Kane

[8.0] "Kane is one of the greatest characters WWE has ever created, and that distinction matters when I rate him. There is no question that he was a phenomenal presence. The mask, the entrance, the fire, the chokeslam, the Tombstone and the entire presentation made him immediately recognizable. When Kane appeared, you knew exactly what kind of threat was coming. But when I rate a wrestler, I have to separate the character from the actual body of work in the ring. And that's where Kane loses points for me. I have enormous respect for Kane as a performer. He was a fantastic big man who understood how to use his size and physical presence without needing to rely exclusively on spectacle. His strikes looked convincing, his power moves had impact and he was very good at making his opponents look like they were fighting someone genuinely dangerous. His debut at Badd Blood 1997 is still one of the greatest character introductions WWE has ever done. The way he ripped the Hell in a Cell door open and confronted The Undertaker immediately established Kane as something completely different. The Brothers of Destruction partnership that followed became one of the most iconic combinations in WWE history. But here's the problem for me: where are the great Kane singles matches? That's the biggest reason I can't give him a 9 or a 10. Kane had good matches. He had entertaining matches. He had memorable matches. But when I look at his career, I don't see enough truly outstanding singles matches that I would put among the greatest matches of their respective eras. That's not necessarily Kane's fault. WWE's booking played a huge role. Kane spent enormous portions of his career being used as a monster, a supporting player, a tag-team wrestler or a veteran who was there to make somebody else look good. He was incredibly useful to WWE, but being useful isn't necessarily the same thing as having an outstanding singles résumé. His rivalry with The Undertaker produced memorable moments, but I don't think their singles matches consistently reached the level you would expect from two characters that important. His work with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and others gave us some solid matches, but again, I'm missing that long list of elite singles classics. That's especially important when comparing Kane to other legendary big men. If I'm putting together a list of the greatest big men ever, I need to consider not only their presence and character work but also their ability to produce exceptional matches. Kane doesn't quite have the singles match résumé to reach the very top of that list. At the same time, I don't want that criticism to overshadow everything he did well. Kane was incredibly versatile. He could be a terrifying monster, a serious main-event wrestler, a tag-team partner, a comedy character or a veteran working with younger talent. His partnership with Daniel Bryan in Team Hell No showed how good he could be at comedy without completely destroying his credibility. He was also an excellent utility player. Put him against a smaller wrestler, a technical wrestler or another big man and he could usually find a way to make the match work. He understood his role and rarely looked out of place. And his longevity is ridiculous. Kane remained relevant for more than two decades. Very few wrestlers can maintain that kind of presence across so many different eras of WWE. So this isn't an 8 because I think Kane was mediocre. Quite the opposite. An 8 is a very strong rating. It's an 8 because I judge the entire résumé. Kane has an all-time great character, excellent physical presence, tremendous longevity and plenty of memorable moments. What he lacks is the consistent collection of excellent singles matches that would push him into the 9 or 10 range. For me, Kane is a legendary WWE character before he is a legendary singles wrestler. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that."

[9.0] "Kane is a great big men wrestler, very good in the ring and awesome on mic , one of the greatest gimmick of all time , but unfortunately he's not a good mayor"

[5.0] "A pretty mediocre wrestler for the most part. Not that charismatic and not one to really have a catalogue of good matches. Other than size, he doesn't exactly check any boxes. However, he was never a bad promo or a bad worker."

[2.0] "Very below-average big man gifted an incredible gimmick due to his insane physique that he rode into permanent employment even after they booked the gimmick to shit. You watch his pre-Kane work and there's nothing there even when he's across from all-timers, and then after his prime early Kane years he just gets worse and worse and worse to match his booking (in contrast with Big Show who always managed to have something good in his work despite awful booking). His in-ring highlights are all like 75% Team Hell No, 15% other tags with better partners who can pick up his slack, and 10% him and Shane McMahon being willing to fuck each other up. His best promos were when his character could barely speak at all."

