WWE Bragging Rights Odds: Kane-Undertaker, The History Of Their Rivalry
Mark Calaway and Glenn Jacobs.
You know them as WWE's Undertaker and Kane, The Brothers of Destruction.
Combined, The Phenom and The Big Red Machine have won the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship five times.
When they are together, as a team, they are nearly unstoppable.
However, for the better half of their time spent together in the WWE, The Undertaker and his "younger brother" Kane have been enemies.
This Sunday at WWE Bragging Rights (2010), we could be seeing the end of the Brothers of Destruction.
One of these men will pay the ultimate price and be buried six feet under...alive.
Let's take a look back on the last 13 years and the history between these two demonic souls in the WWE.
Bad Blood 1997: The Little Brother Debuts (10/05/97)
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Kane was introduced as The Undertaker's younger brother during the Hell In A Cell main event between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, with the winner to face Bret Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series.
We all know that Shawn Michaels went on to face Bret Hart at Survivor Series, and well, that story could be a novel.
Kane assisted Shawn Michaels in his victory against The Undertaker, with a tombstone piledriver delivered to his brother, allowing Michaels to score the pinfall.
Not only was this Kane's debut, this was the first ever Hell In A Cell match.
Royal Rumble 1998: Another Betrayal (01/18/98)
2 of 8After Kane cost The Undertaker his Survivor Series title shot, The Undertaker refused to fight him.
Surprisingly, Kane saved The Undertaker at one point, from an D-Generation X attack.
The two formed a brief partnership as brothers and friends; however, this would be short lived.
At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a Casket Match for the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels, Kane cost The Undertaker the title, betraying his brother once again and helping Shawn Michaels, again.
After the match, Kane was locked into the casket by Paul Bearer and Kane, and the casket was set ablaze.
After the casket burned out, The Undertaker had vanished. We wouldn't see or hear from The Undertaker for a few months.
WrestleMania XIV: The First Match (03/29/98)
3 of 8When The Undertaker returned to the WWE after being set on fire inside the casket at the Royal Rumble, he wanted revenge.
He finally agreed to face his brother Kane at WrestleMania XIV.
The Undertaker hit Kane with three tombstone piledrivers to win the match.
After three tombstones, you would think Kane would've had enough of challenging his older brother.
However, this was only the beginning of the history between these two.
Unforgiven: The Inferno Match (04/26/98)
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Following The Undertaker's dismantling of his brother Kane at WrestleMania, next month, Kane would challenge him again.
This time, in a match we've never seen before, an "inferno match."
With the ring surrounded by fire, the first wrestler set on fire would lose the match.
Everytime a big move was hit and the rings foundation shook, the flames would get hotter and larger.
The Undertaker would get his ultimate revenge from the 98 Royal Rumble, as he would do to Kane what Kane did to him: set him on fire.
1998-2000: The Brief Partnership and Unmasking of Kane
5 of 8The Undertaker and Kane formed a brief partnership in the later part of 1998, as The Undertaker interfered in Kane's title match against Steve Austin at King of the Ring.
The stipulation in the match was, if Kane were to lose, he would have to set himself on fire.
The Undertaker actually wanted to hit Kane with the chair but hit Austin instead, causing Steve Austin to lose his title to Kane.
Undertaker later claimed he didn't want his brother to be set on fire, and that is why he helped Kane win, this was the first time that Kane and Undertaker seemed to be on the same page.
At Summerslam later in the year, Kane wanted to return the favor and help his brother against Steve Austin, but Undertaker didn't want his help.
Austin would go on to beat The Undertaker.
In a triple threat match later in the year, Kane, Undertaker and Austin squared off for the WWE Championship, where Kane and Undertaker pinned Austin at the same time.
Vince McMahon declared the title vacant as there was no clear winner.
At Judgement Day: In Your House, Kane and Undertaker fought for the vacant title with Steve Austin as the special referee.
Austin ended up attacking both men, as the match ended in a no contest.
Later in the year, The Undertaker admitted to setting the fire that scarred Kane's face when they were children.
The Undertaker would reveal Kane's face once and for all as he unmasked Kane during a match at Summerslam 2000.
2001: Striking Tag Team Gold
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At the 2001 Royal Rumble, Undertaker and Kane teamed up, eliminating most of the field in the 30-man Royal Rumble match.
Kane entered number six and finished second, eliminating 11 wrestlers.
Undertaker came in at number 22 and was eventually eliminated by Rikishi.
The two brothers reunited later that same month, and on the February 1 edition of SmackDown, they defeated Rikishi and Haku in a First Blood Match.
This lead to the Brothers of Destruction getting a shot at the tag titles at No Way Out, facing the champions Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a tables match.
The Brothers of Destruction dominated the entire match and nearly won the match until Rikishi and Haku interfered.
