Tracing Kane's Evolution Since His WWE Debut

Throughout his career, Kane has been WWE's chameleon, finding a way to adapt to the shifting colors of his environment.

Kane's gimmick has adapted over time, but so has his role. WWE has asked him to play the predator, the sidekick and the corporate goon. His ability to succeed at each of those stages is one reason he is assured entry into the WWE Hall of Fame.

"The Big Red Machine" has been one of the company's scariest characters ever. At different times, he's also been one of its funniest. 

Before discovering the Kane concept, though, WWE stumbled with utilizing the athletic, imposing Glenn Jacobs.

Having him play an impostor Diesel and a maniacal dentist named Isaac Yankem were both bad ideas. When the real Diesel left for WCW, WWE introduced Jacobs as a replacement. He took on Diesel's attire, mannerisms and name.

No one could have made that work.  

Yankem was one of many over-the-top characters who got in a wrestler's way rather than aided him in connecting with the audience. It was as if he could pull an opponent's teeth after a match to make use of the gimmick.

Luckily, WWE found another path for him, one lined with flames.

Beginnings

On Oct. 5, 1997, Undertaker closed in on a victory against Shawn Michaels in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match. Kane made sure that didn't happen. Undertaker's masked, evil brother showed himself for the first time.

For much of this stretch of Kane's career, he was only asked to be a destroyer.

WWE played up his size, let Paul Bearer do the talking for him and had him dominate everyone in his way. He attacked The Hardy Boyz and leveled The Headbangers, and he looked invincible in the process.

The company was setting him up to be an unstoppable force en route to a collision with Undertaker at WrestleMania XIV.

His feud with his brother was the foundation for his gimmick and his career path. Kane locked Undertaker in a coffin and set it on fire. Kane battled him in an Inferno match, and the two attacked each other at every turn.

It was a win over his brother which earned him a WWE Championship match against Steve Austin, and when he turned on his tag partner Mankind, it was his brother whom he first ran to.

When WWE let Kane's story head away from The Deadman, fans saw far more of his talents.

Allies

Kane's early character was a seemingly unfeeling monster capable only of rage. He would find more of himself thanks to relationships with tag team partners and his girlfriend Tori.

Still a battering ram in the ring, Kane began to show more personality outside of it.

He began to use an electrolarynx to speak. He was still a Michael Myers-type monster, but WWE was beginning to ask more of him. 

The company asked him to express hurt, loyalty and friendship rather than just fury. 

Eventually, the electrolarynx wasn't needed. He spoke his first words with D-Generation X at his side.

He won the tag titles with Hurricane Helms in 2002 and in expressing his joy showed off surprisingly effective comic timing. There was a startling contrast between a comedy character like Helms and Kane's monstrous persona. 

That worked to create a number of funny moments, Kane at home in this modified role just as much as in his initial fire-obsessed one.

His partnership with Rob Van Dam had him goofing around backstage. WWE lightened up his character, and he thrived in segments like this one, which featured not-so-veiled references to getting high:

As has been true throughout his run, the demonic part of him wasn't far away. He went back to his diabolical roots, but this time playing a more well-rounded monster.

The Predator

Kane's fearsome nature returned in 2003. It mutated once he removed his mask.

He became more of a psychologically disturbing foe, both through his actions and his words. He was Frankenstein's monster in his original incarnation, and now someone far more in control of their vile actions, a tormentor and sadist.

Kane attacked Jim Ross, setting him on fire during an interview:

He helped Vince McMahon bury Undertaker alive and later kidnapped Lita and forced her to marry him. WWE asked him to be deeply demented, the kind of monster who liked to explain why he was going to devour you.

This was Kane's best mic work, a time when he showed off an acting range one wouldn't have suspected him capable of when he was first stomping around the ring in a mask.

His character softened over time as WWE entered the PG era. He still wore a jackal's grin and was capable of great evil, but there would be no one set on fire. There would be no story where he impregnated another man's girlfriend.

However, he had shown how compelling he could be, no matter what version of him he was playing.

That's likely why he enjoyed the most fruitful stretch of his career in terms of championships. He won the tag titles with Big Show, won the ECW Championship at WrestleMania XXIV and held the World Heavyweight Championship for the second half of 2010.

Kane's career isn't defined by titles as much as other wrestlers, though. He will be more remembered for the enduring nature of his character and all of its mutations.

Return to Darkness, Exploration of Comedy 

In 2012, WWE had Kane combine the unmasked psycho character with the destroyer he was with the mask on. A feud with John Cena inspired a new version of Kane, one wearing a new mask.

He was asked to handle a deeply psychological story where he tried to worm his way into Cena's psyche.

It was reminiscent of what Bray Wyatt is doing opposite Cena today. Kane's version didn't have as many quotable lines but was convincing as a man intent on destroying and exposing his enemy.

The dark character who pushed Zack Ryder's wheelchair off a ramp didn't last long. WWE asked Kane to switch gears once more, playing Daniel Bryan's partner and adversary.

The big story of Team Hell No's adventures through anger management class was how much Bryan was shining and revealing chemistry his critics didn't believe he had. Kane displayed unexpected range as well.

He and Bryan went through trust exercises together and hugged it out under Dr. Shelby's supervision.

This was an amplified version of what fans saw with Kane teaming with Helms or Van Dam. This was hilarious coming from a man who had spent so much of his early career trying to set people aflame.

It's hard to imagine many Superstars who would be able to make that transition well enough to produce the hearty laughs that he did as one-half of the bickering couple that was Team Hell No.

Latest Changes

Kane's evolution, though he had gone through more stages than most anyone else, was not over.

In October 2013, Kane announced his allegiance to the corporate powers that be, The Authority. He removed his mask once again, this time trading in his red-and-black attire for an executive look.

Stephanie McMahon appointed him the Director of Operations.

His trademark viciousness colored how he operated WWE. For Bryan and CM Punk, that mostly meant ambushing them and serving up beatdowns. The Shield worked as his cronies for some time, as did The New Age Outlaws.

It was Kane's biggest departure from the man we first saw enter the Hell in a Cell in 1997.

The role required him to be subtler in his maniacal ways, to exude the same haunting aura he did before but in a much less intimidating package. He'd been playing a horror-movie monster for years and was now asked to be one much closer to real life.

Many will grade his success with this version of his character differently, but it's hard not to be impressed with the fact that he added "Corporate Kane" to a long list of gimmick variations.

Cena won't be asked to stretch himself as much as Kane did. Randy Orton won't ever be in a comedic role. Most Superstars find their niche and never leave it.

Kane's evolution is ongoing. After slipping his mask back on, he's back to being "The Devil's Favorite Demon."

He punctuated that return by attacking Bryan with a trio of Tombstone piledrivers.

How he grows from here will be fascinating. Until his career is capped off with a trip into the Hall of Fame, expect more mutations from a man comfortable in several skins.