[3.0] "Kane being a 3/10 wrestler is not because he was useless or unpopular. He had a memorable look, strong presence, and a legendary debut. But if we are judging him strictly as an in-ring wrestler, there are several reasons why someone could rate him that low. First, Kane was extremely limited in the ring. His moveset was repetitive and basic: big boot, uppercut, sidewalk slam, chokeslam, tombstone, clothesline from the top rope. That was basically the formula for most of his matches. He rarely showed variety, creativity, or technical ability. Compared to other big men like Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow, Undertaker, Samoa Joe, or even later guys like Gunther, Kane did not bring much depth bell-to-bell. Second, his match quality was inconsistent. Kane had some good matches, but a lot of them depended heavily on the opponent. Put him with Undertaker, Daniel Bryan, or a great worker, and the match could be solid. But Kane himself was rarely the reason a match became great. He was more of a character and spectacle wrestler than someone who could elevate average opponents into memorable matches. Third, his selling and emotional range were limited. Because Kane was booked as a monster, he often had to wrestle in a stiff, robotic style. That worked for the character, but it also made many of his matches feel flat. He did not have the same expressive physical storytelling as Undertaker, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, or Bryan Danielson. His matches often lacked drama unless there was a major storyline attached. Fourth, his long career actually hurts his case. Kane stayed around for decades, but a lot of that time was spent in forgettable feuds, random tag teams, comedy angles, or midcard programs. His peak as an intimidating monster was strong, but it was also relatively short. After the late 1990s and early 2000s, he often felt like a useful roster piece rather than a top-tier wrestler."

[6.0] "Glenn Jacobs was a total hoss back in the early part of his career up through to about 2002. Unfortunately he did not retire in 2002 and there's a lot more bad than good as far as his in-ring career is concerned. By the time I became a fan - late 2005 - he was already phoning it in and going through the motions in all of his matches. This would only get worse as the years dragged on. He was pretty dire by the time he hung the boots up and threw his hat into the political ring."

[2.0] "He was slow, lumbering, not very athletic. couldn't really bump that well and ran the ropes like he was in quicksand. He somehow gets credited for being nimble by jumping off the the top rope with a clothlesline and landing feet first. It looked like shit. Then his character was corny. Starting with a "speech impediment" from being burned in a fire and then not being burned at all and not needing a voice modulator and ugh. The Team Hell No stuff was funny but the most memorable parts of that run never happened in the ring. I read in 3 wrestler biographies how "intelligent" Glenn Jacobs is. Then he ran for office and we find out those really intelligent things were not believing in science and supporting masked men kidnapping people. "Some wrestlers are just fuckin stupid. I don't know what to tell you" -Big Damo"

[10.0] "The Kane gimmick is one of the best ever created. Greatest debut in WWE history. Solid big man worker and great talker; he has some legit acting skills."

[7.0] "Was my guy on SDvR back in the day. Similar style to Taker but more natural to switch heel and didn't take 20 minutes to get to the ring. Had more fun with him on PS3 than watching most of his actual career as he was so lumberingly slow with a limited big unit moveset. Despite the often laborious matches, an excellent career all things considered, durable gimmick and responsible for wrestling's greatest desecrated wedding."

[7.0] "Kane deserves respect for what he put into the business over the years. It's sad that they botched his character and tried rewriting his act several times which eventually ruined his mystique. He might not have been the best in the ring, but he was reliable and always kept his opponents safe. He could play heel and face very well, his partnership with Daniel Bryan as Team Hell No was brilliant. I only wish they gave him more title runs throughout his career. Come on, a one-day one-time WWE Championship? At least he had better luck with the World Heavyweight Championship, but that's not saying much"

[8.0] "My favorite big man of all time and at least in my top 10 minimum if I sat down more to think about it.The humanizing of his character hurt him and becoming Undertaker's sidekick and utility feud hurt his booking, but Kane rarely had a bad match before 2010. His origin was awesome. He had arguably the greatest entrance of any era and he had such a main event aura.He deserved more."

[5.0] "He was an attraction wrestler. I think he was FINE before the 2010s but after his in ring work just became impossible to watch and WWE relied on him far too much. I get why he's so liked as a wrestler but he was never really for me. Apart from his awesome look, there isn't much more about him, imo."

[6.0] "Fantastic character that never delivered to the level of that in the ring outside of spectacle appearances in things like the rumble - and some of the back portion of his career with the authority, or the early portions of his career with Isaac Yankem, were actively awful. Incredibly cool but underdelivered too often to be higher."

