Kane - Let's Make Him More of a Monster

When the character of Kane was first introduced in the WWF in October 1997, it was done at a transitional time as far as wrestling goes. WCW were firmly ahead in the Monday night wars, and Vince McMahon knew that his company needed a new direction. It wasn't long after Kane's first appearance that the WWF product began to show the first signs of change as the so-called "Attitude" era was upon us, and the on-screen product became more reality-based, moving away from gimmicks which, at the dawn of the Internet age, were becoming nothing more than a laughing stock. The pompous snobs, the country music singers, and the guys from "parts unknown" were gradually phased out. The blue-blood Hunter Hearst Helmsley became the degenerate Triple H, and the dead man Undertaker became the
American Bad Ass.

Kane is thought of by many to be one of the last of the gimmicks, a character that has prospered in an environment that changed drastically during his time in the spotlight. From silent, brooding monster, with the help of first X-Pac, and later, Rob Van Dam, Kane came out of his shell, became a person the fans could really relate to. He changed from being a "French fried freak" to being "one of the guys." Until recently.

The Kane seen on recent episodes of Raw is now a totally different animal, and animal is one of the ways of describing his new character direction. Unmasked, suffering from psychological scars from the incident that first brought him to the WWF in 1997, Kane has gone on a path of destruction that has seen almost put before him staring up at the ceiling. The mask came off, the towel came on, and the monster returned. Many fans thought that when the mask came off it would be the end of Kane's career. They were wrong. It's just the beginning.

Now on a Monday night we see Kane arriving in arenas in a cage in the back of a police van. Chains and handcuffs stop him from doing anything drastic as he comes down the stage. It is indeed an imposing sight, but watching it makes me realise that they could do a whole lot more with this.

Think back to the days of Vince McMahon's Corporation. Kane was a proud member of this group, yet how many times when Kane tried to turn against McMahon was he taken down by one of the other members, and held while doctors from the local psychiatric hospital stormed to the ring and stuffed him in a straight-jacket?

The character of Kane is becoming an uncontrollable monster once again, and the fans are loving it. Kane hasn't been this over in years. But by changing a few things and adding a few others, they could make Kane's reign of terror look that much more terrifying.

Firstly, change the music. It's a good song, but is essentially an upbeat kind of version of his original music. Bring back his original music, or a more sexed-up version of it. Kane is now a monster heel, and his music should reflect that. When fans in the arenas and watching on television it should make them realise that a dangerous man is about to arrive.

Then comes the second change. While the chains around his ankles and the cuffs around his hands show that Kane is a dangerous man, wouldn't it look like he was more dangerous if he came to the ring in a straight-jacket. Then, Kane could be restrained even further by chains around his neck and his ankles. Of course, this would make it impossible for Kane to walk to the ring. No problem there. Why not have him wheeled out to the ring in the style of one of the movie world's greatest monsters, Hannibal Lecter. Kane may have lost one mask, but another mask could be placed over his nose and mouth. Go the whole hog, the whole nine yards.

Then, change the costume. If Kane is placed in a mental institution when he is not wrestling, while not have him wrestle in the clothes he would wear in the hospital. Or perhaps the orange overalls prisoners in solitary confinement wear.

For his character, don't just portray him as a monster, a killing machine where all he wants to do is fight, fight, fight. Make him something more - a man of intelligence. Instead of a psychopath, make him a sociopath.

If Kane is going to wrestle at Summerslam against Shane McMahon, then having Kane lose to Shane would be a drastic error. Think about it - Rob Van Dam couldn't take him down, so how could a part-timer ever hope to take him down in a one-on-one basis.

After Summerslam, have Kane face a few of the lower mid-carders, destroying guys like Mark Jindrak and Stevie Richards, before moving up to a credible opponent, perhaps on pay-per-view - Intercontinental Champion Booker T. Kane could state that he sees Booker as his stepping stool, onto bigger things, and that he isn't interested in the title. The McMahons could offer Booker vast sums of money to take Kane down, but Kane would ultimately win, but not the title.

Then comes the final part - if, as expected, Goldberg defeats Triple H for the World title at Summerslam, imagine Kane challenging Goldberg for the title. Goldberg has never faced a monster like Kane before, someone as powerful, or perhaps more powerful, than him. A Goldberg v Kane series, while it won't be for the purists, would certainly be a feud for the fans, as the silent assassin tries to take down sociopathic monster, if not at the Survivor Series, then perhaps at the Royal Rumble.

Some of you may disagree with the way that I would book Kane from now on. Some may not like the way that Kane would again become a gimmick-based wrestler. My argument would be that on film and television we see men fly, spaceships crash land on the Earth, and jolly green giants throwing tanks through the air as if they were nothing. The WWE promotes Sports-Entertainment, with the emphasis being on the entertainment. By changing Kane's character and pushing him in this direction, the WWE would be doing nothing more than providing their fans with entertainment.

But then again, this is nothing more than fantasy booking, something which we wrestling fans are becoming quite adept at these days. These ideas will probably never be seen on a television screen.