WWE Classic of the Week: Remembering Undertaker vs. Kane at Hell in a Cell

The rivalry between The Undertaker and Kane is the stuff of legend. It is a sibling rivalry born in the flames of a fire that extinguished their parents and created animosity between the two brothers that spilled over into their professional lives.

Their first match took place at WrestleMania XIV. Kane proved to be the greatest challenge to his brother's undefeated streak at the year's biggest event. Unfortunately for the Big Red Monster, he fell victim to three Tombstone piledrivers and saw his quest to gain vengeance fall short.

Throughout the years that followed, Undertaker and Kane did battle so many times that it became hard to keep track. In April of '98, they met in the first-ever Inferno match. In August of 2000, they met in one of SummerSlam's headline matches.

By the time the calendar turned and 2010 was underway, it had been quite some time since the brothers clashed in any meaningful match.

That would change when a summer-long story trumpeted the return of The Undertaker and more sibling betrayal.

History

In the summer of 2010, Kane searched desperately for the Superstar who attacked The Undertaker and put him in a vegetative state. He targeted everyone from Jack Swagger to The Big Show to CM Punk to Rey Mysterio.

After winning SmackDown's Money in the Bank match, he cashed in the contract nearly an hour later and defeated Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. He pointed the finger at Mysterio, claiming he was responsible for the attack on the Dead Man. 

It would turn out, however, that it was Kane himself who assaulted Undertaker and stole his powers (whatever that means). The Dead Man would return for a measure of revenge, and Kane challenged him to a match, putting the World title on the line for the opportunity to end his brother once and for all.

That match would take place at Night of Champions in September of 2010. To the surprise of many, Kane won the No Holds Barred match, beating a weakened Undertaker, who had not fully recovered from the attack by Kane earlier in the year.

With their rivalry far from over, a Hell in a Cell match was booked for the main event of the annual October pay-per-view of the same name.

On the September 24 edition of SmackDown, The Undertaker reunited with Paul Bearer in an attempt to rediscover what made him the dominant force in WWE for so long.

The Match

World champion Kane enters first, followed by his brother, who is accompanied by Paul Bearer.

Kane attacks Undertaker outside of the Cell before the bell, looking to gain an early advantage over his older sibling. The champion tosses the challenger into the cage and grabs a steel chair from underneath the ring. He charges at his brother, but Undertaker gets a boot up and kicks the chair back in Kane's face.

Undertaker sends Kane face-first into the cage, as any momentum the champion had moments earlier is gone.

The bell finally rings, the official locks the cell door and Undertaker wastes no time in using the previously mentioned steel chair to assault his opponent.

The action spills into the ring and Undertaker continues his attack, splashing Kane in the corner on two occasions before lifting him up, delivering Snake Eyes and a big boot. A big leg drop follows, but Kane kicks out after only a one-count.

Kane grabs the chair, and the upper hand, returning the favor to Undertaker with shots to the ribs and a hard shot to the back. He backs the Dead Man into the corner and delivers several shoulders to the midsection, followed by rights and lefts to the rib area.

The champion catches the challenger with a hard right boot to the face, knocking him to the mat.

Kane takes his brother outside the ring, but Undertaker catches him with a thrust to the throat and lays him across the ring steps. He catches him with a kick to the head, catching his head between his foot and the steel stairs.

Kane reverses an Irish Whip and sends Undertaker hard into the ring steps. He once again grabs the chair and this time targets the left knee. He repeatedly bashes the knee, causing Undertaker to scream out in pain.

The champion viciously wraps Undertaker's leg around the ring post before sandwiching it between the stairs and the ring. He kicks the stairs, further injuring the limb.

Kane continues his attack on the left leg of his opponent but makes the mistake of charging toward his brother. Undertaker moves out of the way and the Big Red Monster smacks into the cage.

Undertaker pounds away and kicks Kane before laying him on the edge of the ring apron and catching him with a leg drop across the upper body.

Back inside the squared circle, Kane dropkicks the injured knee of The Phenom.

Kane wrenches on the leg as Undertaker tries fighting out of it, to no avail. A series of hard right fists to the top of the head finally causes Kane to break the hold. 

They exchange punches, and Kane Irish Whips Undertaker into the ropes. The Phenom ducks under and delivers a flying clothesline as Paul Bearer appears very pleased at ringside.

Undertaker grabs hold of Kane's arm and climbs the ropes for Old School. The champion hits his leg out from underneath his brother, crotching Undertaker on the top rope. A back-and-forth encounter ensues before Kane delivers a huge superplex, which rattles the ring.

The Big Red Monster climbs the ropes and comes off with a diving clothesline. As he moves in for a pin, Undertaker catches him with the Hell's Gate submission hold. Kane escapes the otherwise inescapable move by sliding outside the ring, gaining the leverage advantage and leaving no other option for the Phenom than to break the hold.

Fifteen minutes into a hard-hitting brawl, both legendary Superstars are exhausted.

Kane rolls back into the squared circle and each brother tries for a big boot, which results in both men knocking each other out.

Back to their feet, Kane whips Undertaker into the ropes and makes the mistake of lowering his head. The Dead Man catches him with a DDT and covers for a two-count.

Kane grabs Undertaker around the throat and catches him with a chokeslam from out of nowhere and seems poised to retain his title. To Kane's dismay, Undertaker shoots his shoulder off the mat at two.

Kane backs Undertaker into the corner, delivers a few clotheslines and climbs the ropes. He lands four hard right hands to the head before Undertaker grabs hold of him and comes out of the corner with a Last Ride power bomb. He meekly covers Kane and only gets a two-count out of it.

Undertaker grabs Kane for a Tombstone, but the World champion uses his weight advantage, reversing the move and delivering a Tombstone of his own. The move only nets another two-count, and a frustrated Kane catches the official with a hard right.

The cage door is opened as referees and officials hit the ring to help Chad Patton out of the ring. This allows Paul Bearer to enter the ringside area and cheer on The Undertaker.

Kane intimidates his father, chasing him around the ring and into the squared circle as Undertaker struggles to recover from the Tombstone. Kane backs Bearer into the corner and threatens him before The Undertaker sits up and catches him with a chokeslam.

An enraged Undertaker gives the throat-slash gesture and the arena goes dark. Purple light fills the building and fire balls erupt at the top of the stage. The straps come down and he lifts Kane for the Tombstone, but Bearer shocks everyone and shines a bright light from the coveted urn in Undertaker's face.

The Phenom is shocked by the betrayal to the point that he does not even attempt any physical assault. He looks on in disbelief as Bearer hands the urn to Kane and instructs him to use it as a weapon. Kane blasts his brother in the face with the urn and delivers a chokeslam for the pinfall win.

Analysis

A classic only in terms of the rivalry and the two high-profile, future Hall of Famers doing battle. The Hell in a Cell 2010 main event was a bad 20-minute match full of punches and kicks, disjointed sequences and a finish that anyone could see coming.

It was apparent that The Undertaker was not at 100 percent, and the chemistry between the two was nowhere near where it needed to be considering their long history with one another.

A poor match in a series of them for Kane and Undertaker in 2010.

Historical Significance

The match was the second-to-last appearance by The Undertaker on a non-WrestleMania pay-per-view event.

Lasting Impact

None. Kane would lose the World Heavyweight title to Edge at TLC in December, one month after defeating Undertaker in a Buried Alive match at Bragging Rights. 

The Undertaker would lose a third match to Kane just weeks after Hell in a Cell before disappearing from WWE programming until the following year for the build to WrestleMania and a Match of the Year candidate with Triple H.