[7.0] "Kane had his moments but put him in a singles match and he's struggling to keep up with his opponent. Much better in a multi man situation, however watching some of his odd singles matches really highlights flaws in his abilities - especially if he's with another big man"

"If you ask me, Kane was actually the more interesting wrestler of Brothers of Destruction. I love how much details the writers did to work on his back story. Kane is the best monster gimmick in my opinion."

[8.0] "Kane has always been one of the most iconic characters in WWE history. I mean, his on again/off again feud/tag team with his "brother" the Undertaker is the stuff of legend. As for the character backstory, it's so simple and it was well done. Kane is great worker and decent enough wrestler. Don't care personally for his political views, but that's another point. But, IMO, Kane should've had a longer first World Title run when he won it back in 1998 instead of just holding it for one day. Also, I don't think that Kane himself gets enough credit for his work in wrestling. So I think 8 is a fair enough rating."

[6.0] "Kane from 1998 to 2003 probably gets an 8. After that, he had a few decent years but his last 4-5 were literal torture. Everything from 2013 on was just brutal.So I'll meet in the middle and go with a 6, because he did have some very interesting matches and feuds."

[10.0] "Kane is one of the most iconic and enduring characters in professional wrestling history. Debuting as the monstrous brother of The Undertaker, he instantly became a defining presence of the Attitude Era, combining horror-inspired imagery with unmatched physical credibility. Over decades in WWE, Kane evolved far beyond his original role, proving his versatility through world championship reigns, tag team dominance, and unforgettable storylines. In the ring, Kane blended raw power with surprising athleticism for his size. Chokeslams, Tombstones, flying clotheslines, top-rope lariats, and explosive big-man offense made him both believable and devastating. Whether portrayed as an unstoppable monster or a calculated enforcer, his matches always felt dangerous and impactful. As a character, Kane is a masterclass in long-term storytelling. From masked demon to unmasked, conflicted human, to ruthless authority figure, his evolution kept him relevant across multiple eras. He could inspire fear, sympathy, or respect without changing the core of who he was. Outside the ring, Glenn Jacobs has earned admiration for his intelligence, professionalism, and commitment to the business. Kane is more than a legend -- he is proof that character, consistency, and presence can define greatness in professional wrestling."

[5.0] "A man who spent the vast majority of his career being a very poor wrestler far too high up the card. Rode off the coattails of being Undertaker's gimmick brother but struggled to ever actually impress with wrestling or character work at any point."

[6.0] "Kane is fine. He has been in some truly classic feuds and moments in WWE history but it helps that his character is forever connected to the Undertaker. He was/is over, there's no doubt about that, but is he an amazing wrestler by any stretch of the imagination? I don't believe so, he's fine. He's certainly got the look, but has very subpar mic skills. He is a "good hand" I believe is the term and the character of Kane is legendary but the performer is pretty decent but not much above that."

[2.0] "Kane is just a bad worker. I don't care. Absolutely carried by his character, there's a reason people stopped caring once his took the mask off. Non existent mic skills, charisma of a wet napkin. Doesn't have a single classic match to his name, he just couldn't go. About the only praise I can give him besides the character is the longevity. But even then his boring style helped with that. Corporate Kane was at one point the worst thing on WWE TV. Team Hell No is probably the only part of his career that I consistently enjoyed, that was good. Overrated as hell, even more so than his kayfabe brother."

[5.0] "Kane having a higher cagematch rating than John cena is very funny. All things considered, he had his moments but they were very rare when I was completely wowed by a Kane match that didn't include multiple people"

[7.0] "When it comes to pro wrestling folklore, Kane's character, his towering presence and aura never ceased to fascinate. His entrances, theme songs, mask or no mask, his imposing physique and whatnot made him a captivating attraction. From a presentation standpoint, everything made for a perfect monster meant to dominate! He brought that special feel to the spectacle, as if doom was inevitable whenever he showed up, and this never failed to deliver. As a performer however, Kane's matches often failed to deliver. And as a matter of fact, other than a couple of tag matches and multi men classics, Kane does not have any truly great nor very good singles matches in my books, and for a career that spanned over two decades and includes matches against some of the best ever, that is honestly underwhelming. For such a big man booked as a legit monster, Kane proved to be pretty limited in the ring; slow, at times overly safe and reluctant to take bumps properly (landing on his knees when taking a Pedigree, a RKO and plenty of other moves), therefore making other's offense look weak more often than not. Kane also tended to be overly dramatic at times when unmasked. However, Kane's worked wonders when it came to comedy as evidenced by his unexpectedly fantastic duo with Daniel Bryan. As far as his political opinions are concerned (I don't even know about it although it seems like a big deal considering so many mentioned it and took it in consideration to rate the wrestler), I could not care less. As far as i'm concerned, Kane remains that necessary, fascinating figure, and that despite his underwhelming in-ring work."

