 TLC 4 – World Tag Team Championship (Raw, October 7, 2002)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8/10

• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.66

The last few months of 2002 weren’t particularly great for Kane, with the Katie Vick storyline against Triple H being one of the worst programs in WWE history. However, one of the best matches of Kane’s career actually happened during that time – the somewhat forgotten TLC 4. Kane successfully retained the World Tag Team Championship by himself against three other teams after his partner, The Hurricane, was taken out by Triple H & Ric Flair backstage.

Despite Hurricane’s absence, Kane did great against The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & Spike), Rob Van Dam & Jeff Hardy and Chris Jericho & Christian. Kane knocked everyone out at different points of the match, until he was taken out by Poetry in Motion from Bubba & Hardy followed by RVD’s Van Terminator.

Still, Kane came back and Chokeslammed Jericho off the ladder before retrieving the belts, looking great ahead of the World Title match with Triple H.

3 Elimination Chamber Match – World Heavyweight Championship (Elimination Chamber 2011)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.25/10

Kane was involved in a few Elimination Chamber Matches throughout his career. While he may or may not have participated in better Chamber Matches over the years, he was a big part of SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber Match for Edge’s World Heavyweight Championship in 2011.

The Big Red Monster had just dropped the gold to Edge a few months later, and he wanted to take his title back. Kane was the fourth man to enter the bout, eliminated both Big Show and Drew McIntyre before being pinned by The Rated-R Superstar himself. Edge and Rey Mysterio had a great mini-match in the end, with the Canadian star retaining the belt.

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10

Team Cena vs. Team Authority is one of the greatest matches in Survivor Series history. Kane was not only a big part of that particular bout, but also of The Authority’s run – Kane was the ‘Director of Operations’ during his time with the group. Thus, Kane represented The Authority against Team Cena.

This was one of the most dramatic traditional Survivor Series Matches ever, with Dolph Ziggler winning the match with a huge assistance from the debuting Sting to (temporary) end The Authority’s run. As far as Kane goes, while he didn’t score a single elimination, The Big Red Monster was in the ring for nearly 30 minutes before being eliminated by Ziggler.

1 Team Hell No & Ryback Vs. The Shield – Six-Man Tag Team TLC Match (TLC 2012)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10

The Shield made their impactful WWE debut at Survivor Series 2012, attacking Ryback and costing him the WWE Championship in the main event. The group went right after the biggest names in the company from there, including Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan), who were the WWE Tag Team Champions at the time. At December’s TLC, Ryback & Team Hell No faced The Shield in their first WWE televised match – a six-man tag team TLC Match.

It was a spectacular matchup that made the former NXT rookies look amazing in their first bout. Kane was taken out of the equation after a Spear through the barricade from Reigns. Shortly afterward, Ryback took out Rollins by throwing him off a ladder through some tables on the stage. However, that left Bryan alone in the ring with Ambrose & Reigns, who hit a double Powerbomb off the middle rope through a table for the victory.