WWE Wrestlemania 28: Is Randy Orton vs. Kane a Wrestlemania-Worthy Feud?

WrestleMania 28 may be less than four weeks away, but a number of major WWE stars are still without a spot on the biggest pay-per-view of the year. 

Huge names like The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are twiddling their thumbs, waiting for their names to be called and their positions on the 'Mania card to be announced. 

However, perhaps the biggest star who is still without a match is none other than Randy Orton. 

Orton returned from injury on last week’s episode of SmackDown and faced Daniel Bryan in the main event. This led many to believe that the WWE would work Orton into the world heavyweight championship match at WrestleMania 28 and make it a triple threat. 

However, Orton’s match with Bryan was interrupted—surprisingly, I might add—by Kane. 

The Big Red Monster came out of nowhere to attack Orton, brawled with him for a few minutes and then laid him out with a monstrous chokeslam to close the show. 

As soon as that happened, I penciled it in.

Randy Orton vs. Kane at WrestleMania 28. 

Orton and Kane actually crossed paths while both were working as babyfaces on SmackDown last year. They had a mini feud during the summer months while Orton was feuding over the world heavyweight title with Christian on pay-per-view.

The best thing we got out of that was a damn good street fight on an episode of SmackDown that was one of the better matches Kane has had in the last several years. 

That leads me to believe that a 'Mania match between Kane and Orton could be decent, depending on the stipulation and amount of time given. That being said, just because I’m okay with the wrestling we’ll likely see from these two, that doesn’t mean I think it’s a WrestleMania-caliber feud. 

In fact, I don’t. 

It might be if it had a longer build or some sort of setup that makes sense, but unlike the other major WrestleMania feuds, it doesn’t. 

Let’s take a look at what I mean: 

Triple H vs. The Undertaker

They’re two of the last legends remaining from the Attitude Era, and in the midst of a feud that is a year in the making.

Triple H wanted to end The Undertaker’s streak a year after his best friend couldn’t do it, and since he took him to the absolute limit last year, he thinks he’ll be able to beat him this time.

Add Shawn Michaels into the mix, and this makes for a great story between three of the best ever. 

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship

Sheamus won the Royal Rumble, and Bryan is the world champion of his respective brand, which is reason enough for this feud to happen. However, Sheamus is also targeting a title he’s never won and facing the same man he faced at WrestleMania 27.

Only this time, the heel/face roles are reversed and a world title—not a mid-card title—is on the line. 

The Rock vs. John Cena

Another feud that’s been more than a year in the making. It’s a clash between one of the biggest stars of a past era and the biggest star of today, a feud that is based on a legitimate beef and reflects that when The Rock and Cena are in the ring together. 

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship

“The best in the world at what I do” taking on “the best wrestler in the world” for the most prestigious title in professional wrestling. Need I say more? 

The point I’m trying to make is that there is a reason for all of those feuds to happen. There’s legit heat between the two stars, a perfect storyline reason to have them feud and so on and so forth. 

The bottom line is that they all make sense. 

How does the likely feud between Orton and Kane make any real sense whatsoever, though? Better yet, does anyone really care about it? 

The basis of this rivalry is just not there. Kane got his ass kicked by Cena one week, attacked the entire tag-team division on an episode of Raw and then decided to move over to SmackDown to attack Orton. 

Even if the WWE comes up with a storyline where Kane tries to get Orton to “embrace the hate” after failing to do so with Cena (God, I hope not), there is no real reason why we should care about Kane inexplicably switching brands, randomly attacking Orton and then starting a four-week long WrestleMania feud that doesn’t involve a title. 

I might enjoy their actual match more than most people will, but I can’t be excited about the feud itself. 

The creative team has done a tremendous job of creating entertaining and purposeful feuds on the top half of the card. However, the rivalry between Orton and Kane is one that serves virtually no purpose. 

Orton will beat Kane, Kane will continue to lose all the momentum he built up when he returned with his mask on, and neither two will really be any better off than they were before the feud started. 

That’s not what you’re going to get out of Rock vs. Cena, Triple H vs. Undertaker, Punk vs. Y2J and even Sheamus vs. Bryan. Fans have legitimate reasons to invest themselves in those feuds, but when it comes to Orton vs. Kane, we don’t. 

A feud that is a feud just for the sake of being a feud is not something anybody wants to see at any point of the year, but especially not at WrestleMania.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.