[7.0] "As a character, Kane has had some of the lowest lows of anyone in WWE writing history, and has been teflon in the eyes of the fans. He's a massive man with freakish strength, but is more athletic than your average attraction wrestler, worked a safe style and worked like a mule his entire long career. Not the best in-ring performer ever, very same-y matches with little creativity, but for consistency and character work he's a legend."

[8.0] "One of the most consistent big men in wrestling history. Whether he was terrifying as the masked monster or playing the corporate stooge, Kane always delivered. His longevity, versatility, and iconic moments like his debut at Badd Blood make him a true legend. Not every match was a classic, but the character work and presence were undeniable."

[4.0] "Kane is one of the more iconic characters in WWE history, but his legacy is built more on presentation and longevity than consistent in-ring greatness. His debut in 1997 was unforgettable. The red lights, the mask, the destruction of The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell. It was theatrical perfection and instantly made him a star. For a few years, he lived up to the mystique, serving as the company's go-to monster during the chaos of the Attitude Era. As time went on, though, Kane became less of a force and more of a utility player. His character never evolved in a meaningful way. He flipped between heel and face so often that none of it stuck. The mask came off and went back on. He was in comedy feuds one month and title matches the next. Nothing ever felt definitive. Even his most meaningful title runs felt more like placeholders than true main event reigns. In the ring, Kane was serviceable. He was safe, could work with anyone, and rarely had outright bad matches. But he also rarely had great ones. He did what was asked and played his role well, but he was never the reason a match was memorable. Most of his success came from being a believable character who fit into whatever story WWE needed told at the time. Kane's value was in his reliability. He showed up. He did the job. He stayed over. But for a character with such a strong debut and mythos, the actual body of work often failed to live up to the promise. Kane had an all-time debut and one of the most iconic looks in wrestling. But strip away the fire and mask, and you're left with a solid but unspectacular career that lasted longer than it truly delivered."

"Kane has always been my favorite wrestler. The mask, the fire, the sheer dominance--he brought a whole different level of intensity to the ring. An absolute legend."

[4.0] "Kane might actually be one of the most overrated wrestlers ever. I do absolutely love his early on character & I think it was a great gimmick, & I even think his gimmick right after being unmasked might be his best. But everything after that was absolutely disastrous besides maybe Team Hell No where he's carried by arguably the best wrestler to ever breathe. In the ring he's not awful but he's definitely subpar, very boring brawler/powerhouse hybrid with giant tendencies mixed in just leads to a boring match in anything that's not extremely gimmicky or a great stipulation. He fooled everyone into thinking he was a mobile big guy by his little ring exit he did early on & the top rope clothesline, when in reality he was the equivalent of a tortoise made of bricks. He has a few solid singles matches but nothing is outstanding, all his best matches are multi-mans. Great gimmick & character, poor wrestler."

[5.0] "The undertaker but worse in every aspect. Being unmasked was one of the biggest mistakes in his booking, with him no longer being the mysterious big red machine. Slow and boring in the ring. At least he could be funny in promos and segments unlike taker,"

[10.0] "Got to be a 10 one of the most iconic pro wrestling characters of all time had arguably the greatest presence of all time other than Andre and was a fan favourite for so long throughout his career, completely unique will take a very long time for wwe to replace him."

[6.0] "Great character work and his prime was solid, but once you go out of his best few years you're left with kind of a lot to be desired. Bad gimmicks, bad booking, stayed around too long... if anything his best time outside of those few years was with Team Hell No. Overall, solid guy."

