The best rivalries are sometimes between brothers. The Undertaker and Kane gave us a dynamic that wasn't often seen in WWE. It pushed The Undertaker character to new heights and made for some of the best TV you're gonna see.
Background
Paul Bearer turned on The Undertaker in August of 1996. Over the following year, Bearer would taunt The Undertaker by telling him that his brother Kane was still alive. Undertaker did not believe until he came across Kane at Badd Blood 1997, when he interfered in his HIAC match against Shawn Michaels to cost him a victory. Undertaker would refuse to fight Kane for months after. Kane was on the verge of being attacked once until The Undertaker came to his aid. Kane would then side with Undertaker heading into his title match at the Royal Rumble in the beginning of 1998. Kane would then turn on his brother, put him in a casket and set it ablaze. Taker would not be seen or heard from for weeks. Kane would terrorize WWE in his absence until Taker would drop hints of his impending return. Once Taker returned, he accepted a match with his brother at Wrestlemania.
The Match
This match would start with a Wrestlemania moment as we saw the face off between the two men. Undertaker would attempt to take it to Kane with punches but Kane would get the better of him. Kane would then unleash a beat down on The Undertaker the likes of which we had never seen with punch after punch and destructive move after destructive move. Paul Bearer would get a few licks in on the Deadman, but once the fight spilled to the outside, Undertaker would show great agility by jumping on Kane’s shoulders but Kane would confer and drop him to the ground. Undertaker began showing his great prowess by rope-a-doping while Kane punched away. Undertaker would finally take control and deliver a chokeslam and three tombstones to finally defeat Kane. That was the first time it took three tombstones to defeat an opponent of the Undertaker.
Grade And Analysis
This was as perfect a match that two big men could have. Kane showed he could go for extended time in the ring with his performance in this match. The psychology was fantastic with Kane showing he was a monster through his lack of selling and the kick out right at three protected him and also put over The Undertaker. As usual, JR and King would provide great storytelling at commentary. This is the match which made Kane a main event guy IMO and he would enjoy a nice run through the year of 1998. This match lived up to the hype and was the best match on that card IMO.
Rating: 9.8/10
-C. Yates
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