Redemption: Bringing Justice To the Big Red Monster

Hello, my fellow Bleachers. I am new to this site and this is my very first article. It deals very carefully with the poor utilization of Kane, The Big Red Monster, since becoming the World Heavyweight Champion.

Kane has been a consistent in-ring competitor since his arrival to the squared circle. He has the physical strength, the devastating finisher, unbelievable mic skills to work interviews and promos, and even the monstrous look... He has all the right tools to be a valuable asset to the WWE, one of the greatest echelon. The only thing he does not have most of the time is a suitable storyline.

Kane has been placed in some brilliant storylines, such as his first feud with The Undertaker (1997-1998), the incredible rivalry with Stone Cold (with respect to the First Blood Match in 1998), the unforgettable saga where he was unmasked (setting his sights on Shane McMahon and Rob Van Dam in 2003), the David vs Goliath reflection of the Chris Benoit feud in 2004 and even forming a tag team with the likes of The Big Show in 2005 to wreak havoc on everyone in opposition for about five months.

In retrospect, he has also been placed in some of the worst feuds in the history of the business. These would include Katie Vick, the entire Lita/Matt Hardy/Edge storyline, fighting an imposter Kane and feuding with The (Not-so) Great Khali. We have seen that, when given the appropriate material, Kane can produce some memorable storylines.

Also, when given the right opponents, he can put on some great matches: The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 14 (quite possibly the greatest big-man match), Triple H at Judgement Day 2001 (Chain Match), Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 18, The TLC Match on Raw where he single-handedly retained the WWE Tag Team Titles and Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven 2004, etc.

It has been a given rule of thumb that, "Anyone who cannot have a watchable match with Kurt Angle or Shawn Michaels cannot wrestle." Hell, it could never work out for The Great Khali. I ask you, who was the last giant to perform a dropkick, a hurricanrana or even an enzuigiri to their opponent?  It could only be Kane.

Now, the recent debacle with Kane and Edge with the kidnapping of Paul Bearer has shamed me to even say that this is possibly the worst storyline in recent memory as it has tarnished the names of both main-eventers involved.

Kane has shockingly been given the World Heavyweight Championship and many individuals out there have been putting down the quality of matches being put out, as well as the storylines Kane has been given to work with. Many feel as though Kane does not represent the company as a main-eventer and should not be in the main event scenario.

Keep in mind, since the "Holy Grail" has been given to Kane, he has only feuded with The Undertaker and Edge. The first month of the Kane-Undertaker feud, that is, leading up to the No Holds Barred Match, was damn epic in my opinion. The promos, the work; it was spectacular. The Hell In A Cell Match was awful, because, let's face facts: A Hell In A Cell Match could NEVER be a Hell In A Cell Match without crimson masks. And what brutalities could The Undertaker and Kane perform if The Undertaker is never 100 percent?

The Buried Alive Match was average at best, and was ultimately ruined at the hands of interference from Nexus, although simultaneously giving the story a bit of an edge. Therefore, I can only state that Kane and The Undertaker never reached their full potential at all in terms of match quality, and after the first month of the feud, WWE Creative dropped the ball big time on what they had.

They had gold, and it turned to garbage.

With The Undertaker out of the picture, Edge has been given the spotlight. Their first match, I'll admit, was horrible. What made it worse was the storyline revolving around it. I see the upcoming TLC Match as Kane's first REAL chance to show what he can do since the inception of the Big Red Champion.

Kane has always been a gimmick match person, and now that no blood is allowed, the credibility of his matches is somewhat degraded. I'm not saying you need blood, but with Kane as the monster of the business, what damage can he possibly do? If I were a monster, I'd wanna destroy the living hell out of anyone who dares to oppose me, more so if that person kidnapped my father.

We'll see what happens, though I imagine a senseless plot where Paul Bearer sides with Edge. We'll see where creative goes from TLC.

With TLC 2010 on the horizon, I see a title loss for him, but that doesn't matter. His run as the champion was well worth it. Hopefully, the match is good enough that it buries the pathetic excuse of a storyline leading up to it.

Thanks for the read, Bleachers. Hopefully, I brought The Big Red Justice some of himself.