Despite interference from Steve Austin and Triple H, Undertaker and Kane were able to win their first Tag Team Championships during the April 19 edition of Smackdown against Edge and Christian.
They would lose these titles to Triple H and Steve Austin 10 days later at Backlash.
On an August 9 episode of Smackdown, after the WCW invasion occurred, Kane and Undertaker would win the WCW Tag Team Championships, defeating the Natural Born Thrillers.
At Summerlslam, still the WCW Tag Team Champions, Kane and Undertaker defeated Diamond Dallas Page and the late Chris Kanyon for their second WWE Tag Team Championships, making them the first ever, Unified Tag Team Champions.
After the smoke cleared from the WCW Invasion angle, The Undertaker and Kane's dominance was over, and they wouldn't cross paths again for quite some time.
2002-2009: Crossing Paths From Time to Time
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The history between The Undertaker and Kane would never die, as they managed to be involved in various encounters over the years.
Undertaker and Kane would first reunite after the 2002 WWE Roster Draft, standing side by side as Undertaker was drafted to Raw.
They teamed up unofficially during the 2003 Royal Rumble match, helping each other eliminate competitors, but Undertaker would eventually eliminate Kane.
At Survivor Series 2003, Kane interfered in The Undertaker's Buried Alive Match with Vince McMahon.
Kane went on to say that his brother was, "buried and gone forever."
Their feud would reach and boiling point and be put to rest, or so we thought, at WreslteMania XX, when they met again, and The Undertaker won again.
At the 2005 Royal Rumble, Kane appeared out of a casket during Undertaker's casket match with Heideneich, assisting The Undertaker in his victory.
In the later part of 2006, Kane and Undertaker would briefly reunite to take on MVP and Mr. Kennedy.
On the October 12, 2007 edition of Smackdown, the Brothers of Destruction reunited again, defeating WWE Tag Team Champions MVP and Matt Hardy in a non-title match.
The Brothers of Destruction reunited once again on the February 1, 2008 episode of Smackdown, defeating Mark Henry and Big Daddy V.
On the April 4, 2008 edition of Smackdown, Undertaker and Kane faced each other for the first time since WrestleMania XX. However, the match finished with no decision as La Familia interfered. Kane and Undertaker then delivered a Chokeslam and Tombstone Piledriver to Chavo and Edge.
On the April 21, 2008 edition of Raw, the Brothers of Destruction teamed with John Cena and Triple H to take on the team of JBL, Chavo Guerrero, and Rated RKO. Edge hit Kane with a spear to end the match in a losing effort for the Brothers of Destruction.
On the November 13, 2009 episode of Smackdown, after his match with Chris Jericho, Kane came to the aid of his brother to chase off Jericho and his partner Big Show.
The Brothers of Destruction would reunite on the November 20th episode of Smackdown to face the tag team of Jeri-Show. The match ended in a No Contest.
2010: The Beginning Of The End?
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The Undertaker's 20-year career in the WWE is nearing its end, whether the WWE Universe likes it or not. Age is playing a big factor in that, and not even the Deadman can do anything about it.
At age 43, two years younger then Undertaker, Kane could be near the end as well.
What better way to end their careers, with a rich history that has been going on for 13 years.
While being out due to injury in May of 2010, WWE Smackdown GM Theodore Long announced that The Undertaker was attacked over the Memorial Day weekend and was in a "vegetative state."
This led to Kane plowing through the Smackdown roster, demanding to find out who attacked his brother.
In Kane's quest, he participated in his fourth Money In The Bank Ladder Match, in which he won.
Kane cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on Rey Mysterio later that night to win his second major championship in the WWE.
Kane accused Rey Mysterio of being the one who attacked his brother. Mysterio claimed he was innocent, and Kane was the one who did it.
At their match at Summerslam, The Undertaker appeared to save Rey Mysterio from being put into a casket.
Kane got the last laugh, delivering a Tombstone Piledriver to Undertaker, who seemed to not have the same power we are all accustomed to seeing him have.
The following SmackDown, Kane said he had been planning his attack for years and was finally the dominant brother with control of Undertaker's powers.
With these powers, he was easily able to attack his brother multiple times, prior or after his matches.
This led to Kane successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred match at Night Of Champions.
Paul Bearer then reappeared on the Smackdown episode following Night Of Champions with the urn, thus giving The Undertaker his much needed power.
With that power, and Bearer in his corner, Undertaker would have the upside in their rematch at Hell In A Cell.
However, it wasn't to be, as Bearer turned on The Undertaker and helped Kane retain the title.
With all of the twists and turns to this storied rivalry, it is all coming to a bone chilling end as these two men face off at WWE Bragging Rights on October 24.
The Undertaker will look to write history and win his eighth major championship in the WWE, putting an end to his brother Kane, forever.
Follow me on Twitter @nyyrobinson.
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