The Damage is Done: WWE Has Completely Botched Kane's Current Run on Raw

WWE had one opportunity to do right by Kane in what could well be his final run on Raw, but his latest stint has been nothing more than a mess over the past month.

The first mistake made with the Kane character when he was brought back after a near-year away from the squared circle was inserting him into the TLC main event without any explanation whatsoever. He had last been seen on SmackDown Live as a babyface, so how his heel turn and sudden move to Raw came about was never once acknowledged.

Of course, the sole reason he was a part of the 5-on-3 Handicap TLC match was to set up his program with Braun Strowman by burying him underneath a pile of chairs and trapping him in a garbage truck. Aside from that, he added little to the bout and would have been better off returning to TV the next week.

Although Kane was then immediately positioned as a force to be reckoned with on the roster, the effort to make him a monster heel once again is too little, too late. For years, fans have viewed Kane as a stepping stone for up-and-coming athletes, not any sort of a threat to the top of the card.

At 50-years-old, the chances are (thankfully) slim of Kane receiving another run as world champion. Thus, it's almost pointless to push him as one of Raw's lead heels, even if the intent is for him to put over Strowman in the near future.

If he is only around so he can further solidify Strowman as WWE's next unstoppable force, that's an acceptable use of him, but his brief resurgence should not be coming at the expense of the rest of the Raw roster.

Credit: WWE.com

There's no question that he was booked to beat Finn Balor clean on the Oct. 23 edition of Raw because WWE hoped it would make Kane look like more of an equal to Strowman. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, as Balor's stock was instead damaged by the decisive loss despite defeating AJ Styles the night prior.

Kane's reign of terror continued when he laid out Shield members Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins the following week. It appeared to set up a six-man tag team match with Kane teaming up with Sheamus and Cesaro to take on The Shield and Balor, which would have allowed the babyfaces a chance to bounce back with a win, but that bout has yet to take place.

The likely Kane vs. Strowman match would have been a logical addition to the Survivor Series card, but Strowman will be busy wrestling in that night's Raw vs. SmackDown tag team elimination match. In fact, Kane isn't currently slated to compete on the card, proving he isn't a major focal point of WWE's plans going forward after all.

Credit: WWE.com

With no Raw-exclusive event on the WWE calendar for the remainder of the year, there's isn't a major stage for Strowman and Kane to conclude their feud on. WWE could well wait until the Royal Rumble or the Raw's 25th anniversary show a few days earlier in January to do so, but the program will have lost major steam by then.

Turning Strowman babyface was clearly the right call considering he was popular with fans and had already feuded with most of the babyfaces on Raw. However, scoring a win against Kane virtually means nothing given how he has been afterthought up until recently.

Big Show was an excellent asset to Raw while he was around because he helped legitimatize the likes of Strowman and Big Cass and he never overshadowed his opponents. The same can't be said for Kane so far, who has been a bigger priority than fellow heels Samoa Joe and The Miz.

Once Kane wraps up his rivalry with Strowman, there isn't much WWE can do to fix his botched Raw run. As an active competitor, he doesn't have a ton of worth to the roster with so many other stars scrapping and clawing for a spot at the moment, such as Apollo Crews and Matt Hardy.

Kane could have felt fresh coming off his extended absence from programming and served as a special attraction who appears once in a while. Rather, the way he has been booked lately has been detrimental to those who could benefit from having the same dominant streak he has embarked on.

The Big Red Monster's accomplishments and eventual place in the WWE Hall of Fame cannot be denied, but it's time for him to ride off into the sunset and save face before more damage is done.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.