[6.0] "Great character work as The Undertaker's Demon Half Brother but his in ring ability leaves much to be desired. He was always "fine" at best and would often excel in gimmick matches because he can hide behind a gimmick to not have to wrestle as much. Overall a fine wrestler but not on anybody's Mount Rushmore anytime soon"

[8.0] "Very good in the ring, excellent on the mic, awesome look, stuck gold with the Kane persona, ran with it better than anyone else could, he was perfect for the role."

[7.0] "Kane is one of the most enduring and captivating characters in wrestling history. His mix of size, agility, and raw power made him a force in WWE/F for decades. From his crazy debut, Kane excelled in storytelling and delivered many classic matches. His ability to evolve, from a masked monster to a (less interesting) more human monster, also kept him relevant across eras. His in-ring work was a little restricted, though."

[7.0] "Kane is actually a pretty talented wrestler, he did luck out tho getting a gimmick that permanantly linked him to a legendary WWE character. However his career was just full of completely crappy gimmicks and storylines due to the nature of his character. I kind of wish he pushed back on some of the more stupider ideas WWE had for him."

[8.0] "incredible debut, image, lore and character that was excellently realised through to 2001. a short ultra-heel resurgence did come with the unmasking, but this momentum was not capitalised on and tailed off. a solid and safe worker in the ring, classic entrance and finisher. like how many classic slasher villain movies drop off after a few years, post 2005 kane was routine and stale. but the initial monster run, story and look is utterly iconic. special mention to ultra jacked 2001 kane."

[10.0] "Nothing will ever top the original tormented soul we saw in 1997--a haunting, destructive force that tombstoned his older brother and changed wrestling forever. His debut remains the greatest ever, and his career is a testament to how dedication pays off. Kane was underrated and should've been a multiple-time WWE Champion, but he didn't need it because his character was always over with fans. His gimmick never grew stale; he adapted while staying true to the "Big Red Machine, " even making Corporate Kane work to an extent. Outside the ring, Kane is known as a great guy and a consummate professional, proving why his legacy as one of wrestling's all-time greats will never be forgotten."

[10.0] "Kane has always been one of my favorite wrestler ever. Very underated, booked to loose too many times. One of the best introduction of a character against Taker, his retro style was pretty cool. I'm obviously (due to my age) more familiar with his stuff post 2000. He really could have been a much bigger deal than just the Taker's brother in the 2010s. Still won few titles and has a good career. What I really love about Kane is his style, really badass and charismatic, that's how you can imagine what a pro wrestler would look like."

[7.0] "I never saw his pre Kane work, but after watching some matches, all of his gimmicks before Kane were dreadful, DDS, or Fake Diesel? ! WTF is Vince smoking in the 90s? Kane was Jacobs best gimmick, had an amazing rival and chemistry with Undertaker, but WWE kept booking him too lose and look weak against everyone."

[3.0] "Much like his kayfabe brother, Kane is someone who for the majority of his career never really was the greatest in the ring and is only looked back on so fondly due to his gimmick. Unlike The Undertaker however, Kane never really reached the heights of being able to have a truly good-great match, once you've watched one Kane match, you've seen them all really, especially for anytime past 2004. He wasn't particularly athletic, didn't really stand out for the majority of his career in terms of size and stature and for a large majority of his career was not handed good gimmicks and storylines and wasn't really captivating in any of his major feuds."

[7.0] "After suffering from being dealt awful gimmick after awful gimmick, once Kane showed up, things changed. As The Big Red Machine, Kane was an outstanding star. Providing quality matches and taking full advantage of the persona he adopted. However, as times changed, there was an attempt to modernize him. It didn't work. Almost always ending worse with every iteration. The man behind Kane also lost his skill in the ring with time. This resulted in his career leaving a bitter aftertaste."

[9.0] "One of the best characters of wrestling industry.Kane debut and makes a impact.Yes, his in ring work is not that engaging but he has charisma and agility and character work to compulsate it.His prior gimmicks though are very bad"

[5.0] "Meh. Kane was always an interesting guy because how tall he is and how dominant he looks. In the ring it's a different story, he's slow as hell, clumsy and barely sells anything. Sometimes he is seen in multiple man matches and Kane stands out because he's the only one who is not there to catch the wrestler who is performing a high flying move..."

