WWE No Way Out 2012: Why Kane Has a Better Chance of Winning Than You Think

The general consensus among others I've read is a dissatisfaction with Kane's insertion into the WWE title feud between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. The main reason is that the two were having a great feud and already one terrific match with potential for more, but also that Kane seems to have very little chance of winning.

The first point is fair. While the finish of their Over the Limit match was technically clean, it was close enough for a one-on-one rematch to be legitimate, unlike Punk and Jericho's Wrestlemania match, which ended decisively and with no necessity for a rematch even though we still got one.

As for Kane's chances of winning, there's a very good reason they may just book him the victory: it would give him another record. Kane is one of a few wrestlers who, owing mostly to his longevity, has a couple of records to his name—the others are the Undertaker (the streak) and the Big Show.

Kane currently has the record for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble and is close to having the most total eliminations, which another Rumble appearance would likely give. His other record is for the shortest Wrestlemania match, winning the ECW championship (at the time considered a world title) in 11 seconds, a record Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus was allegedly supposed to take but didn't.

So, what record would a victory for Kane tonight give him? It would give him the record for the longest time between world titles in WWE. He infamously held the WWF championship for one day in 1998 and while he's since been World Heavyweight Champion, he hasn't held the WWE championship since. The current record for the longest time between world titles belongs to Bob Backlund at 13 years. Kane winning tonight would take it at just shy of 14 years.

But would the WWE really give their top prize to Kane for the sake of creating this record? There is a precedent for this. Within the past year, the Big Show has held the World Heavyweight Championship for about a minute and went on to hold the Intercontinental Championship for a short time. This means he's held the WWE, WHC, IC, US and tag titles (as well as the WCW and WWE ECW world titles).

Whether he would have had the WHC win had Mark Henry not been injured is a matter of speculation, but he wouldn't have won the Intercontinental belt if it didn't create this record.

Another example of title reigns being given just to create records is Kurt Angle. Having held the European, IC, WWF and tag championships, he was then given a reign as Hardcore champion, meaning he too held every belt possibly available to him at the time.

With less than 12 hours to go until the start of No Way Out, we'll find out soon whether this desire to create records is in mind with Kane (notwithstanding Punk pinning Bryan and having a one-on-one match with Kane at the next PPV, a win at which would bring the record to over 14 years). But what to you think? If the WWE did do it with creating a record in mind, would it be the right thing to do? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.