[6.0] "Kane had a great gimmick and also excellent longevity. But that's about it. After his initial feud with Taker he didn't do anything meaningful for the rest of his career. He also wasn't all that good in the ring. He was a solid monster heel whenever WWE needed one, but nothing more than that."

[10.0] "Kane was one of WWEs most consistent performers, bringing a unique intensity to every match. Surprisingly agile and athletic for his monumental size, he could move with a smoothness youd never expect from a guy his sizelike the way hed do that iconic back roll out of the ring. His chokeslams were always on point, delivering some of the best-looking ones in the business. Had he been a bit more selfish and in Vinces good books like Taker, he might have been booked just as strongly; instead, he did what was 'best' for the stories, selflessly putting others over and making it all work."

[2.0] "The Great Khali with a better gimmick. Kane was cool when he debuted, fine with xpac, and fine with danielson. Everything else outside of that? Boring boring boring garbage. He has about 2 singles matches that are worth watching and in the good tag/specialty matches he happens to be involved in he is consistently the very worst part of them. There is not a wrestler whos perception feeds off nostalgia more than Kane because he is truly one of the most boring wrestlers to ever get over in the history of American wrestling. He's been part of almost all of the worst angles and storylines in the company since he debuted (The Authority, that one where he was somehow the babyface for sexually assaulting Lita) and there is never a worse part of a show than a Kane segment in any era."

[3.0] "Kane in 1997 and most of 1998, was a really good performer. Amazing look, passable matches, cool gimmick, he was super memorable. But really by not even the end of the year, he honestly hit his shelf life, especially given that he basically never won a big match, or really came out on top in any meaningful way. For the rest of the Attitude Era, he's fine I guess, and I think he had a pretty great year in 2001, probably his best year in his career, and he always stayed over, but I think so much of the shine was off. But once he came back for the brand split, it was over, he was always in horrible angles, never had a good match, and never really..brought anything good as a performer ? His 2010 WHT reign, and his heel run in 2004 are frankly just awful. Honestly it's a huge credit to the WWF in 1998 that they were able to get so much out of him, and really hide his flaws, well doing everything he was good at, which is really just being tall and imposing, and not that incompetent in the ring. He was basically always over for the rest of his career because of it, despite the fact he basically did nothing good after 2003 at the latest."

[10.0] "Kane is my all time favorite wrestler, he's also my first favorite wrestling, I started watching WWF in January 2001 and instantly fell in love with wrestling and the character of Kane. For a long time Kane was the reason why I was watching WWE. I just wish and mainly my 12 years old self still wishes he would have won more World Championship, he should have won at least the WHW championship at No Mercy 2002. Also just one day reign as a WWE champ is a joke. I know his and Undertaker's characters don't really require titles to work but I think he just deserves more, neverthless he had one of the best careers in the industry. I am really gratefull for all the moments he created in my childhood. He's a great wrestler and also a great, funny and smart person in his real personal life. He's one of my greatest inspirations. The Fire Still Burns."

[4.0] "Really hard to properly rate him, especially as a person. Sticking with wrestling here though, I can say that he was a character that was incredibly over and had an amazing look, and back in the day he wasn't too bad of a wrestler depending on his opponent. Things mostly fell a part more and more as time went on, however. He is a part of some of the worst and most deplorable fucking (literally) stories I have seen in professional wrestling. Katie Vick needs no introduction, the shit with Lita needs no introduction. Asides from those decrepit pieces of shit are just the straight up bad storylines, like being a part of the Authority. He had some good feuds too, especially with his kayfabe brother the Undertaker. It's just a shame they had no chemistry at all, and that feud became a little over the top (at least in the perspective of cheesy horror it works, and doesn't involve necrophilia or sexual assault). At least Hell No was good. Really, the best way to describe him was that he was one of the most notable characters to come out of the Attitude Era, a certain improvement from fake Diesel and Yankem, but he is also the epitome of bad booking, and the shit that WWE dribbled out in the 2000s thanks to Vince."

[7.0] "A classic big man that starts as an intimidating presence and slowly but surely loses all their aura to the point they become a different character without changing anything they do. I don't hate seeing Kane as much as it simply never hooked me in apart from the few legendary spots he's had in his career. Does get a bonus point for having one of the more unique entrances in wrestling."